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Hirsch leads Phantoms to 2-0 win

March 29, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


Hirsch makes 16 saves to record shutout

(PHILADELPHIA, March 29, 2002) - A visit by the struggling Albany River Rats was exactly what the Philadelphia Phantoms needed heading into the final week of the regular season, as goaltender Corey Hirsch made 16 saves in a 2-0 victory tonight at the First Union Spectrum. The game was played in front of a Phantoms season-high crowd of 15,043.

Thanks to a stingy defense in front of him, Hirsch had to face just 16 shots, which is a season low for a Philadelphia opponent this year. The 29-year-old netminder, who was appearing in his fourth game as a Phantom, notched his 13th shutout as a pro and second this season. He had also accomplished the feat on Feb. 3 while still with the Portland Pirates.

"It's a mental game, in a 1-0 game you have to be ready any time," said Hirsch, who was acquired on loan from the Washington Capitals organization on March 21. "(The win) was huge, absolutely huge. We need confidence and I hope tonight started confidence because we played really well."

Greg Koehler and Kirby Law scored goals for Philadelphia, which barraged Albany goalkeeper Ari Ahonen with a season-high 47 shots. The Phantoms ended a four-game losing streak and split the two-game season series with the River Rats. Ahonen finished with 45 saves for Albany, which extended its winless streak to 21 games (0-14-4-3).

"It was a huge win for us, any win is huge now," commented Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "We were very happy with the work ethic. We came out and worked hard from start to finish. We did a lot of good things, but most of all we competed."

Tonight's crowd of 15,043 broke Philadelphia's previous season high of 14,505 set on Feb. 2 vs. Saint John. It is the third-largest crowd in the American Hockey League this year and the 11th total of at least 10,000 people for the Phantoms in 2001-02.

Philadelphia opened the scoring with 30.8 seconds left in the first period following a tripping call on Albany's Sylvain Cloutier. The Phantoms methodically worked the puck around and got off several quality shots before Mark Greig wound up with the puck in the far corner.

He offered a short pass to Koehler, who quickly launched a slap shot that sailed over the shoulder of Ahonen. John Slaney also assisted on Koehler's 24th goal of the year and sixth as a Phantom.

"I got down low and Slaney kicked it out to Greig in the corner," said Koehler about the goal. "He basically just waited and bought time for me to get open. He made a great pass and fortunately my shot went in the net."

Albany's best scoring opportunity came 8:20 into the middle period when Richard Rochefort skated in on goal alone. But Hirsch was there to thwart the play. Koehler nearly doubled the lead twice during the third period, hitting the post with a deflection at the 2:57 mark and missing on a close-in shot just over five minutes later.

The River Rats pulled Ahonen with 55 seconds remaining and Law finally put the game away with an unassisted empty-net goal, his 18th of the year, with 5.9 seconds to play.

The Phantoms close out the regular season with four games in five days next week, beginning on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hit town. The first 2,500 kids (14 & under) in attendance that night will receive a free Phlex bobblehead doll. Philadelphia then travels to Wilkes-Barre next Friday night before hosting the Norfolk Admirals on Saturday, April 6 at 7:05 p.m., and taking on the Hershey Bears on April 7 in the last-ever regular-season game at Hersheypark Arena.

Phantoms Notes: The first 4,500 kids received a John LeClair bobblehead doll tonight ...Left wing Yves Sarault returned to the ice after missing the last 33 games due to a shoulder injury. He suffered the injury during his first game with the Phantoms on Jan. 12 ... Hirsch played in his 400th game as a pro ... Earlier in the day, goaltender Neil Little was reassigned from the Flyers and goaltender Dan Murphy was reassigned to Trenton (ECHL). Little had made his NHL debut on Thursday in Carolina ... Philadelphia tied a season high for shots in a period with 17 in the third ... Philadelphia posted its fourth shutout of the season.

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