Springfield Edges Albany By A Beak

Published on October 24, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA - Ryan Potulny scored two goals and Devon Dubnyk made 25 saves as the Springfield Falcons held off the Albany River Rats 3-2 Friday night at MassMutual Center.

Playing just their second home game of the season, Springfield came charging out of the locker room and completely dominated puck possession for the first two minutes of the game. But Albany weathered the early barrage and ripped the momentum away from the Falcons. Two River Rats forwards rang shots of the post during a four-on-four situation, then with a delayed penalty coming to the Falcons, Jakub Petruzalek tipped a Bryan Rodney shot up over the glove of goaltender Devan Dubnyk at 5:14 for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 Albany lead. The Rats continued to assault the Springfield net, forcing several stunning saves from Dubnyk and appearing to have found their offensive groove.

Just then Falcons forward Rob Schremp stole the momentum back to the home team, when he lifted a backhand saucer pass right onto the stick of teammate Ryan Potulny at the far post for an open net goal at 7:36, tying the game at 1-1. Schremp was responsible for the second Falcons goal as he skated around an Albany defenseman to setup a two-on-one rush before setting up Potulny for another back door one-timer at 16:49. Late in the period Springfield extended their lead to 3-1 when Liam Reddox stuffed his own rebound through the pads of goaltender Justin Peters for a power play goal.

But the Springfield momentum was extinguished by the intermission and Albany came out flying to start the second period. The River Rats cut into the Falcons lead a mere 1:21 into the period as rookie center Nick Dodge scored his first career professional goal, assisted by Petruzalek and Marc Cavosie. Petruzalek made a smart pass from behind the net to Dodge's backhand, who then swept the puck through the legs of Dubnyk for his milestone goal. After being out-shot by the Falcons 15-5 over the first twenty minutes, the River Rats dominated the offensive chances in the second frame, out-shooting their hosts 14-2, yet still trailed 3-2 going into the third period.

In the final frame Dubnyk was the difference, denying everything the River Rats threw his way. Albany pulled Peters for the final minute of play, but Dubnyk capped off the performance with a glove save in the closing seconds to secure the 3-2 win.

Devon Dubnyk made 25 saves on 27 shots to record the victory and improve Springfield to 3-2-1-0 on the season. Justin Peters stopped 23-of-26 shots in goal for Albany, but took the loss as the River Rats dropped to 1-3-1-0. The Rats out-shot the Falcons 27-26 in the game, but went 0-for-5 on the power play; Springfield finished the game 1-for-3 with the man-advantage.

In their shortest turnaround of games this season, Albany has less than 15 hours before their next face off. The River Rats will return home for a 1:00 pm afternoon matinee against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday, October 25th at the Times Union Center.

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2008


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