Phantoms lose 1-0 to Wilkes-Barre
March 16, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
(PHILADELPHIA, March 16, 2004) - Defenseman Pauli Levokari scored the lone goal in the first period and Andy Chiodo made 15 saves to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms tonight at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Chiodo stopped five shots in each period as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games overall and 4-1 in its last five road contests. It was the fourth shutout of the year for Chiodo, which is a team high.
The shutout by Wilkes-Barre was its third straight vs. Philadelphia, as the Penguins posted a 2-0 win on Feb. 18 and captured a 4-0 decision on March 6. The Phantoms have gone 204:19 since their last goal vs. Wilkes-Barre during the second period on Jan. 17.
Antero Niittymaki was the hard-luck loser tonight, stopping 20-of-21 shots. The Phantoms remained in first place in the East Division - two points ahead of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who have played two less games and visit Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.
"It stings a little bit to lose here to a team in our division, a team we've had a real tough time with as of late," said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "We haven't scored a goal in three games now against this team, and we haven't created a whole lot. Fifteen shots is not good enough to win."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened the scoring with 6:18 to go in the first period during a 4-on-4 situation. Tomas Surovy received a pass from Toby Petersen on the play and led a 3-on-2 rush down the middle. The left winger kicked it out wide to Levokari, who beat Niittymaki near post for his third goal of the year.
Philadelphia's Mark Murphy failed on a breakaway just over three minutes later and the Penguins took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
The second period featured no scoring, but a fight between Peter Vandermeer and Reid Simpson at the 3:05 mark that made Vandermeer the Phantoms' all-time penalty minutes leader. Vandermeer entered the game one PIM shy of Francis Lessard's career total of 997.
"It's either a nice honor or a dubious honor, depending on how you look at it," said Vandermeer, who leads the AHL with 353 PIM this season. "I'm not doing that sort of stuff for personal achievement or to get into the record book, I just want to take care of my teammates and make sure they're not taken advantage of."
Philadelphia pulled Niittymaki for a sixth-attacker with 67 seconds to play, but did not get a quality shot on net as the team lost for just the second time in its last 14 home games.
"We're not getting a lot of scoring chances against them," said Phantoms right wing Kirby Law. "They're (Wilkes-Barre) playing better hockey as of late, but we have to just create a lot more out there. It's getting to that point of the season where it's almost playoff hockey and there is a lot of clutching and grabbing going on. We have to find a way to battle through that."
The Phantoms will continue their four-game homestand on Friday at 7:05 p.m. when the Penguins visit the Spectrum for the final time. Philadelphia will also host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday, March 26 at 7:05 p.m.
Phantoms Notes: Les Borsheim, Wade Skolney, Nick Deschenes and Craig Berube were scratches ... Randy Jones was returned from the Flyers earlier in the day ... Dennis Seidenberg continues to recover from a broken leg ... Tonight's game was originally scheduled for Feb. 3, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions ... John Slaney had his nine-game point streak halted ... Wilkes-Barre holds a 5-3 lead in the season series, including wins in the last four meetings ... Philadelphia is 22-for-22 on the penalty kill over the last five games.
American Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2004
- Falcons drop 4-1 contest to Lowell - Springfield Falcons
- Penguins sign defenseman Ondrej Nemec to ATO - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Phantoms lose 1-0 to Wilkes-Barre - Adirondack Phantoms
- Coyotes reassign Bezina to Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- MacKenzie Rejoins Chicago - Chicago Wolves
- St. Croix Re-Assigned to Columbia - Manitoba Moose
- Girl Scout Night is March 28 - Houston Aeros
- IceCats take part in 2004 Calder Cup Tour - Worcester IceCats
- Badduke Returns to Syracuse March 20 - Syracuse Crunch
- Wolves Guarantee Hockey the Way it Was Meant to be ... Played - Chicago Wolves
- St. 'Cat-Tricks Day - Worcester IceCats
- St. John's Announces Roster Moves - Toronto Marlies
- Crunch Announce 10th Anniversary All-Time Team - Syracuse Crunch
- Phantoms Flier - Adirondack Phantoms
- The Rock Report - Toronto Marlies
- AHL again sending record number of players to NHL - AHL
- Online auctions begin for Jennifer Ferraro Foundation benefit - Springfield Falcons
- Travis Brigley recalled by Colorado Avalanche - Hershey Bears
- Grizzlies Partner with Comcast to Say Thanks to the Military - Utah Grizzlies
- Celebrity Waiter Dinner nets more than $85,000 for charity - Houston Aeros
- Final week of Providence Bruins, Dunkin' Donuts warm-up jersey auction - Providence Bruins
- River Rats head down the home stretch - Albany River Rats
- B-Sens weekly - Binghamton Senators
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.
