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Heeter Melts the Pirates

March 24, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


Rookie goalie Cal Heeter turned in one of his best performances of his career to lead the Adirondack Phantoms to a 4-2 victory over the Portland Pirates on Sunday afternoon in Glens Falls. A shorthanded Phantoms squad was out-shot 42-18 in the game but Heeter was there to save the day, as well as several close-range Portland blasts.

Adirondack played the bulk of the game shorthanded due to injuries to Tyler Brown and Rob Bordson in the first and second periods. Bordson's injury looked particularly scary as he was hit in the head by a slapper from hard-shooting David Rundblad. Bordson's helmet broke and he received a cut above the eye but he reported after the game that he expects he should be fine. Bordson posted on his twitter account to thank the fans for the well-wishes, "Thanks for all the love fans! Feeling a little better now and hoping I'll be back by next weekend!"

Tyler Brown was hit in the first period and left with what appeared to be an upper-body injury.

So the Phantoms had to scrap their way along in this one with only 10 forwards against a high-flying Pirates team with lots of speed and an aggressive style of play. Heeter turned in several remarkable saves for his 10th victory of the season with Adirondack and his second of the weekend.

"We lose a couple of veteran players and now I've got a couple of guys (Kyle Flanagan and Derek Mathers) who are playing their second games as pros for crying out loud," head coach Terry Murray said about his team's predicament which led to the large shot-disparity. "(We) dug in. We knew they were going to put a big push on at the start of the second period. Heeter made some big stops for us. We killed off a big penalty and weathered the battle."

Murray was especially pleased with how his youthful team competed against a quality Portland club, "That's a good hockey club over there, one of the better teams in the league. They're the 5-seed in the conference. They got size, they got power, they got experience. They came at us pretty hard in some situations but I think as a young group everybody got through pretty well."

It was a nice homecoming for the Phantoms who had not played a game in Glens Falls in 15 days while they were on their seven-game road-trip.

Adirondack received goals from Tye McGinn, Jeff DImmen, Marcel Noebels and Eric Wellwood in the victory. But it was clear the star of the game was Cal Heeter who positively stole the show. Called up from Trenton just this past Thursday, he was quickly pressed into game action due to soreness on Brian Boucher's part while Scott Munroe was out of action with an illness.

"I would say it's definitely a bit easier when you are facing more shots throughout the night. It helps you focus and stay in the game a bit more," Heeter said. "But, you know, I'll never complain about getting 15 shots in a whole game."

Heeter added that the offensive surge by the Phantoms that has put in nine goals in the last two games helps the whole team including his own mental approach back in his side of the ice, "It makes it a lot easier for us. If I or a defensive partner or anyone makes a mistake and we give up a goal it makes it a little bit easier knowing that we have that ability and we're scoring right now. Our forwards and defensemen go back down to the other end and scoring a goal for us makes it a lot easier when we're managing our own zone."

The game got off to a fast start, the fastest of the season in fact. Tye McGinn scored just nine seconds into regulation for the fastest goal in Adirondack Phantoms history and the home team lead 1-0 before many fans had even settled into their seats. It was McGinn's 14th goal of the season to lead the team while Jason Akeson picked up an assist for his 99th career point with Adirondack on his way to potentially becoming the first Adirondack Phantom to reach 100 points.

Portland had a couple quick goals early in the second period including a scramble in front 25 seconds in for Jordan Martinook. And then Brendan Shinnimin got free on a breakaway after Portland goalie Mark Visentin blocked a shot. Shinnimin's early second-period tally gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead.

Adirondack would close out the second period scoring the next three straight. Jeff Dimmen's fourth of the year came from the left circle on the power play assisted by Erik Gustafsson to tie the game. For Gustafsson, it was his 95th career point with the Adirondack Phantoms keeping in the running with Akeson in the Race to 100.

With 4:25 remaining in the second period, Marcel Noebels would fire in his 10th of the year and his third in the last four games after Jon Sim would muscle it out of a tangle-up on the boards.

And Eric Wellwood burst out of the neutral-zone to convert on a breakaway in the concluding minute of the second period for his eight goal of the season giving Adirondack a 4-2 lead.

Heeter had the puck bouncing and pinballing around all over the place, sometimes directly in front of him. But made one terrific save after another in one of the best goaltending performances of the year for the victory.

Adirondack and Portland concluded the season-series even at 2-2. The Phantoms have won two straight and three of their last four. They have also notched points in six of their last nine games going 5-3-1 in that stretch.

Rookie center Kyle Flanagan from St. Lawrence University recorded an assist on the Noebels goal in the second period while making his Glens Falls Civic Center debut.

Scratches for the Phantoms included Brandon Manning and Cullen Eddy as well as Zack FitzGerald, Ian Slater and Matt Mangene.

The Phantoms get a much-deserved respite from the very busy and hectic game-schedule and a chance to catch their breath a little bit. Adirondack travels to Binghamton Friday night to take on the Senators. The Phantoms' next home game is Saturday at 7:00 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Phantoms Power Night for the first 3,000 fans presented by Glens Falls Printing. Call the Phantoms at 518-480-3355.

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