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Published on April 6, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


PHILADELPHIA - A late five-minute power play helped the Bridgeport Sound Tigers shrink a 5-1 deficit to 5-4, but the Phantoms held on to win by that score on Sunday night at the Wachovia Spectrum. Stefan Ruzicka had a goal and three assists as the Phantoms kept pace with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, heading into the final week tied for first place in the East Division at 97 points.

Ruzicka started the scoring just 31 seconds into the game. He had a puck down behind the Bridgeport net and threw a puck off goaltender Mike Morrison, who could not contain nor locate the bouncing disk. Ruzicka came back out front and finished it off to give Philadelphia the early 1-0 lead.

Ruzicka set up the next marker when he came down the left wing with the puck as Darren Reid came tearing down the slot trying to get past a Bridgeport defenseman. As Ruzicka sent the puck across the top of the crease, Reid went into a full extension and was just able to reach the puck with the tip of his stick to direct it past Morrison to make it 2-0 just 3:32 into the contest.

Jamie Fraser pulled the Tigers back with in a goal at 9:05 of the frame. Bridgeport was operating on the power play when Fraser fired a short-angle shot that crept between the left post and goaltender Michael Teslak, making it 2-1.

But the Phantoms jumped back out to a two-goal lead six minutes before the intermission on Chad Anderson's second goal of the year. The rookie blueliner picked his spot and fired a wrist shot that banked off the left post and past Morrison, giving Philadelphia a 3-1 lead at the intermission.

The scoreboard remained frozen until the third, when the teams suddenly combined for five goals in under 11 minutes. Philadelphia secured the first two in a span of 94 seconds, the first coming when Kyle Greentree finished off a two-on-one at 9:23 and the second when Jared Ross buried a Ruzicka cross at 10:57.

After those tallies, the score was 5-1 when Martin Grenier was assessed a five-minute penalty. The Sound Tigers scored twice on the ensuing power play and a third time eight seconds after it ended. Fraser, Matt Keith and Jeremy Colliton accounted for the goals, which left Bridgeport down by just one with 2:35 to play. But the Phantoms were able to hold on the rest of the way.

Teslak made 22 saves to take his second consecutive win, while Morrison absorbed the loss with 33 saves on 38 Philadelphia bids.

The Phantoms are now 45-25-4-3 for 97 points. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's overtime win over Hershey on Sunday night, the two teams remain tied in points with three games each left to play. The Penguins currently hold the tiebreaker by virtue of having 46 wins to Philadelphia's 45. However, Philadelphia's win over Bridgeport clinched home-ice advantage for the Phantoms in the first round by assuring that the third-place Albany River Rats cannot catch them in the standings. First-round home playoff games will take place at the Wachovia Center while the Greatest Show On Earth, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, takes over the Wachovia Spectrum.

With the East Division championship on the line, the Phantoms start the last weekend of the regular season on Friday night when they host the Hershey Bears at 7:05 at the Wachovia Spectrum. Then on Sunday, Philadelphia hosts Albany in the wildly-popular Fan Appreciation Night at 5:05.

Tickets for both remaining regular season games and the first two home games of the playoffs 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 April 6, 2008


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