Hershey tops Phantoms, 5-3

Published on March 14, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phantoms held early leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but could not recover from three Hershey goals in the second period and lost 5-3 to the Bears before 10,231 at the Wachovia Spectrum on Friday night. The loss combined with Albany's shootout loss at Binghamton to cut Philadelphia's lead in the East Division to three points over the River Rats.

Philadelphia struck first 5:17 into the opening period. Jonathan Matsumoto skated into the Hershey zone on a 2-on-1 break with Kyle Greentree. Matsumoto hesitated just enough to make the Bears think about the possibility of a pass before snapping the puck high over the glove of goaltender Frederic Cassivi into the upper right corner for the 1-0 lead.

Hershey drew even near the period's halfway point while on the power play. Jason Morgan fired a puck that hit the inside of the goalpost, bounced around in the crease and then over the line. The tally at 9:52 made it a 1-1 game.

The Phantoms jumped ahead again with just 1:48 to play. Stefan Ruzicka carried a puck into the Hershey zone and set up in the left side circle. He briefly surveyed his options for a centering feed, but then sniped a wrist shot high into the upper left corner above the blocker of a surprised Cassivi, giving Philadelphia a 2-1 advantage at the first intermission.

Hershey changed the game with three second-period tallies. The first came 7:29 into the frame on a bad bounce for the Phantoms. Patrick McNeill fired a slapshot that missed the net wide to the right side, but the puck hit the end boards and bounced right back out past the left post, where Scott Barney was able to put it home.

The Bears took their first lead three minutes later, at the 10:28 mark of the period. Hershey was just 11 seconds into a power play when Alexandre Giroux scored his first of two on the evening, burying the rebound of a shot by Josef Boumedienne for the 3-2 lead.

The second period was Hershey's turn for a late tally, as Giroux added an insurance goal with just 1:34 on the clock. This was a shorthanded tally that saw Giroux finish off a disjointed two-on-one break in which Andrew Joudrey was able to get off a shot that rebounded off Munroe and right to Giroux, making it a 4-2 game at the intermission.

Philadelphia got one of the goals back with a shorthanded goal that came with 2:40 remaining. Greentree and Matsumoto hooked up for a second time, this time with Greentree blasting a slapshot from the right circle that blew past Cassivi. But the Phantoms could not find the equalizer in the remaining time, and Chris Bourque iced the game with an empty-netter with just under six seconds to play in the game.

Munroe made 27 saves on 31 shots faced in absorbing the loss, while Cassivi picked up the win with 28 saves on 31 shots. Philadelphia's lead is now three points over Albany, six over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and nine over Hershey.

The Phantoms now head to Connecticut for a Saturday night matchup with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Arena at Harbor Yard. They'll return home on Sunday afternoon to host the Portland Pirates on Phlex's 12th birthday at the Spectrum! All of Phlex's mascot friends will be on hand to help celebrate the occasion. Tickets are available at the Wachovia Complex box office, online at ComcastTIX.com or phantomshockey.com, or by phone at 1-800-298-4200.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 14, 2008


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