Laliberte Frees Phantoms

January 9, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - David Laliberte scored 2:22 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Phantoms a 4-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins at Van Andel Arena on Friday night. The win was Philadelphia's first since December 23, snapping a seven-game winless streak. Jeff Szwez scored twice and Jonathan Matsumoto added a shorthanded goal, while Michael Teslak was outstanding in goal to help the Phantoms to a victory over the best team in the Western Conference. It was Philadelphia's first win of the season when trailing after two periods.

Grand Rapids was the recipient of the game's first power play, but it was the Phantoms who capitalized to take a 1-0 lead. Matsumoto picked up a loose puck in the Phantoms end and was able to clear it out to center, but then he split the Griffins defense and got himself into a foot race with goaltender Jimmy Howard. Howard got there first, but Matsumoto was able to block Howard's clearing attempt, get behind the goaltender and finish into an open net at 11:36 of the opening period.

The Griffins got the goal back a little less than five minutes later. Evan McGrath was behind the net and jammed a puck out into traffic in front, where Francis Pare was able to flip it high past the glove of Teslak with 3:52 left in the period. It sent the game to the first intermission tied at 1-1.

Philadelphia pulled ahead just over three minutes into the second period on Szwez's first goal, which came when he buried the rebound of a Rob Sirianni shot from the right side. It gave the Phantoms a 2-1 advantage at 3:08 of the frame.

The Phantoms then got into some penalty trouble that allowed the Griffins to erase the deficit and take their first lead. Philadelphia gave the Griffins four power plays in the second period, including a 5-on-3 advantage that quickly saw Garrett Stafford score at 11:11 to tie the game at 2-2. Then at the 13:48 mark, Mattias Ritola cleaned up a loose puck that had worked its way in front, giving Grand Rapids a 3-2 advantage at the second intermission.

But the Phantoms, 0-12-0-1 this season when trailing after two periods, had enough offense in them to break their streak. Szwez picked up his second of the night 7:19 into the period with an outstanding individual effort while coming into the zone 1-on-3, working his way into just enough open space to allow him a shot that beat Howard top shelf over the glove. It knotted the game at 3-3 and sent it to overtime.

The Phantoms were on the attack for most of the extra session, outshooting the Griffins 5-1 and eventually finding the game-winner from Laliberte, whose toss towards the goalmouth deflected off Jakub Kindl and into the net.

Teslak was outstanding, making 38 saves - 36 of them pretty good and two of them that were simply outstanding and enabled the Phantoms to reach overtime. He robbed Francis Lemieux with the glove early on and committed similar larceny with a stick stop on a Griffin in the second period. It's his second win of the season with the Phantoms. Howard took the loss with 30 saves on 34 Phantoms shots.

Also contributing for the Phantoms was Danny Syvret, who had two assists to re-take the AHL's scoring lead among defensemen from Providence blueliner Johnny Boychuk.

The Phantoms continue their season-long five-game road trip on Saturday with a rematch against the Griffins. They'll return home to Philadelphia on January 14 for a 7:05 match-up with the Worcester Sharks. Tickets for that game, as well as all 2008-09 regular season games, are available by calling 1-800-298-4200 or visiting phantomshockey.com.

Through a new partnership with Babies ‘R Us, all kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $5 for the rest of the season. Fans are encouraged to take advantage of this great value to experience all the Wachovia Spectrum has to offer as the Phantoms play the final season of hockey in the historic building. Those who grew up watching the Flyers, Sixers, various concerts, and other events in the Spectrum have a tremendous final opportunity to give their kids a similar experience between now and the final regular season game on Sunday, April 12.



American Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2009


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