WORCESTER, MA— River Rats captain Pat Dwyer scored twice for Albany, but the Worcester Sharks were in control all afternoon as they earned a 5-3 win Sunday at the DCUCenter.
Albany trailed 4-1 late in the second period, but Pat Dwyer’s second goal of the night kept the River Rats within striking distance heading into the final frame. With 71 second remaining in the contest and an extra attacker on the ice, defenseman Jamie McBain scored his first of the year to make it a one goal game. However, moments later Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins haulted Albany’s comeback bid with an empty net dagger.
Desjardins and Jamie McGinn scored first period goals for Worcester to put the River Rats in an early two-goal hole, but Dwyer put Albany on the board late in the frame with an unassisted breakaway score.
It was déjà vu for the River Rats in the second period, as Worcester scored the first two goals in the frame, before Dwyer responded for Albany. Just 34 seconds in the stanza the Sharks reclaimed their two goal lead, as center Steven Zalewski found T.J. Trevelyan from behind the net for a close-range put-away. Less than two minutes later Logan Couture made it 4-1 Sharks with a “highlight reel” effort, chipping the puck up and over Albany goaltender Mike Murphy’s shoulder as the forward was being hauled down to the ice. Drayson Bowman recorded an assist on Dwyer’s second of the night at 3:29, working the puck out of the low corner and feeding his captain in the low slot to make it 4-2.
River Rats goaltender Mike Murphy stopped 27-of-31 shots face and took the loss as Albany fell to 4-2-0-0 on the season. Worcester goalie Alex Stalock turned aside 22-of-25 shots faced for the win as his Sharks improved to 3-1-0-1 on the year. Worcester out-shot the River Rats 32-25 and went 0-for-1 on the power play; Albany was 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
Albany returns to the TimesUnionCenter on Friday, October 23rd at 7:00 p.m. when they faceoff with the Rochester Americans. The following night Albany hosts the Adirondack Phantoms at 7:00 p.m. for game two of the Time Warner Cable Cup Series. River Rats 2009-10 season and flex ticket packages are now on sale at the River Rats executive offices at the TimesUnionCenter, by calling (518) 487-2244 or by logging onto www.albanyriverrats.com.
