Rats force game seven, Leighton continues to smolder.

On Saturday afternoon, the River Rats and Phantoms again needed overtime to settle their playoff game. On Thursday, they set a new AHL record for longest game at 142:58. Today, they needed "just" 70:38. Fortunately, the Rats were on the right end of this one, forcing a game seven on Monday night.

Kirk MacDonald's game winning goal at 10:38 of the overtime period ended a ridiculously long shutout streak by Phantoms netminder Scott Munroe. Kiel McLeod gave the Rats a 2-1 lead way way back at 17:14 of the second period of game five. Counting the rest of that game (105:46) and this game (70:38), Munroe went 176:24 without allowing a goal. That's almost three games.

Michael Leighton, who stopped 98 of 101 shots on Thursday, stopped all 40 shots he faced on Saturday. He's faced a total of 284 shots during this playoff series. He has given up just eight goals and has two shutout wins. His GAA is 1.06 and his save percentage is an unbelievable .972.

It really is a shame that these games aren't televised and that nobody gives a crap about them. There's been some sensational goaltending on both sides.

After the winning goal was scored, Phantoms captain Boyd Kane was given a major penalty for cross-checking and a mandatory game misconduct penalty in accordance with rule 59.5. I assume that he will be unavailable for Monday's game seven.

Go Rats!

Leighton makes 98 saves; River Rats lose epic game five

On Thursday night, the River Rats fell 3-2 in a marathon 5-overtime game to the Phantoms. The Phantoms now have a 3-2 series lead with two chances to wrap up the series on their home ice.

Rats goaltender Michael Leighton made 98 saves. This is not a misprint. I don't know how in the world a guy makes 98 saves and loses the game.

I'm not sure what the record books have for the AHL, but the winning goal came 2:58 into the fifth overtime period. This game lasted an eye-popping 142:58. The Phantoms had a total of 101 shots, while the Rats "only" had 67.

Check the scorecard here.

Sadly, this may be lights out for the Rats. No matter what, though, Michael Leighton has had a hell of a series. He deserves every bit of credit. He deserves any and all accolades he gets. He deserves a contract in Raleigh next season.

Rats fall in game 4

On Tuesday night, the River Rats fell 2-1 to the visiting Phantoms in game two of their first round Calder Cup playoff series. The series is now knotted at two. The pivotal game five will be Thursday in Albany followed by two games in Philly.

Just two minutes into the game, right wing Jakub Petruzalek scored his second goal of the series. Brandon Sutter picked up his first playoffs assist. 20 seconds later, the Phantoms tied it. 5:20 into the second, Phantoms left wing Kyle Greentree scored the game winner. He also assisted the first goal, and was named the game's first star.

Rats netminder Michael Leighton made 24 saves, but Phantoms goalie Scott Munroe stopped 30 of the 31 shots he saw.

Rats take game 3

On Sunday afternoon, the River Rats defeated the Phantoms 4-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the first round of Calder Cup playoffs. The series will continue with games four and five in Albany on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Rookie defenseman Bryan Rodney (who is not property of the Hurricanes) potted two goals. He now has five (3/2) points in three games, and is third in the league in playoff scoring. Brett Carson and Joe Jensen also scored for the Rats.

Michael Leighton made 38 saves and was the game's first star. He has faced 117 shots in these playoffs and has allowed just three goals. His save percentage is a sparkling .974. If UFA-to-be Johnny Crackers hasn't already packed his bags, he should probably start doing so. Rats season ticket holders should enjoy watching Leighton while they can. He won't be there this fall.

Meanwhile, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton "Baby" Penguins (Penguins) are all over the Hershey Bears (Capitals) 3-0 in that series. They will be the next opponent for whoever wins the Rats-Phantoms series.

Phantoms knot series at one

After being shut out on Wednesday night, the Phantoms returned the favor against Albany on Friday, shutting out the River Rats 3-0. The series is tied 1-1, and game three will be Sunday afternoon in Philly.

Surprisingly, the bad blood from Wednesday didn't spill over to Friday. I still think there'll be more rough stuff before the series is over.

Conboy suspended eight games

As a result of his actions in a line brawl between the River Rats and Phantoms on Wednesday night, Rats defenseman Tim Conboy has been suspended by the AHL for eight games, starting with Friday's game in Philly. If his suspension is not served in full during this playoff season, the balance will carry over to next regular season.

Here's the graphic video of Conboy destroying some poor kid. Sure it was dirty for the Rats to have two guys pounding on one guy, but I think someone wiser than I once said "All's fair in love and line brawls"


The suspension is ostensibly in accordance with rule 70.6, concerning leaving the bench to participate in an altercation. However, it looks to me like Conboy was on the ice when the whole thing got started. He wasn't the sixth guy. It looks like they were in the midst of a line change, and it's just unfortunate. What he did was wrong, and he deserves to be suspended, but I don't like that they're citing that rule as the reason.

There has been bad blood between these two teams all season long, including another line brawl back in October.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the bad blood will spill over to Friday night. From the AHL's website, you can pay $6 to stream live video of a game. This one might be worth it.