Phantoms lose 3-0 at Norfolk
Published on January 24, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
(NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 24, 2003) - The Philadelphia Phantoms were shut out for the second straight game tonight at the Norfolk Scope as Craig Andersson made 17 saves in a 3-0 Norfolk Admirals victory.
Andersson, who suffered a 2-1 loss to the Phantoms last Saturday, stopped all 10 shots he faced over the first two periods and made seven saves in the final session to notch his third shutout of the season. The Admirals now have five shutouts in 2002-03, including four in January alone.
Phantoms goaltender Antero Niittymaki, who finished with 24 saves, had his personal three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time since Jan. 8 vs. Bridgeport. The Phantoms were blanked, 2-0, on Wednesday by Utah and have been shut out six times this season. Philadelphia also had its season-high four-game road win streak come to an end.
Philadelphia fell behind 2-0 after one period for the second straight game. Kent Huskins put Norfolk on the board 10:41 into the opening period after bringing the puck up ice all the way from his own end. Huskins found Matt Henderson in the corner and got it back in front of the net to tally his fourth goal of the season.
Fifty-three seconds later, Garry Valk made it 2-0 when he backhanded in his own miss. Brett McLean and Mike Peluso set up Valk's fourth goal of the year with 8:26 to play in the period.
The second period featured 114 combined penalty minutes and another goal by the Admirals at the 8:12 mark. With Ben Stafford serving a slashing minor, Henderson followed in a blocked shot by McLean for his 11th of the season. Casey Hankinson also assisted on the power-play marker that widened the gap to 3-0.
Peter Vandermeer and Norfolk's Shawn Thornton began the second-period penalty fest with matching 10-minute misconducts at the 38-second mark. The rest of the period saw four fights, additional 10-minute misconducts on Ian MacNeil and Kirby Law, and three game misconducts.
Philadelphia set a franchise record with just one shot allowed in a period during the third stanza, but still could not get the puck past Andersson. The Phantoms even had a six-minute power play late in the period after Thornton was sent off with a cross-checking minor and double minor for spearing.
Philadelphia hosts the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and the Utah Grizzlies on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Both games are at the First Union Center. The first 4,000 fans at Saturday's game will receive a Simon Gagne bobblehead doll courtesy of Toyota.
Phantoms Notes: Vandermeer played in his 200th AHL game ... Philadelphia's previous low for shots allowed in a period was two ... The Phantoms were also shut out in consecutive games on Dec. 28 & 31 by Hershey and Portland ... Philadelphia fell to 2-4-0-1 vs. Norfolk this season, with three more match-ups remaining ... The all-time series when playing in Norfolk is even at 5-5-1-1 ... The Phantoms had killed 12 straight power plays prior to Henderson's goal ... The Admirals recorded their 100th regular-season win.
American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2003
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