RIVER RATS
NEWS
Tuesday, November 2, 1999: Rats get a big boost with the return of foward Jeff Williams.
With to many players on the roster, the New Jersey Devils organization
opted to make a trade Monday that included four players. Involved in
the trade were former Rats Jeff Williams, Wes Mason and Eric Bertrand and former Adirondak Red Wing, Sylvain Cloutier. Jeff and Sylvain each started their seasons in the Atlanta Thrashers organization after they were both picked up during the waiver draft in September. Sylvain has 2 points with the Solar Bears (1 goal, 1 assist) and lead the team with 25penalty minutes. Jeff was second on the team for scoring with 2 goals and 4 assists in 6 games.
Wes Mason now traded to Atlanta was requested to report to Orlando.
Wes was sent to Augusta by the River Rats after not performing well in
camp. Wes was a leading scorer in Augusta and heavily depended on for special teams. Eric Bertrand was asked to stay in Atlanta and has been
placed on the Atlanta roster. Eric has played 5 games with the New Jersey Devils this season but has scored no points.
Jeff Williams led the AHL in scoring last season. With offensive problems staring them down, Jeff's face will certainly be a welcome one in the River Rats locker room.
About the two players Coach John Cunniff had this to say: "It helps us immediately with the scoring with Jeff, of course. Sylvain's a hell of a competitor. He's a guy that players hate on the ice, but he is a real good teammate. He competes hard and he's still young (25). Maybe we're gonna try to get some offense out of him, too". "I originally thought years ago he was going to be a real good prospect with Detroit. He looked like he had some offensive ability. At Adirondak, he hasn't been a real offensive force, but I'm going to look for some offense out of him." (Times Union, 11/2/99).
Captain Steve Brule had this to say: "Willy scored a lot of goals for us last year, and he'll give us some offense, for sure". "[Cloutier] is the kind of player you hate when you have to play against him, but you like to have him on your team". (Schenectady Daily Gazzette, 11/2/99)
Richard Rochefort added "I think it's great. I've played with Jeff for the past three years, and he's been a great teammate. We've had some trouble scoring, and that's what Jeff does best" (Times Union 11/2/99)
10/31/99 Rats Tie with Springfield to end franchise longest home losing streak.
The Rats didn't win it, but they didn't lose it either. It was a good game by any standards but the Rats just couldn't pull it off. The Rats came into the game with an enormus amount of energy but they weren't getting many shots, the defense thought they were the offense and the offense just assumed the role of defense. Not a very good start and they soon found themselves down by two goals. Time for a change. The change did not come in the normal form of switching around offensive players but instead Coach John Cunniff opted to pull two of his six dressed defensemen out of the game. This, only in the second period. With the two rookie defensemen making plenty of rookie mistakes and the Rats desperate for a win, Cunniff allowed the two rookies to play only a few more shifts. Goalie Frederic Henry played a solid game and only let 2 quick goals to be driven past him. With the four defensemen, the Rats did well although three of the four appeared to be excessively fatiqued. The one exception was #8 Josh DeWolf who is starting to earn a reputation for his superior stamina. After the two quick goals, defense tightened up and #9 Pierre Dagenais found the net earning himself his 5th goal and 6th point in the last 9 games. Dagenais goal was assisted by Steve Brule and Jiri Bicek who seem to be his new linemates. Bicek now has 1 goal and 7 assists in 9 games. The play was a standard trap. Thoughout the rest of the second period the Rats remained down by one. For the third period Henry came out more confident and many of the players came with more energy. With only seconds on the board for the third period Richard Rochefort raced up the right boards and netted his fourth goal in four games and the Rats first short-handed goal of the season on a breakaway. After that it was a lot of back and forth and no more scoring. Both teams picked up their games a little for the four on four overtime but neither was able to pick up the extra point. After the game the players were very excited to have broken the home losing streak and are confident that they will win one at home very soon.
***Winger David Maley (leg injury) and goalie Frederic Henry (groin) missed the Rats' practice on Monday and Ken Sutton skate complaining of a reoccuring knee problem. (11/2/99, Times Union).
***Rookie defensemen Lucas Nehrling was sent to Augusta (ECHL) to make room for the two new players on the Rats roster. Lucas played 6 games in the last 9 and had no points and 2 penalty minutes.
