Red & Black Hockey
Entries with the tag: Albany+River+Rats
Fight night in Hershey
by David Lee on 03/19/10 at 11:46 PM ET
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Friday night, the Hershey Bears gave the Albany River Rats an 8-2 beatdown. The scoreboard was ugly, and so was the scoresheet. There were a total of five fights in the game, including four separate fights in the third period. The teams combined for 114 penalty minutes in the third period alone. There should be suspensions to follow, as each team had two players get game misconduct penalties in the melee. The Rats had two additional players pick up misconduct penalties including one for “abuse of officials”.
If and when footage is available, it should be fun to watch.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Hershey+Bears,
2008 draftee Dalpe signs ATC
by David Lee on 03/19/10 at 09:40 PM ET
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On Thursday afternoon, the Hurricanes signed their 2008 second round draft pick Zac Dalpe to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year old forward has decided to forgo his final two years at THE Ohio State University after the Buckeyes were eliminated from the CCHA playoffs. Dalpe led the team in goals (21) and points (45) this season and was a first team all-conference selection.
The Paris, Ontario native has been assigned to the Albany River Rats of the American League, where he will play the balance of the season and Calder Cup playoffs on an Amateur Tryout Contract. He will join the Rats on the road at Binghamton on Sunday night and will presumably be added to the team’s final roster.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Calder+Cup+playoffs, Zac+Dalpe,
Rats win TWC Cup
by David Lee on 02/21/10 at 12:04 AM ET
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On Saturday, the Albany River Rats defeated the Adirondack Phantoms 2-1 to clinch victory in the inaugural Time Warner Cable Cup challenge. The two teams will meet 12 times this season, and Albany is now 7-1-1 in the season series with three games to play. This was going to be an annual grudge match between the two Eastern NY hockey clubs, but it turns out that it will be the one and only challenge cup. The Rats will be moving to Charlotte next season, and it’s unlikely that the Checkers (I hate that name) will play the Phantoms more than eight times in the regular season.
Jerome Samson scored his 24th goal and added an assist to give the Rats the win over former Hurricanes backup Johnny Crackers. Zach Boychuk scored the game-winning goal and Justin Peters earned his 20th win of the season for the Rats.
The Rats will face the Hershey Bears on Sunday afternoon.
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Tags: Adirondack+Phantoms, Albany+River+Rats, Charlotte+Checkers,
technical issues at casa de RBH
by David Lee on 02/09/10 at 09:15 PM ET
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I apologise about the infrequency of and the quality of posts around here lately. I’ve gotten a lot of use out of a Sony Vaio desktop that was top of the line when I bought it during the Clinton administration, but it just can’t cut it anymore. I’m lucky when I can make it connect to the internet long enough to write anything at all, and I have to hold my breath anytime I open more than one tab, so it’s been hard.
I’m trying to rectify this situation and at the same time finally enter the wireless age, but I’ve had some nightmarish issues with my shopping. Hopefully I’ll get it all sorted out in the next few days.
Anyway, the developments are that Nic Wallin was finally traded to San Jose in exchange for Buffalo’s second round pick in the 2010 draft. On Wednesday, the Hurricanes will announce that they’re moving their American League affiliate to Charlotte. This’ll be great for the fans, but a bit rough for the other teams in the AHL’s Eastern Conference. Traveling between cities has usually been done by bus, but back-to-backs with any of the games in Charlotte will necessitate air travel and added expenses. More on this later.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, American+Hockey+League, Carolina+Hurricanes, Charlotte,
Tuomo Ruutu to miss several games
by David Lee on 01/09/10 at 01:15 PM ET
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Tuomo Ruutu injured his right hand in a fight with Colorado’s Darcy Tucker on Friday night, and the first “official” news is that he’ll be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks. So far, there are no further details about the extent of his “upper body” (right hand) injury. This means that Carolina is now simultaneously missing six of its top nine forwards and one of its top four defenseman.
Some of the previously injured players are starting to skate in no-contact drills, but none is ready to return. Eric Staal is attending a funeral today, and it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll be back for Sunday afternoon’s game. They will need to call up yet another River Rat. There will be almost as many Rats in the room as Canes. At this point, the fans should be wearing Rats gear in the stands of the RBC Center.
My guess is that Drayson Bowman will be the newest callup. We’ll probably find out sometime today.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes, injuries, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Canes beat Avs, lose Ruutu
by David Lee on 01/08/10 at 11:37 PM ET
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This season has been a house of horrors for the Canes. Not only have they been losing a lot of games, but they’ve been losing a lot of players too. For Friday night’s game against the Avalanche, six skaters were from the American League. For Sunday’s game against the Senators, we’ll need to make that seven.
Back in late October, the Canes traveled to Denver where they lost a rollercoaster game to the Avs. In that game, Tuomo Ruutu was given a boarding major, game misconduct and a two game suspension for running Darcy Tucker from behind. Ruutu was taken to task for this, and he won the battle but lost the war.
Carolina won the game 2-1, just barely finding a way to deny Cam Ward his first shutout of the season. There were some really good things in this game. Losing Tuomo Ruutu to injury is not one of them. The Hurricanes will now have to make another call down to Albany, where the cupboard is beginning to run bare.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes, Colorado+Avalanche, injuries, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Boychuk, Tlusty recalled
by David Lee on 01/02/10 at 12:47 PM ET
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The Hurricanes have placed Scott Walker on injured reserve and have said that Sergei Samsonov will not play against the Rangers on Saturday. Both have an “upper body injury”. In their stead, Ji ří Tlustý and Zach Boychuk have been called up from Albany. Still no sign of Jerome Samson.
The early indication is that Paul Maurice will trot out a third line of all American Leaguers. The “Rat Line” will be Tlusty, Pat Dwyer and Boychuk. Boychuk, who is second (to Samson) on the Rats in scoring with 24 (11/13) points had the game winner against former Hurricane John “Crackers” Graham and the Adirondack Phantoms on New Year’s Eve.
Boychuk has one assist in two games with the Canes. Tlustý has one goal in four NHL games (two of which were with the Leafs). Dwyer has played 16 games and has potted two goals for the big team.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jiri+Tlusty, Pat+Dwyer, Zach+Boychuk,
Leighton assigned to Albany
by David Lee on 12/12/09 at 02:00 PM ET
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On Saturday, the Hurricanes sent Michael Leighton to the River Rats. The 28-year old backup was placed on and cleared waivers this week. Because he is on a one-way contract, this assignment does not save the Hurricanes any money, nor does it change the salary cap hit.
Leighton has worked hard to get a break in the NHL, but the honest truth is that he’s not an NHL goalie. And he might never be. He hasn’t learned to utilize his size and he gets out of position too much. Also, he isn’t a strong enough skater to recover when he finds himself out of position. All of that aside, he wasn’t getting enough playing time to develop or maintain NHL skills. It’s a little bit sad that Michael was essentially discarded, but it just didn’t make hockey sense to keep him on the big team. Manny Legace is on a two-way contract and would save the organ-eye-zation some money if he were to be assigned, but Legace gives the team a better chance.
Bad break for Leights, but Manny Legace deserves this.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes, Manny+Legace, Michael+Leighton,
Casey Borer on the mend
by David Lee on 12/07/09 at 06:48 PM ET
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Nearly ten months after suffering a broken neck in a bus accident, Canes defensive prospect Casey Borer is finally back on the ice. The River Rats team bus crashed on an icy road on February 19, and his injury was the most severe. Two other players and one of the radio broadcasting team were treated for serious injuries, but everyone else was lucky to escape with minor injuries.
The timetable was for Borer to come to camp ready to play and be back on the Albany roster this fall. Unfortunately, he suffered a setback. Or perhaps a bad diagnosis in the beginning. After some light workouts in the spring, he didn’t feel right and sought a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. In the end, he ended up having some surgery in late September. As of right now, it looks like he’ll be out until at least the end of January, but he’s starting to make steps.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Casey+Borer,
Canes young dmen to get experience
by David Lee on 12/06/09 at 11:28 AM ET
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After Saturday’s 5-3 win over Vancouver, a reporter asked coach Paul Maurice about the plans to deal with the long-term injury of Joe Corvo. Someone asked him about the play of young Bryan Rodney, and he alluded to a plan that would involve not only Rodney, but a couple of the other young guys currently with Albany of the American League.
He said that Rodney’s play has been good, but that the plan for now is to rotate some guys in and out. And it didn’t take long for that plan to go into motion. After the game, Rodney was sent down to Albany and Jay Harrison was called back up.
The Rats will be home against the Baby Pens today, hosting the Toys for Tots (read: teddy bear toss) promotion. Jiří Tlustý should make his Rats debut today. He was apparently detained at customs yesterday while attempting to meet the team in Glens Falls.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Bryan+Rodney, Jay+Harrison,
Rats and Phantoms resume TWC Cup, Tlusty still not on board
by David Lee on 12/05/09 at 12:58 PM ET
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On Saturday night, the Albany River Rats and Adirondack Phantoms will play the fourth of twelve games this season in the “Time Warner Cable Cup”. So far this season, the Rats have won all three meetings.
Jiří Tlustý has yet to join the team, as his passport and immigration papers were not in order. The Rats are hoping that he will be able to resolve that stuff and make the drive from Toronto to Glens Falls for tonight’s game. That’s right. They hope that he will make the 7 hour DRIVE in time for the game. Ahhhh. The American League. Gotta love it.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Jiri+Tlusty,
Canes keep losing, Rats keep winning
by David Lee on 10/25/09 at 01:08 PM ET
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The Hurricanes four game road trip came to a close on Saturday, and they didn’t have much to show for it. They lost a rollercoaster 5-4 game in Denver on Friday, then lost 3-2 in overtime at Minnesota on Saturday. On the four game trip, the Canes only managed two standings points and have yet to win on the road. For the third time this season, they will now have three days off before their next game. Wednesday night, they’ll be back in the RBC Center against the Blues. While they’ve been lousy on the road, the Canes have grabbed five out of eight standings points at home.
While the Canes are struggling, the Albany River Rats are doing well. They have a record of 5-3-0 and sit atop the Eastern division. More importantly, they beat the Adirondack Phantoms 3-2 on Saturday to grab a two games to none lead in the 12-game season series with the hated rival.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Brandon+Sutter, Carolina+Hurricanes, Ray+Whitney, Tuomo+Ruutu,
Rats looking good
by David Lee on 10/18/09 at 10:51 AM ET
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While the Hurricanes are struggling to find offense and to find themselves, things are looking good down on the farm. On Saturday, the Albany River Rats went up to Glens Falls and defeated the Adirondack Phantoms 2-1 in the first of twelve games between the two teams. Justin Peters stopped 31 of 32 shots and Jerome Samson scored the game-winner 2:21 into overtime. Through five games, the undrafted right wing has tallied nine (4/5) points.
Surprisingly, this game featured only one fight, and it occurred early in the first. So far, I’m wrong with my prediction that this series would see more fighting majors (2) than goals (3).
The Rats find themselves atop the East division of the AHL, and I’ve read some comments by Albany natives comparing this team to the 1995-96 team who won the AHL’s equivalent of the President’s Trophy with a record of 54-19-7.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Jerome+Samson,
Bevy of Canes miss Thursday practice; news from the farm
by David Lee on 10/15/09 at 08:44 PM ET
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A day after making the best save of this young season, Canes goaltender Cam Ward sat out Thursday’s practice. He was joined by Eric Staal, who has not been playing at 100%. Also missing from practice were Matt Cullen and Ray Whitney, who had two goals against the Pens in the 3-2 loss on Wednesday.
There’s no indication of why they say out, but I don’t think it was to attend opening day of the North Carolina State Fair. There’s no indication that any of them will be out of the lineup on Saturday when the Hurricanes begin their two week road trip in New Jersey.
While those four sat out of practice, the Canes were happy to see defenseman Joni Pitkänen back on the ice. At least for practice. Still no word on when he’ll be back in the lineup.
Meanwhile, down on the farm…
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes,
You don’t have to look like a clown…
by David Lee on 09/08/09 at 03:37 AM ET
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Minor league hockey is known for a bunch of things. Line brawls. Bus rides. Community involvement. Good promotions. Bad promotions. Ridiculous one-offs. Carolina’s top affiliate, the Albany River Rats will be participating in one of these ridiculous one-offs this season.
Before I get to that, I should point out one of the coolest things about minor league hockey. The Teddy Bear Toss. Although many teams in many leagues sponsor “Teddy Bear Toss” nights, the Calgary Hitmen probably have the best one going. There’s a video after the jump, which is well worth watching. No description can do it justice. The premise is simple: Fans bring teddy bears to the game and toss them on the ice when the home team scores its first goal. The bears are collected and donated to children’s hospitals and goodwill organizations. They say the record number of bears tossed at a single game was 26,919 by Calgary Hitmen fans in a December 2007 game.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats,
Canes sign “gritty” forward for Albany
by David Lee on 07/08/09 at 06:29 PM ET
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On Wednesday, the Hurricanes announced that they’re working hard on getting Ruutu re-signed for “two or three years”. Not many details are available about terms, but it’s clear that the team wants to avoid the whole arbitration process. Also, Jim Rutherford added that the Canes were going to sign a free agent or two very soon.
Indeed, the Hurricanes signed a free agent today, but he’ll have little if anything to do with the big club. 25-year old right wing Steven Goertzen was signed to a one-year two-way contract. He’ll make the league minimum of $500k if he plays in Raleigh, but the most likely scenario is that he’ll make $100k to play up in Albany. The 6’2” 216 pound Alberta native has played in 62 NHL contests and has scored four (2/2) points. All points came in a sixteen game stint with the Coyotes in 2008-09.
While some people around here are taking very short, panicked breaths about this, thinking that he’s meant to be a top nine player in Raleigh, the reality is that he will see very little time in the RBC Center. If any.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes,
What about Albany?
by David Lee on 06/02/09 at 01:54 PM ET
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There’s something that’s gotten lost in the shuffle of all the Hurricanes “big” issues this summer. People have pretty much assumed that Carolina will offer a head coaching contract to Paul Maurice, removing the “interim” from his title. It’s not in stone yet, but it’s a safe bet. There’s some contention about which of the free agents should be re-signed and which should be allowed to walk. I’ll go in depth about each of those at some point before July 1. So far, nobody’s talking about the expired contract with Albany.
Carolina has used the Albany River Rats as its AHL team for the last three seasons. In 2006-07, they shared the team with the Colorado Avalanche. For the last two seasons, it has been all Carolina. That contract expired at the end of the 2008-09 season. I haven’t heard anything about whether they will renew that association or if the Hurricanes will look elsewhere. Say, Iowa…
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, Carolina+Hurricanes, off-season,
River Rats driver fined
by David Lee on 03/02/09 at 10:06 PM ET
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The substitute driver of the Albany River Rats substitute bus which crashed two weeks ago, hospitalizing four players and ending defenseman Casey Borer’s season has been slapped with a fine. Wait for it.....
$50.
According to the Schenectady Daily Gazette, Stanley Novak, who drove the substitute bus, has been issued a fine for driving too fast for snowy conditions. story
Novak drove the team down a snowy, icy Interstate 90 on February 19 after the Rats lost their game and their normal bus broke down. At around 3:30 in the morning, the bus slammed into a guard rail, flipped over, and spun out onto the highway, scattering hockey gear everywhere. Everyone was injured, and five required hospitalization. Casey Borer has suffered broken vertebrae and will be out for at least the remainder of the season.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats, bus+crash,
River Rats update 2
by David Lee on 02/19/09 at 03:35 PM ET
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According to Phil Janack, the River Rats and the AHL have announced that the game against Bridgeport scheduled for Friday night will be rescheduled for March 31. Earlier, I mistakenly reported that Sunday’s game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins has been canceled. In fact, it has not. The AHL has given the Rats the option of postponing the game. They will wait for further assessment of the health of the players and the availability of the equipment before making that decision.
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Tags: Albany+River+Rats,
