Syracuse again suppress River Rats offense

Published on December 21, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


SYRACUSE, NY - The Syracuse Crunch never trailed in this game as they beat the Albany River Rats 3-1 Friday night at the War Memorial at Oncenter.

The River Rats headed into their third game of the year with their I-90 rivals without the services of left wing Brandon Nolan, who was called up by the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the day. Nolan, who is currently tied with rookie right wing Jerome Samson for the team-lead in goals with eleven, is heading to Raleigh to prepare to make his National Hockey League debut. Albany signed right wing Joel Rechlicz (pronounced RECK-lidge) to a professional tryout agreement, giving him the opportunity to make his American Hockey League debut.

As usual, the Crunch came of with a lot of energy from the opening face off, but the intensity led to three-straight power plays for the River Rats. Albany were successful with creating sustained possessions in the offensive zone, but could not get anything past Syracuse goaltender Karl Goehring.

Both teams battled evenly into the second period, but it was the Crunch who scored first when Zenon Konopka was in the right place at the right time, tipping an Adam Pineault shot from above the right circle past Michael Leighton at 5:45 and a 1-0 Syracuse lead. Ten minutes later Dave Gove tied the game 1-1 when he blasted in a snap shot from just above the hash marks at 15:45, an unassisted power play goal. But Syracuse retook the lead less than two minutes later on Andrew Murray's wraparound goal at 17:42, putting the Crunch up 2-1 after two periods.

Albany were looking for the equalizer early in the third period on a power play, but a lapse in defensive coverage led to an Adam Pineault short-handed goal at 3:24, giving the Crunch a two-goal lead. The River Rats tried to find a response, even pulling Leighton for the final 70 seconds, but the hosts hung on for a 3-1 victory.

Karl Goehring earned the win by making 25 saves on 26 shots in goal for Syracuse; while Michael Leighton took the loss in goal for Albany, blocking 27-of-30 shots. The River Rats finished 1-for-7 on the power play and dropped to 17-13-0-2 on the season; the Crunch improved to 14-16-1-1 and were 0-for-2 on the power play.

This weekend the River Rats have one more road game before enjoying a few days off for the Christmas holiday. Saturday December 21st at 7:05 pm Albany with have a rematch with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Wachovia Arena, exactly one week after their game in Glens Falls.

Partial season tickets packages and flex tickets for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. 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 December 21, 2007


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