Phantoms defeat Albany 5-2

Published on February 6, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


(PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 6, 2004) - Kirk Furey recorded a goal and two assists and Jeff Hackett turned aside 16 shots in a conditioning assignment as the Philadelphia Phantoms posted a 5-2 victory over the Albany River Rats tonight at the Wachovia Spectrum.

John Slaney, Kirby Law and P.J. Stock all added two points for Philadelphia, which has won 11 of its last 13 games overall and extended its home unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1). It is the team's longest unbeaten run at home since going 8-0-2 from April 1-Nov. 6, 1998.

Assigned from the Flyers earlier in the day as he recovers from a case of vertigo, Hackett made eight saves in the opening period and five apiece in the second and third. The 35-year-old netminder was making his first AHL appearance since the 1989-90 campaign.

Ari Ahonen finished with 21 saves for Albany, which fell to 0-4-1-1 in its last six games and is winless in its last 12 road games (0-9-1-2). Philadelphia is 2-1 vs. Albany this season with three match-ups remaining.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 1-0 lead 5:25 into the game on Peter Vandermeer's first goal since Dec. 23. Stock set up the play by gaining possession behind the Albany net and offering a centering pass to Vandermeer, who tallied his fourth of the year on a wrister that sailed over Ahonen's shoulder.

The Phantoms converted their lone power-play opportunity of the first period to widen the gap to 2-0. Following an interference minor on Maxim Balmochnykh, Slaney and Furey worked the puck to Claude Lapointe, who fired a shot from the near circle that barely got past Ahonen.

Lapointe, who is also on a conditioning assignment from the Flyers, netted his first AHL goal since he was a member of the Saint John Flames in 1995-96.

Furey extended the lead to 3-0 at 6:50 of the second period on a slap shot from the right point. Stock and Ben Stafford assisted on Furey's sixth of the year before Albany got on the board at 12:15 with Eric Johansson's sixth goal. Jiri Bicek and Tuomas Pihlman notched assists on the play.

But Philadelphia responded during a five-minute power play due to a high-sticking major on Joe Hulbig. Just under four minutes into the man-advantage situation, rookie defenseman Freddy Meyer deposited his fifth goal from Law and Jim Vandermeer at 16:42 to make it 4-1.

Bicek narrowed the deficit to two goals with his ninth goal at 4:23 of the third, but Law answered 74 seconds later with his team-leading 19th. Furey and Slaney received assists on the play as Law became just the third player in Phantoms history to record 200 career points with the team.

The Phantoms are in Binghamton on Saturday night before the AHL All-Star Classic takes place on Sunday and Monday in Grand Rapids. Next weekend, Philadelphia has road games in Hartford, Worcester and Lowell.

Phantoms Notes: James Laux was an injured scratch, while Craig Berube, B.J. Abel, Nick Deschenes and Wade Skolney were healthy scratches ... Jim Vandermeer was seeing his first action since suffering a shoulder injury in January ... The Phantoms are on a four-game home unbeaten streak (3-0-1) vs. Albany ... Meyer extended his point streak to five games (3G, 2A) ... Law has eight points (2G, 6A) in his last four games ... Philly is 12-2-2 when Law scores a goal ... Antero Niittymaki received the Toyota Phantoms Player of the Month award for January during the first intermission.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2004


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