TORONTO, ON - Ryan Hamilton scored two goals and Joey MacDonald made 19 saves as and the Toronto Marlies blanked the Adirondack Phantoms 3-0 Friday night at Ricoh Coliseum.The Marlies came storming out of the gate and took the lead seven minutes into the game. Ryan Hamilton raced down the right wing, turned the corner on a Phantoms defenseman and took a shot that was denied by goaltender Nic Riopel, but then picked up his own rebound and scored an unassisted goal at 7:02. Eight minutes later Toronto doubled their lead when Mike Zigomanis and Viktor Stalberg combined to set up defenseman Juraj Mikus in the slot. Mikus snapped a hard wrist shot just under the crossbar at 15:12 for his second goal of the season. The Marlies out-shot the Phantoms 14-4 in the opening frame and had the only two power plays of the period.
After a scoreless second period, where Adirondack out-shot Toronto 7-6, the Phantoms came out in the third frame with much better energy. However, that momentum was dissipated a little bit by several penalties and then Hamilton made it 3-0 Marlies with his second goal of the night at 10:29. Adirondack had a couple of chances to break onto the scoreboard, but Joey MacDonald made some strong saves to preserve the clean sheet.
MacDonald finished with 19 saves for the shutout win as Toronto improved to 4-3-1-1 on the season. Nic Riopel stopped 22-of-25 shots, but picked up the loss as Adirondack fell to 4-4-1-0 on the year. The Marlies out-shot the Phantoms 25-19 in the game and went 0-for-6 on the power play; Adirondack was 0-for-4 with the man-advantage.
Adirondack now will return home as they prepare to face off with the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday, November 1st at 5:00 pm at the Glens Falls Civic Center. There will be a post-game skate with the players for all Phantoms Season Ticket Holders immediately following Sunday's game; Season Ticket Holders must bring their own skates to participate.
The Time Warner Cable Cup Four-Pack is now on sale at the Phantoms office, starting as low as $56. 2009-10 Phantoms full and partial season ticket packages are still available for the 2009-10 season presented by Bud Light. For more information please contact the Adirondack Phantoms at (518) 480-3355 or online at www.phantomshockey.com.
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