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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Chiodo records fourth shutout of the season as Pens blank Philadelphia, 1-0

March 17, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins extended their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms before a crowd of 5,655 at the Wachovia Spectrum on Tuesday.

Pauli Levokari's third goal of the season at 13:42 of the first period proved to be all of the scoring that the Penguins would need as rookie goaltender Andy Chiodo stopped all 15 shots faced to record his fourth shutout of the season and second in less than a week.

"It was a real good road game that we played," said coach Michel Therrien following the game. "We were expecting a tight game. There were not many scoring chances and it was a matter of who was going to capitalize on their chances."

The shutout was the Penguins' third straight against the Phantoms and second straight at the Spectrum. The Penguins have now held the Phantoms scoreless for 204:19. The last goal scored by the Phantoms against the Penguins was by Jim Vandermeer at 15:41 of the second period on January 17.

The Penguins, who now have won the last four meetings against their intrastate rivals, took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Levokari took a pass from Tomas Surovy and beat goaltender Antero Niittymaki low to the glove side on a one-timer form the top of the right face-off circle.

The Phantoms' had one of their best scoring opportunities in the game late in the opening period when former Penguin Mark Murphy had a chance to tie the game on a breakaway. After the Pens' Tomas Surovy turned the puck over in the neutral zone, Murphy got the puck and broke in all alone on Chiodo with a little over three minutes remaining in the period. But the rookie goaltender slid across the crease to the right post and made a glove save on Murphy's back hander to preserve the 1-0 lead.

The Penguins, third in the East Division with a record of 30-25-8-5 (73 points), return home to host the second-place Bridgeport Sound Tigers (34-18-9-4, 81 points) on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. A limited number of tickets are still available for the game. The first 5,000 fans Wednesday night will receive a St. Patrick's Day Baseball Cap.

We're probably going to have to play the same kind of game against Bridgeport," Therrien said. "They don't give up a lot of chances. This time of year, it's playoff hockey."

Tomorrow night's game is the sixth of eight regular season meetings this season and the third of four between the Penguins and Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. The Penguins are 2-2-0-1 this season against the Sound Tigers.

GAME NOTES: Forwards Ryan Tobler (back strain) and Kris Beech (broken collarbone) were scratches for the Penguins ... Both players are about two weeks away from returning to the lineup ... The shutout was the 18th in team history ... Of the 18, eight have been on the road, including four against the Phantoms at the Spectrum ... With the shutout, Chiodo tied a team record for shutouts in a season. Sebastien Caron recorded four shutouts as rookie during the 2000-01 season ... Of his four shutouts, Caron recorded two against the Phantoms at the Spectrum ... Prior to the game, center Matt Hussey was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins and left wing JC Ruid was reassigned to Wheeling ... With an assist tonight, center Toby Petersen extended his point streak to five games ... Petersen has a goal and five assists in the last five games ... The Penguins have played their last nine games against division opponents and have a record of 6-2-1 during the stretch ... Overall, the Penguins have a record of 20-12-7-3 against their division opponents this season ... Tomorrow night will be the fifth consecutive season that the Penguins have played a home game on St. Patrick's Day ... The Penguins have lost their last two games on St. Patrick's Day and have a record of 2-2 ... This will be the first time playing the Sound Tigers on St. Patrick's Day ... Tomorrow night's game against marks the return of former Penguin Steve Webb to Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza ... The game will also be the first for Alain Nasreddine against his former club. The two players were exchanged for one another in a March 8 trade ... Left wing Tomas Surovy has a four-game point streak in progress with 2-2-4 totals ... Since being reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 5, Surovy has recorded eight points (5+3) and is a plus-five in seven games ... He has recorded a and has a point in five of eight games, including two multiple-point games ... In their last 10 games, the Penguins are allowing 2.0 goals per game. In the first 39 games of the season, the Penguins were allowing 2.38 goals per game, while in the last 39 games, they are allowing just 1.90 goals per game.

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