Adirondack Falls Short In Manchester 4-3

Published on March 27, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


MANCHESTER, VT - David Laliberte scored two goals and Jon Matsumoto had a goal and two assists but they Adirondack Phantoms could not overcome an early deficit as they lost to the Manchester Monarchs 4-3 Saturday night at Verizon Wireless Arena.

Manchester struck first during a four-on-four situation near the midway point of the opening period. John Zeiler brought the puck into the offensive zone, then stopped and waited for support before crossing the pass to the right point for defensemen Patrick Mullen, who took the pass and found acres of space down the right side. Mullen skated in, cut the top of the crease and fired a backhand up into the roof of the net at 9:44 to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. The hosts could had added to their lead with three first period power plays, but rookie goaltender Carter Hutton made some outstanding saves to keep the Phantoms within one goal.

A mere 48 seconds into the second period Oscar Moller made it 2-0 Monarchs when he was unmarked skating down the middle of the zone and had an unbothered look at a rebound from Alec Martinez's shot from the left point. Moller shot the puck in stride, beating Hutton before he could recover from the initial shot. Jon Matsumoto put Adirondack on the board with his team-leading 27th goal of the year at 4:40, taking a behind the net pass from Stefan Legein and snapping the puck over the blocker of goalie Jeff Zatkoff, off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net. The Monarchs reclaimed their two goal lead when Moller scored again, this time a power play goal on a rebound off a blocked shot at 14:35. David Laliberte took a turn and firing in a rebound at 16:59, assisted by Matsumoto and Joonas Lehtivuori, to cut the lead to 3-2.

At 8:59 of the third period Justin Azevedo's shot from blue line squeaked through the pads of a screened Hutton to make it 4-2 Manchester. Laliberte tallied his second goal of the game at 13:37, assisted by Matsumoto and Kevin Marshall; it was his 18th goal of the year. Late in the game the Phantoms pulled Hutton for the extra attacker, but could not find the tying goal as they fell 4-3.

Jeff Zatkoff picked up his 10th win of the season by stopping 29-of-32 shots, helping Manchester improve to 38-26-3-6 on the year. Carter Hutton recorded 36 saves on 40 shots as Adirondack fell to 31-36-3-4. The Monarchs out-shot the Phantoms 40-32 and went 1-for-6 on the power play; Adirondack was 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.

The Phantoms will complete their three-game road trip on Wednesday, March 31st as they travel to Pennsylvania to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Adirondack's next home game comes on Friday, April 2nd as they host the Syracuse Crunch for a 7:30 pm puck drop at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Friday is Orange Crunch Night, where the team is asking all fans to Wear Orange in support of the Phantoms. Also on Friday night, come meet "Dr. Hook" Tim McCracken from the movie Slapshot.

There is no better way to watch Phantoms Hockey than by sharing it with a group of your family and friends. Bring a group of 15 or more people to the Glens Falls Civic Center and qualify for incredible discounted ticket prices off the regular box office rates. For more information about group tickets, contact the Phantoms at (518) 480-3355 or online at www.phantomshockey.com. Don't miss a minute of the exciting action of the Adirondack Phantoms 2009-2010 Season presented by Bud Light.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2010


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