Phantoms blank Bruins 1-0
Published on November 16, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
(PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 16, 2003) - Antero Niittymaki stopped all 24 shots he faced to post his first AHL shutout and Peter White's first-period shorthanded goal was the difference as the Philadelphia Phantoms downed the Providence Bruins, 1-0, tonight at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Playing in his 50th game as a Phantom, Niittymaki turned aside eight shots in each period, including a penalty shot attempt in the second period and a breakaway in the third. He recorded eight shutouts over three seasons with TPS Turku in the Finnish Elite League, but none with the Phantoms until tonight.
"He (Niittymaki) has been playing unbelievable," said Phantoms defenseman Jim Vandermeer. "Our record might not show quite how well he has been playing, but he has picked it up more than last year and taken great strides."
Philadelphia registered its second shutout of the season and ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). The Phantoms widened their lead in the all-time series to 11-3-1 and shut out the Bruins at home for the second straight time, as Providence was visiting Philadelphia for the first time since a 4-0 setback on Jan. 12, 2002.
Hannu Toivonen made 23 saves for Providence, which also lost 2-0 on Saturday night in Hartford. The Bruins finished 0-for-9 on the power play, while Philadelphia was 0-for-10.
"We played a complete game, short of the penalties," said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "We are laying a foundation of work ethic and the ability to compete with other teams. We are tackling each game as it begins. Our team competed extremely hard this weekend."
White tallied the lone goal of the game at 14:09 of the opening period with the Phantoms down two men. With Vandermeer and Jeff Woywitka serving roughing and slashing minors, respectively, Dennis Seidenberg came up with a loose puck and fed White for a breakaway down the near side.
The veteran center faked a shot to elude Bruins defenseman Peter Metcalf and pull Toivonen out of position before burying it into the top right corner of the net. White's fourth goal of the year was Philadelphia's first shorthanded tally since March 17 of last season and the first at home since last Feb. 19.
Providence's best scoring opportunity came 5:24 into the second period when Ivan Huml was awarded a penalty shot after being impeded from behind on a 3-on-2 break. But Niittymaki stuffed the left winger on the edge of the far circle.
"It (the shutout) feels great, but the most important thing is we got the win tonight," said Niittymaki. "(On the penalty shot) I thought he was a defenseman, that's what guys told me. So I kind of knew he would shoot instead of fake. I just tried to be in the right position."
Bruins right wing Pat Leahy was also denied on a breakaway at 8:56 of the third period and the Phantoms withstood a 6-on-5 situation over the final 54 seconds to halt a three-game home winless streak (0-2-1).
The Phantoms return to action next weekend with three games in three days. They host the Lowell Lock Monsters on Friday at 7:05 p.m., travel to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night and entertain the Portland Pirates next Sunday at 6:05 p.m.
Phantoms Notes: Flyers forward Radovan Somik played for the Phantoms after being sent down on a conditioning assignment this morning ... Freddy Meyer, Randy Jones, P.J. Stock, Nick Deschenes, Mike Siklenka and Wade Skolney were scratched ... Mark Murphy played in his 300th game as a pro and Kirby Law played in his 400th career game ... Peter Vandermeer and the Bruins' Brendan Walsh got into a fight three seconds into the game ... Huml's penalty shot was the first attempted against the Phantoms since Nov. 23, 2001, when Hershey's Jordan Krestanovich scored on Maxime Ouellet ... Philadelphia recorded its 25th shutout in club history ... Seidenberg has six points (1G, 5A) in his last six games ... Former Phantoms on the Providence roster included Matt Herr, Andre Savage and assistant coach Rob Murray.
American Hockey League Stories from November 16, 2003
- Phantoms blank Bruins 1-0 - Adirondack Phantoms
- P-Bruins fall to Philadelphia - Providence Bruins
- Sound Tigers Now Unbeaten In Regulation In Eleven - Bridgeport Islanders
- Columbus Recalls Todd Rohloff - Syracuse Crunch
- Niittymaki earns first AHL shutout - OSC Original by David W. Unkle
- Jim Fahey Re-Assigned to Cleveland - Cleveland Barons
- Checkers Earn A Point In 3-2 Shootout Loss To Florida - Charlotte Checkers
- Falcons Rally for Comeback Win over Manchester - Springfield Falcons
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