It was a weekend in which coaches, players and fans hoped to see movement up out of the basement in the standings. With three games in three nights, the Albany River Rats faced three opponents (Springfield; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; Syracuse) that were near the bottom of the league: all three were in the bottom six out of 27 teams.
Springfield had not won on the road all season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, despite making the Calder Cup finals last season, was in a deep slump, winless in ten. The Crunch from Syracuse, too, were in decline.
The Rats even had a chance to string together a pair of wins for the first time on the season, having won their first road contest of the season the preceding Saturday (a 4-2 win over the Wolf*Pack in Hartford).
But hopes for a strong week evaporated on home ice Friday night as the Rats dropped a 3-1 tilt to Springfield. The Falcons, who had not won on Albany ice in several years, won, 3-1, as Springfield took advantage of its 5-on-3 power play, while Albany botched its two-man-up chance.
It was the first return to Albany by former Rat, Josef Boumedienne. The blueliner who was the Rats’ lone representative last year at the AHL All-Star Classic, played quite capably for Springfield. Sheldon Keefe, a Tampa Bay prospect whose future was clouded a year and a half ago when he refused the Lightning’s invitation to report to the Rochester Americans on loan for post-season play (the Amerks went to the finals, losing to Hartford), scored a pair of goals for Springfield.
Though the River Rats, in some respects at least, out-played the Falcons, only a defenseman’s shot (Daryl Andrews) from 40 feet out got past Dieter Kochan.
The week did not improve in snow-covered Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The baby Penguins soundly thrashed the Rats, 6-1, in the most penalty-filled game to date in the entire league. The teams combined for 216 penalty minutes, with Penguins’ enforcer, Steve Parsons, receiving a match penalty for running into goaltender Ari Ahonen. Parsons had earlier fought Mike Commodore and Brett Clouthier in the game.
The Albany power play disappeared in Wilkes-Barre, being blanked in a dozen opportunities, including a pair of two-man advantages. The 0-for-12 in WBS followed an 0-for-5 the night before against the Falcons, and an 0-for-3 against Hartford and an 0-for-5 against Worcester.
At week’s end, the Rats had sunk to 26th overall on the power play (at 12.9 percent), 26th on the road (at 9.3 percent), and 20th at home (at 16.1). Quite a slide from October 19th, when the Rats got their first win of the season thanks to a 4-for-5 performance on the power play against Portland.
On Sunday, the Rats returned home to entertain the Syracuse Crunch. Despite their spot in the standings, the past few seasons the Crunch have given the Rats trouble. With J.F. Labbe in net, the Crunch are usually in the game, particularly against teams (like the Rats) struggling to score goals.
The Crunch took the lead early in the first period, with a power play goal one second after a two-man advantage expired. However, sparked by a good off-the-boards pass from Captain Sylvain Cloutier, Ted Drury tied the game. An overtime game-winner (the first win in an extra session this season) came off of Stephen Guolla’s stick, as the Rats won, 2-1, in overtime. It was a power play goal, the first power play goal in 35 power play opportunities.
At week’s end, the Rats are in second-last place in the league, better only than Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With their slide in the standings, attendance has dropped off, as well. Only Cleveland in the 27-team league, averaging 2,569 per game, trails the Rats’ tally of 3,741 per game.
AWIR River Rats’ player of the week
Albany Week in Review has selected goaltender Scott Clemmensen as player of the week. The Boston College grad got two starts this past week, against Springfield on Friday (a 3-1 loss) and Syracuse on Sunday (a 2-1 victory).
Clemmensen showed good poise in both games, making 27 saves on 30 shots against Springfield and 24 saves on 25 shots against Syracuse. He seemed to communicate well with his defenseman and two of the four goals he allowed were power-play markers, one of them one second after a 5-on-3 expired but before the fourth Rat could get into the play.
The win on Sunday night against Syracuse was Clemmensen’s first as a professional. His record stands at 1-6-1, with a goals-against of 2.85 and a save percentage of .915. Since Albany is second-worst in the league in terms of shots allowed (at 34.60 per game, better than only Portland), it is fair to say that Clemmensen, as well as the other Albany goaltenders, are really better than their “stats” might suggest. For his steady play in two home contests, as well as his first win as a pro, Clemmensen is selected as AWIR’s player of the week for Albany.
