Phantoms Earn First TWCC Win 4-2

December 30, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Albany River Rats News Release

ALBANY, NY- The Phantoms broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of second period markers from David Laliberte and Joey Mormina to earn a 4-2 victory over the Albany River Rats for their first Time Warner Cable Cup win of the year Wednesday night at the Times Union Center.

Laliberte gave Adirondack a 2-1 lead at 15:03 of the middle frame and Mormina tallied with 43 seconds remaining in the period on a 5-on-3 power play to take control of the contest. River Rats assistant captain Mike Angelidis connected on a double-deflection from Zach Boychuk and Jamie McBain with 2:01 remaining in regulation, but Phantoms leading scorer Jon Matsumoto scored an empty net goal with 29.4 ticks left to seal Albany's third straight loss.

The River Rats have a 4-1 lead in the 12-game Time Warner Cable Cup season series against the Phantoms, and they travel to Glens Falls Thursday for Game Six at 3:00 p.m.

River Rats forward Nicolas Blanchard was assessed a five minute penalty and a game-misconduct for elbowing Adirondack winger Patrick Maroon during a post-whistle skirmish at 3:23 of the first period; Maroon was taken off of the ice on a stretcher and was reported to be stable after the game by Head Coach Greg Gilbert.

The Phantoms needed just ten seconds to make good on the ensuing man-advantage, as Jon Matsumoto slid a pass to Joonas Lehtivuori in the low slot for a one-time blast past River Rats goalie Justin Peters. The Phantoms looked certain to double their lead less than a minute later, but Peters robbed right wing Andreas Nodl at the back-door with a full-extension glove save. Albany killed the remainder of the extended power play and rookie Zach Boychuk knotted the game at 10:39 on a 1-on-1 rush, unloading a rocket through his opponent's legs and off the left post for his tenth of the season.

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