There was plenty to be gathered from the River Rats' 5-2 win over Syracuse Friday night, not the least of which was an important two points in the East Division standings.

Albany and Syracuse face each other eight times, and the Rats had lost four in a row after winning the first meeting back in October. They were outscored, 14-4, in those games, including an embarrassing 6-1 rout on home ice last month that had coach Tom Rowe seething.

Though Syracuse is in the Western Conference's North Division, Albany treated Friday's game like a divisional matchup. It's clear, going back a few years now, that there's no love lost between the two teams.

Some examples: Shortly after Bryan Rodney scored to give Albany a 4-1 lead early in the third period, Syracuse enforcer Jon Mirasty's ice time increased. He repeatedly tried to engage Trevor Gillies, who had no choice but to turn him down, just back from a broken hand. At one point the two players jawed at each other on the ice and continued after their shift change, leaning over the boards on their respective benches. Rowe had to grab Gillies to get him to sit back down. Mirasty woudn't let up, and Gillies took off his glove to show the brace he is still wearing on his left hand.

Interestingly, Gillies hurt his hand in December giving Mirasty his first AHL fight, one where Gillies was both the winner and loser. Though he scored a clear decision, Gillies hit Mirasty so hard so many times, he broke his hand and didn't play again until late January.

His play Friday night earned Gillies the Cheesehead Award, given to the team's unsung hero following every Rats win. Rowe had this to say:

"Gilly doesn't get enough credit. He brings so much to our lineup and he's so good in the room. He's getting a lot of minutes this year, and he deserves the minutes he's getting. The thing that's impressed me this year is his systems play has been really good. He's still getting his timing back, but he's an important part of this team as anybody."

Emotions nearly boiled over with 3:38 left in the game. Jakub Petruzalek checked Syracuse alternate captain Dan Smith into the end boards behind the Crunch net, breaking his stick. Petruzalek skated to the bench for new lumber, and Smith got up and made a beeline for Petruzalek. Smith tried to go after Petruzalek on the bench as the players and on-ice officials moved in to break it up. Meanwhile, Syracuse scored during the distraction to make it 5-2.

Smith had to be restrained by a linesman at center ice, and repeatedly waved for Petruzalek to meet him on the ice. Rowe kept Petruzalek on the bench the rest of the game.

"The rivalry's there, and it's gonna get chippy every night," Rowe said. "We told the guys today, the two points are more important than fighting. We're not interested in that this time of year. We're established as a tough team to play against. They're a hard team to play against, too, but we went over that at length today, making sure we kept our composure. We wanted to play hard, but we didn't want a parade going to the penalty box.

"We play eight games against them, and they're just up the road. I think it's good for the league to have rivalries like we have with these guys. It's getting more heated each game, but we can't let it go over the edge."

Diminutive Crunch goalie Karl Goehring was 2-0, 2.00, .967 vs. the Rats this year, allowing two goals on 61 shots before Friday, where gave up five on 32 shots.

Rowe was pleased with what he saw of left wing Joe Jensen, a former Penguins farmhand acquired for David Gove. Jensen finished the night minus-2 with two shots. He was also the target of Syracuse's Tim Sestito, who shoved Jensen -- standing on Albany's bench -- after the whistle with 2:04 to play, earning a misconduct.

"I thought Jensen did a great job," Rowe said. "He really gave us some great minutes. He's got really good speed. I knew he was fast, but I didn't know he was that fast. He really added an element to the lineup that we needed."

Jensen skated at even strength and also saw some time on Albany's second power-play unit.

"When I was in Wilkes-Barre, this was one of the teams we dreaded playing against because we knew we were going to get their 'A' game every night," Jensen said. "They always came hard, and they've got a lot of hard-nosed guys. Those are tough games to play. When you're done, you've got ice packs all over you and you're limping. That's how you know you played a good team."

Albany's other newcomer, forward Greg Rallo, was plus-1 with three shots playing on the fourth line.

"Coach gave me a good chance tonight," Rallo said. "He gave me a regular shift, which is all you can ask coming in as the new guy. I got a good taste of what it's like a step up and the speed at this level. It's exciting to be here."

Congrats to Keith Aucoin, who tied an Albany franchise records with five points, all assists. He nearly had a sixth, but Jerome Samson's deflection goal with 6:38 left in the game was waved off for being knocked in with a high stick.

Meanwhile, Gove got off to a good start with Wilkes-Barre, scoring a goal in the Pens' 5-3 win over Bridgeport Friday. Read more about it in beat writer Jon Bombulie's excellent blog at http://emedia.citizensvoice.com/PenguinsInsider

Brandon Nolan continues to impress, picking up four points and an NHL-quality goal up under the crossbar from 20 feet that proved to be the winner. After he scored, the question was immediately raised: "What's he still doing here?"

Nolan was also the recipient of the hit of the game, which came with 6:10 left in the second period. As he reached to glove down an airborne puck, Nolan was checked by Syracuse's Steve Goertzen and flipped head over heels into the Crunch bench, landing in the lap of backup goaltender Dan LaCosta. It was the best save of the game.

Albany plays in Hershey today and again Feb. 9 against Syracuse in Glens Falls, a game that will be worked by two referees, believed to be a Rats "home" first.

One of the negatives about North Country games is the long drive back to the Hill Street Cafe on Madison Ave., where congrats go out to Amy the bartender (she knows why) and last call is 4 a.m., unlike Broome County.