Phantoms defeat Albany 4-0

Published on November 29, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


(ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 29, 2003) - The Philadelphia Phantoms extended their unbeaten streak to seven games tonight as Antero Niittymaki stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory over the Albany River Rats at the Pepsi Arena.

Peter White scored twice and Mike Peluso had two assists for the Phantoms, who are 6-0-1 since their last loss on Nov. 15 at Bridgeport. The unbeaten streak is Philadelphia's longest since collecting four wins and four ties from Jan. 20 to Feb. 6, 2002.

Niittymaki made seven saves in each of the first two periods and turned aside 10 shots in the third to collect his second shutout of the season. The 23-year-old native of Finland actually began Philadelphia's current unbeaten streak with a 1-0 triumph over the Providence Bruins on Nov. 16.

Fellow Finn Ari Ahonen stopped 24-of-28 shots for Albany, which has lost three in a row at home. Philadelphia avenged a 4-3 loss at Albany back on Nov. 1 in the teams' first encounter of the season.

Following a scoreless opening period, Ian MacNeil put Philadelphia on top with an unassisted shorthanded goal at the 15:20 mark. It was the third goal of the year for MacNeil, who tied for the team lead in shorthanded tallies (2) last year.

Philadelphia put the game away in the third period when Kirby Law and White scored 26 seconds apart. Law's 10th goal from Patrick Sharp and Boyd Kane came at the 8:42 mark and extended his current point streak to six games (5G, 3A).

White followed with his fifth of the season at 9:08 of the third, off feeds from Todd Fedoruk and Peluso. Fedoruk, who also had an assist in Friday's 3-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, completed a two-game conditioning assignment from the Flyers.

Peluso and Craig Berube set up White's second of the night with 6:43 remaining. The goal was White's 800th point over his 12-year pro career.

The Phantoms finished with a 9-4-2 record and 20 points in November for their most successful month since going 11-2 (22 points) in January 2000.

Philadelphia plays at Hershey on Wednesday night and hosts the Norfolk Admirals on Friday at 7:05 p.m. The Phantoms then travel to face Norfolk next Saturday night.

Phantoms Notes: Defenseman Freddy Meyer will be signing autographs at Cherry Hill Mall from 2:00-3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30. He will be located near Macy's and Foot Locker. ... Meyer, Mike Siklenka, Nick Deschenes and John Slaney were injured scratches, while Peter Vandermeer was a healthy scratch ... The Phantoms have also won four of their last five on the road ... Sharp has seven points (1G, 6A) in his last six games ... Jim Vandermeer was recalled by the Flyers this morning ... The Phantoms held an opponent scoreless during the first period for the 12th time this season.



American Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2003


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