Law leads Phantoms over Syracuse, 5-3

by David W. Unkle
February 9, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)

(PHILADELPHIA)- Syracuse and Philadelphia traded power play and shorthanded goals but the Phantoms, with the hat trick from Kirby Law and Patrick Sharp (1G, 2A) defeated the Syracuse Crunch 5-3 in front of 10,043 fans at the First Union Spectrum.

"We have to play with a sense of urgency," said Phantoms' Head Coach, John Stevens. "Having guys out of your lineup doesn't account for bad plays from guys in your lineup. You still have to compete and you still know the system."

The Phantoms came out with a vengeance after last night's frustrating 2-1 loss to the Hershey Bears, and forward Patrick Sharp got things going early.

Sharp, playing in just his third game following a fractured fibula, scored his fifth goal of the season and his first since November 6th and his 100th goal in the pros.

"I was getting a little frustrated with the chances that I wasn't able to capitalize on." said Sharp.

Line mate Kirby Law gave the Phantoms the two goal cushion early in the game with the teams playing four skaters apiece after penalties to Trent Cull and Mike Lephart.

"Sharpie (Patrick Sharp) got it back to me, and I think the shot went off the defenseman's stick and it caught the top corner and their goalie was fooled by it," said Law.

Syracuse took advantage of the Phantoms' troubles on special teams as Jeremy Reich blasted a shot just inside the far side blue line at 17:16 of the first period.

The Phantoms' special teams served up another goal with Crunch forward Mathieu Darche getting his 22nd of the season.

Philly took the lead for good with Law's second goal of the night. The power play goal was Philadelphia's 29th home power play goal and their 41st overall on the season.

"Sharpie made a nice pass out of the corner, and I one-touched it on net and it went through the five hole," said Law.

The Crunch and Phantoms traded third period goals before Law's empty netter at 19:26 sealed the victory.

"(Peter) White flicked it up high in the air there, and the defenseman went to cross over and he tripped himself up," said Law on his hat trick goal.

For Law, it was his second hat trick of the year and his third as a professional.

I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. Patrick Sharp had one of his best games of the year and Guillaume Lefebvre was outstanding and he got me the puck when I was open," added Law.

"It was a total team effort tonight I was very surprised how well Patrick Sharp has played coming back after two months," said Stevens. "He and Kirby (Law) seemed to work very well together tonight and moved the puck nice on the power play. They're a tough team to go up against and Kirby came up big when we needed him to."

SCORING:
First Period: PHL Sharp 5 (Bast) 3:27; PHL Law 12 (Sharp) 5:45; SYR Reich 6 (McDonald) 17:16. Second Period: SYR Darche 22 (Walser, Moran) 7:22; PHL Law 13 (Sharp, Lefebvre) 11:27. Third Period: PHL Wright 5 (Furey, White) 12:24; SYR Manning 2 (Walser, Nederost) 15:07; Law 14 (Tiley) 19:26.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Syracuse:       8-17-10
Philadelphia:   14-8-17

POWER PLAY

                PPG     ATT     TIME
Syracuse:       1       7       12:17
Philadelphia:   1       7       11:43

SCORE BY PERIOD

Syracuse:       1-1-1
Philadelphia:   2-1-2

PENALTIES:

Syracuse: First Period: Trent Cull (holding) 4:20; Manning (holding) 8:04; Levokari (roughing) 12:46; Jackman (cross-checking) 14:52; Walser (roughing) 15:50.
Second Period: Nederost (holding the stick) 10:37; Levokari (cross-checking) 13:20.
Third Period: Levokari (holding) 00:39; Walser (elbowing) 4:29; Cull (fighting) 9:24; Reich (tripping) 9:24.

Philadelphia:
First Period: Mike Lephart (cross-checking) 4:20; Wright (slashing) 10:13; Furey (holding the stick) 12:46; Bast (roughing) 12:46.
Second Period: Sharp (roughing) 00:34; Law (obstruction-holding) 1:37; Vandermeer (obstruction-hooking) 5:43.
Third Period: Greig (roughing) 4:29; Vandermeer (fighting) 9:24; Lefebvre (obstruction-hooking) 10:59; Wright (delay of the game) 13:01.

THREE STARS:

1. Kirby Law (PHL)
2. Patrick Sharp (PHL)
3. Mathieu Darche (SYR)

Selected by: Patrick Williams (South Jersey Sports On-Line)

NOTES:

1. The Phantoms saw their three game unbeaten streak come to an end last night in a 2-1 loss to the Hershey Bears.
2. Syracuse will not play a game outside of New York State until March 7th.
3. Phantoms defenseman John Slaney has five points (2G, 3A) in his last three games.
4. The Phantoms' Kirby Law (5G, 1A) has registered a point in each of the team's four contests this season and leads all players in head-to-head scoring.
5. Syracuse is 7-16-7 lifetime against the Phantoms.
6. Mathieu Darche has recorded points in nine of his last eleven games (7G, 5A).

For more information, check out the Phantoms website at: www.phantomshockey.com.

Photos by Pedro Cancel, Jr.

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