GLENS FALLS --- Zach Boychuk continues to flourish in Albany's Northway rivalry against Adirondack this season.
The rookie centerman scored the game winner at 15:58 of the third period to lift the River Rats past the Phantoms, 3-2 on Saturday before a crowd of 5,309 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Goalie Justin Peters made 26 saves to earn the win for Albany (24-16-3-2), which takes a commanding lead in the season series between the East Division rivals at 6-1-1-0.
The River Rats' power play continues to heat up as left wings Nicolas Blanchard and Jacob Micflikier each scored on the man advantage.
Blanchard, playing in his first game at Adirondack since serving a five-game suspension for his hit on Phantoms left wing Patrick Maroon, and Adirondack's David Laliberte traded power-play goals in the second period.
After Micflikier scored a power-play goal 4:35 into the third period, defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori drew the Phantoms even at 2-2 at 10:47.
Following an Adirondack turnover, Boychuk took a pass from rookie left wing Drayson Bowman and finished off a 3-on-2 rush by beating goalie John Grahame (30 saves) for the deciding goal.
Boychuk also scored the game-winning goal in Albany's last trip to Glens Falls in a 1-0 victory over Adirondack (20-19-2-1) on New Year's Eve.
Albany defenseman Casey Borer returned to game action for the first time since suffering a broken neck last February. Borer, who underwent neck surgery in September, played sparingly in the first period and had more playing time as the game went on.