Albany third-year forward Jerome Samson scored his first AHL hat trick in style.
Helping the River Rats to a 6-2 win over Adirondack on Wednesday at the Glens Falls Civic Center, Samson’s third goal of the night beat goalie Jeremy Duchesne to his stick side and stuck in the side netting.
“It happens a few times in practice, but having my puck stuck for the third one tonight was pretty funny,” Samson said.
The goal didn’t induce cap tossing from the Civic Center crowd, but Samson was briefly congratulated by his teammates, who had a 5-1 lead at the 8:06 mark of the third period thanks to the tally.
Samson’s first two goals of the night gave the River Rats a 2-0 lead in the first. He opened the night with a blue-liner from the right boards, throwing it at the net before skating off to join the rest of his line, who had changed out. His second came after Stefan Chaput won a faceoff in the left circle, sending the puck straight to Samson, who snapped off a shot that caromed off the joint of the crossbar and post before settling in the goal.
“Me being a righty and playing my off side, him being a lefty, when he wins the faceoff, it comes out right in a soft spot for me just to walk the seam,” Samson said of the quick score. “It’s just something I think every center and winger try to do.”
He also set up a score for Oskar Osala, dropping a pass for Chaput in front of the crease, who got a stick on the puck but couldn’t get enough on it. The puck ended up on Osala’s tape and he finished past Duchesne for a 4-0 lead in the second period.
“Last weekend was a bump in the road,” said Albany coach Jeff Daniels. “Yesterday, I thought the guys were real loose in practice, upbeat and positive, trying to move past the previous weekend. They came out today with a purpose to get back in the win column.”
Chris Terry and Zac Dalpe also got into the scorebook. For Dalpe, playing his third pro game after finishing his senior season at Ohio State University and signing with Carolina, it was his first professional goal.
The Phantoms got goals from Jon Matsumoto and Ben Holmstrom. A brawl with 4:02 left to play sent Albany’s Brad Herauf, Brett Bellemore and Zack FitzGerald, along with Adirondack’s Patrick Maroon and David Sloane, to the dressing rooms.
The 39-27-3-5 River Rats are off until Saturday, when they will play at Syracuse. The 31-35-3-3 Phantoms will try to get back up for Friday’s game at Hartford, Wednesday’s loss dealing a big blow to their chances at earning a playoff berth.
“It’s a kick in the backside, there’s no question about that,” Adirondack coach Greg Gilbert said. “We’ve been struggling and battling, clawing and scratching as best we could for a while, but we didn’t seem to get the job done.”
Albany 2 2 2 — 6
Adirondack 0 1 1 — 2
First Period — 1, Albany, Samson 35 (Paiement), 1:59. 2, Albany, Samson 36 (Chaput), 14:27. Penalties — Angelidis, Alb, minor-major (roughing, fighting), 11:17; Klotz, Adk, major (fighting), 11:17.
Second Period — 3, Albany, Terry 16 (Geortzen), 5:06. 4, Albany, Osala 21 (Chaput, Samson), 6:47. 5, Adirondack, Matsumoto 25, 19:50 (sh). Penalties — Matsumoto, Adk (tripping), 0:28; FitzGerald, Alb (hooking), 11:50; Ross, Adk (interference), 14:08; Curry, Adk (cross-checking), 19:21.
Third Period — 6, Albany, Samson 37 (Goertzen, Conboy), 8:06. 7, Adirondack, Holmstrom 2 (Kalinski, Nodl), 13:25. 8, Albany, Dalpe 1 (Tlusty), 14:16. Penalties — Nodl, Adk (hooking), 2:46; Goertzen, Alb (hooking), 5:56; Herauf, Alb (elbowing), 10:30; Herauf, Alb, major-misconduct-game misconduct (fighting), 15:58; Bellemore, Alb, major-game misconduct (fighting), 15:58; FitzGerald, Alb (misconduct), 15:58; Maroon, Adk, major-game misconduct (fighting), 15:58; Sloane, Adk, major-game misconduct (fighting), 15:58.
Shots on goal — Albany 12-12-7 — 31. Adirondack 6-9-17 — 32.
Power-play opportunities — Albany 0 of 4; Adirondack 0 of 4.
Goalies — Albany, Morrison 6-5-1 (32 shots-30 saves); Adirondack, Duchesne 1-2-0 (31-25).
A — 3,107. T — 2:21.
Referee — Terry Koharski. Linesmen — Frank Murphy, Jim Briggs.
Categories: -Sports-
