Phantoms defeat Norfolk 4-1
Published on January 18, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
(PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 18, 2004) - Patrick Sharp scored twice and Antero Niittymaki turned aside 32 shots to lead the Philadelphia Phantoms to a 4-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals this afternoon at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Randy Jones, John Slaney and Ian MacNeil each added two points for Philadelphia, which has won six of its last seven games and a season-high four in a row at home.
Niittymaki won his fifth consecutive start and came 7:26 away from his second straight shutout. Anton Babchuk's goal at the 12:34 mark of the third period ended a personal scoreless streak of 148:28 for the second-year Phantoms netminder.
Michael Leighton stopped 23-of-26 shots for Norfolk, which has lost four straight games overall and on the road. Philadelphia owns a 4-3-1 lead in the season series with two match-ups remaining.
"Both teams were in the same boat here," said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "Norfolk was in Binghamton last night (and we were in Wilkes-Barre). It was a 3-in-3 for both teams. I am extremely happy with our ability to get through our tiredness and compete at a high level today."
Norfolk outshot Philadelphia, 15-9, during the first period, but it was the Phantoms who took a 1-0 lead into the intermission. During a 4-on-4 situation, Freddy Meyer kept the puck in the Admirals zone and fired a shot on net. Peter White pushed the rebound to Jones, who scored his fourth of the year on a backhander at the 18:37 mark.
Ben Stafford netted the lone goal of the second period at the 15:12 mark. P.J. Stock took a feed from Slaney on the play and offered a crossing pass through the crease to Stafford, who easily tapped it in for his eighth of the year.
Sharp, who was returned from the Flyers earlier in the day, widened the gap to 3-0 just 58 seconds into the third. Slaney and MacNeil worked the puck to Sharp in the far circle and the center faked a shot before rocketing it into the lower left corner of the net.
The Admirals pulled Leighton during a Phantoms power play late in the period and Sharp tallied his 15th of the year into an empty net from center ice with 40.4 seconds remaining. Jones and MacNeil received assists on the goal.
"We did pretty good today with the end of the 3-in-3," said Jones. "The guys are working hard. It was a total team effort. Everyone participated and that is what we need for the win."
Next weekend, the Phantoms host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday at 7:05 p.m., play at Hershey on Saturday and entertain the Springfield Falcons on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
Phantoms Notes: Joey Hope and James Laux were injured scratches, while Craig Berube, Nick Deschenes and B.J. Abel were healthy scratches ... Kirby Law's seven-game point streak and Mike Siklenka's four-game point streak each came to an end ... White has six points (2G, 4A) in his last six games ... MacNeil played in his 300th AHL game ... The all-time series between the teams is now even at 16-16-2-2.
American Hockey League Stories from January 18, 2004
- Krajicek Recalled to Florida - San Antonio Rampage
- IceCats Drown Rats late in OT - Worcester IceCats
- A Tale of Two Halves - Springfield Falcons
- Canucks Re-Assign Auld to Moose; Moose Re-Assign McVicar to Inferno - Manitoba Moose
- Phantoms keep Norfolk on the skids - OSC Original by David W. Unkle
- Phantoms keep Norfolk on the skids - OSC Original by David W. Unkle
- Bears Fall to Cleveland, 3-1 - Hershey Bears
- Toivonen, Walsh lead Bruins to tie in Portland - Providence Bruins
- Wolves top Aeros 5-2 - Houston Aeros
- Phantoms defeat Norfolk 4-1 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Moose Re-Assign Smith to Inferno - Manitoba Moose
- Canucks Recall Hedberg - Manitoba Moose
- Aeros Game Day - Houston Aeros
- Grizzlies Can't Find Any Offense Against Hartford - Utah Grizzlies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
