Day 64: Rovers Strap 'Hangers, Grab Share of First

Rovers forward Jeff Halpern (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring the go-ahead goal while shorthanded late in the third period.









Albany, NY (AP)

Jeff Halpern broke a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal with two and a half minutes to go in the third period and Kim Johnsson iced it with 26 seconds remaining as the Baffin Island Rovers went into Albany and came out with a 3-1 road win over the StrapHangers. Rico Fata opened the scoring in the first period off a scramble in front of Rovers keeper Martin Gerber. Despite being outshot 20-4 in the first, the 'Hangers took that lead to the lockerroom. Applying the same pressure in the second, Nils Ekman scored his 11th goal to square the affair midway through the stanza. Gerber was lifted from the game early in the third after twinging his back on a cross-crease pad stack save on Ziggy Palffy. Chris Mason played the final 14 minutes but faced only four shots. With Cale Hulse in the box for elbowing, Jeff Halpern popped the winner after taking a breakout pass from Sean Hill and going in alone to beat Ed Belfour between the legs. Kim Johnsson scored his fifth goal, and fourth in two games, to insure the victory in the final minute. In addition to losing Gerber, forward Nathan Horton also left the game after taking a hit along the boards from Darius Kasparaitis in the first period. Horton will have an MRI on his left shoulder tomorrow, but is expected to miss a week of action.

The win pulled the Rovers even with the Kitchener Mounties, who had tied the Roadkill 5-5 earlier in the evening, atop the Champs conference standings with 43 points apiece. The Mounties hold a game in hand, which they will play tomorrow night in Calgary against the Vampyres. The Rovers improve to 8-2 in their past ten games, the best record in the RHL over that span. "We're playing some good hockey, but I think we still have areas that can be better", Stringer cautioned after the game. "It doesn't matter if you're first halfway through the season; what matters is being first at the end of the playoffs. That's always been our goal".

The Rovers now have two days off before hosting the fourth-place Sockeyes. Gerber will be a game-time decision for that important matchup, with Mason ready to start if the need arises. Horton has been ruled out for the upcoming pair of games against South Edmonton and Saskatoon pending the results of the MRI, and will be re-evaluated next week. Fellow rookie Patrice Bergeron will likely fill his spot on the third line.