Phantoms defeat Hershey, 2-1, in OT

April 5, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


(PHILADELPHIA, April 4, 2003) - John Slaney scored the game-winning goal with 1:17 remaining in overtime as the Philadelphia Phantoms posted a 2-1 victory over the Hershey Bears tonight at the First Union Spectrum.

Playing in his second game since missing 18 games due to an abdominal injury, Slaney took a feed from Dennis Seidenberg on the decisive play, spun to shooting position and buried his eighth of the year past Hershey goaltender Peter Budaj at 3:43 of the extra session. Andre Savage also assisted on Slaney's first goal since Feb. 21 vs. Albany.

"We won the draw and Dennis had the shot, got it back and made a nice pass," said Slaney about the winning goal. "They (Hershey) were sitting back. I saw the goalie move and I went for it."

Philadelphia, which was coming off Wednesday's disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to Syracuse, maintained the 10th and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race with two games remaining in the regular season.

Goaltender Neil Little finished with 35 saves to improve to 7-1-1-1 in his last 10 starts. The Phantoms snapped a two-game losing streak overall and a five-game skid vs. Hershey, beating the Bears for the first time since Dec. 27.

"We are in desperation mode," said Little. "Getting the two points are big for us. We need to have a really big weekend. This is our playoffs right now. We need the points. If we can get in the back door, we can surprise some teams."

Budaj recorded 29 saves for Hershey, which has lost three straight games to end its six-game road trip at 1-3-1-1. The Bears still lead the season series, 7-3-0-1, with the final match-up set for Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in Hershey.

The teams played scoreless hockey in the opening 20 minutes, but the period was not without its share of action. A combined 25 shots were attempted on goal, while Hershey's Bryan Muir and Philadelphia's Peter Vandermeer each received 10-minute misconducts and Phantoms right wing Mike Siklenka was handed a match penalty during a fracas with 90 seconds to play.

The penalties carried over into the second period and Hershey assumed a 4-on-3 advantage 68 seconds in when Dan Peters was also booked with an instigator minor and 10-minute misconduct following a fight with Bears left wing Eric Bertrand. Fourty-two seconds later, John-Michael Liles and Charlie Stephens worked the puck to Travis Brigley, who placed a wrister past Little from the far circle for his 21st goal of the year.

Philadelphia evened the score 58 seconds into the third period on Kirby Law's 21st of the year. Patrick Sharp and Ladislav Kohn set up the equalizer, which was Law's 100th career AHL goal.

"I threw the puck to Kohn, who passed it to Sharp," said Law about his goal. "He fed a great pass to me. I just waited for the goalie to go down and I shot it in. We wanted to play a sound game tonight, but play a little more physical."

The Phantoms are now 6-7-6 in overtime games this season and improved to 6-0-2 when Slaney scores a goal.

"We had a decent start, but got undisciplined," said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "We got a lot better in the third and showed a lot of character to get back into the game. It was a pretty hard-fought game. We have to be smarter on the forechecking and spend less time in our own zone."

Saturday's game in Hershey will be televised live on CN8. The Phantoms then end the regular season at home on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.



American Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2003


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