ALBANY — Rookie Drayson Bowman scored in regulation and tallied the clinching goal in the shootout as Albany edged Manchester, 3-2 on Friday.
After being named as a replacement to compete in the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 18-19, goalie Justin Peters made 38 saves to secure the victory.
Peters, who didn’t allow a goal in the shootout, won for the first time in seven starts.
Left wings Jacob Micflikier and Chris Terry scored in the first and fourth rounds of the shootout, respectively for Albany, which won the shootout, 3-0.
After Bowman scored 1:36 into the game, the Monarchs seized the lead on a goal each from Viatcheslav Voynov and Marc-Andre Cliche within the first 3:44 of the third period.
In his return from a three-game suspension, left wing Nicolas Blanchard drew the Rats even with a power-play goal at 15:54.
Manchester nearly pulled out the win in overtime, but Cliche’s apparent goal was waved off on a high-sticking call.
Goalie Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves for Atlantic Division leader Manchester.
Peters, a fourth-year pro who ranks eighth in the league in goals against average (2.22) and seventh in save percentage (.928) and saves (693) — will represent the River Rats on the Canadian All-Star team along with teammate and defenseman Bryan Rodney.
“The guys were happy for him,” Daniels said of Peters, who will replace injured Brent Krahn of Texas. “I felt and the guys felt, too, that he should have been on the (all-star) team right away. It’s an opportunity to play in an all-star game at this level and it will be a good experience for him.”