Sports stats



Devils Even Northway Series in Wild One

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


In some ways, it felt like old-school hockey all over again on 25th Season Jersey Night at the Glens Falls Civic Center. A wild flurry of goals late in the second period and plenty of rough stuff in front of a big crowd of 4,618 ended with the visiting Albany Devils prevails 5-3 over the Adirondack Phantoms on Saturday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Albany Devils exploded for three goals in the final three minutes of the second period to extend a tight 2-1 advantage all the way up to 5-2. Albany evened the Northway Rivalry series at two games apiece. Both teams have stolen wins in their opponents' home buildings so far. The Phantoms won't have to wait long for their chance for revenge. Game 5 of the 12-Game season series takes place next Friday at Times Union Center in Albany.

Brandon Manning, Matt Mangene and Bruno Gervais all found the back of the net for the Phantoms. Five different goal scorers for Albany were led by Tim Sestito with one goal and two assists. Joe Whitney started the scoring for the Devils and added an assist.

The Phantoms were wearing sharp looking jerseys with a retro-classic feel featuring the team's commemorative logo designed specifically for the 25th season of the AHL in Glens Falls. The game-worn jerseys were offered to the fans via a postgame auction. Glens Falls is one of only 10 active markets with 25 or more years in the American Hockey League joining the likes of teams such as Hershey, Rochester, Providence and Springfield.

Fans were lined up early and starting filling the arena even before pregame warm-ups. The annual youth Jersey Night presented by Glens Falls Hospital was obviously a big hit yet again. The fans had grabbed their allotment of jerseys for the first 1,000 kids in attendance approximately 35 minutes after the doors had opened at 6:00.

In the game, Adirondack had a chance for a late comeback even down by three goals. Albany took back-to-back penalties to provide the Phantoms with a long 5-on-3 opportunity with 8:00 left in the game. Adirondack could have benefited with a quick strike at that point to have the most 5-on-4 time possible in their efforts to score consecutive goals. The Phantoms did eventually score on the 5-on-3 on a Bruno Gervais drive to narrow the margin but it ended up taking a little too long for them to be able to reap the full advantage of the situation with only 10 seconds left for their subsequent 5-on-4.

As opposed to the setback the previous night against Binghamton, Phantoms head coach Terry Murray said there are better positives to build on from this game and there was a lot done right.

"The attitude, the emotion--everything was good on the bench.," Murray said. "I think we lost a lot of board battles. That was probably the one thing that sticks out that we got to get better at and we know that that's the kind of game they play; a real strong game in the offensive zone, the D zone and along the boards. And we got to win more than our share of the pucks and they just came up with more than what we did tonight."

Veteran center Kris Newbury indicated it simply comes down to playing the way they know they need to play. "Right now it's just frustration. Newbury said. "I think our conditioning's fine. We work hard in practice. We're not executing in games. We've got to find a way to be better obviously."

As for that wild flurry of scoring late in the second period, Brandon Manning pulled the Phantoms to within 2-1 on a long drive from the left point with 5:10 to go in the second. Then two teams would combine to score four goals in less than a two minute stretch in a crazy back-and-forth sequence.

Reid Boucher's poke in the crease on the power play just after a 5-on-3 had expired made it 3-1 for the Devils with 2:25 left in the second period. And Stefan Matteau tacked on another with 1:42 remaining in the frame.

But Matt Mangene got one of them for the Phantoms just 28 seconds later deflecting a Bruno Gervais drive into the net for his second of the year and just like that it was 4-2. The Devils didn't wait long to re-take the three-goal margin. Just 34 seconds after Mangene's goal would be another power play tally, this time from Tim Sestito on a give from Joe Whitney with just 40 seconds left in the period.

Gervais' goal in the third period made it 5-3 and gave the Phantoms life. They rejuvenated group had a couple rushes at Devils' goalie Scott Wedgewood looking to close it to a one-goal game again but in the end would not be able to rally.

The Phantoms ended a recent power play drought with a 1-for-5 night on the man-advantage. Albany went 2-for-6 against the top penalty kill in the league. The Phantoms entered the game at 90.1% but surrendered two power-play goals in a game for the first time since all the way back on October 14 when Albany scored a couple against the Phantoms in just the fourth game of the season.

Cal Heeter took the decision for Adirondack allowing the five goals in two periods. Yann Danis worked a shutout third-period in relief. The Devils outshot the Phantoms 31-27.

The Phantoms return to action at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Wednesday night hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on "Thanksgiving Eve" with $1 Hot Dogs for the fans throughout the game. Adirondack travels to Albany next Friday and then returns home next Saturday against the Syracuse Crunch.

The Phantoms host their Orange and Black Friday Sale next week beginning at 6:00 AM. The earlier you arrive, the more you save! Great deals on tickets and merchandise throughout the morning.



American Hockey League Stories from November 24, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Adirondack Phantoms Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central