Phantoms Make It Three Point Home Opening Weekend

Published on October 16, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Adirondack Phantoms made it three points out of four in their opening weekend of play at home with an overtime loss to the Albany Devils 4-3 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Albany got their first win of the season in the Time Warner Cable Cup Series but Adirondack still leads the battle with 3 points to Albany's two. The winner of the twelve game season series between the two teams wins the Time Warner Cable Cup.

At first, it looked promising for the Phantoms to make it a four point sweep on the home weekend. Adirondack raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 4:29 of the game on quick goals back-to-back-to-back by Eric Wellwood, Andrew Rowe and Joonas Lehtivuori.

It was Brad Mills lighting the lamp in overtime for the Devils to complete their comeback after Albany scored two in the second and one in the third.

Wellwood jammed it home on the power play with good second effort on Devils starting goalie Mike McKenna for his second of the season. Luke Pither and Marc-Andre Bourdon assisted on the play. Wellwood is a 20 year old rookie from the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL who scored 31 goals and 68 points last year. He is the younger brother of NHL'er Kyle Wellwood formerly of Toronto and Vancouver.

Less than one minute later another rookie would light the lamp as Andrew Rowe would fire in a feed nicely dug away by Greg Moore. Rowe comes to the Flyers organization from the Michigan State Spartans where he scored 17 goals and 28 points last season.

Then at 4:29 into the first Joonas Lehtivuori's shot from the right point found the back of the net to stretch the lead to 3-0. The native of Finland had 5 goals and 23 points with the Phantoms last year.

Devils goalie Mike McKenna made way for Jeff Frazee who held the Phantoms scoreless for the rest of the night.

Albany scored a power play goal 40 seconds in the second period to get on the board on a Mattias Tedenby tally. Harry Young's slapshot from center point at 13:04 deflected off a Phantoms defenseman and went over the left shoulder of Johan Backlund for a top shelf goal to close the gap to 3-2. And Albany knotted things up just 17 seconds into the third on a Nathan Perkovich goal.

Brad Mills took a centering feed from Vladimir Zharkov in OT for the game-winner after the Phantoms just missed on numerous chances in an exciting, fast-paced and intense third period featuring fine saves on both ends by Frazee and Backlund.

The Devils outshot the Phantoms 46-24. Both teams went 1-for-4 on the power play.

Zac Rinaldo and Logan Stephenson were the scratches for the game.

The Phantoms record remains even at 2-2-1 and they are unbeaten in regulation at home with a mark of 1-0-1. The Devils improve to a record of 2-1-0 with their lone loss having come to the hands of the Phantoms last Saturday in a 5-3 decision at Albany.

The Phantoms conclude their "three in three" weekend Sunday evening at 5:00 at the Rochester Americans in their first game against the Western Conference. Head Coach Greg Gilbert had previously announced that lanky Northern Michigan University rookie Brian Stewart would get the starting nod in goal for the Phantoms game on Sunday.

Adirondack's next home game is Friday, October 22 against the Charlotte Checkers, the former Albany River Rats, on dollar hot dog night.

The Time Warner Cable Cup rivalry will continue with game three of the 12 game series on December 5th at the Times Union Center in Albany. The Devils next appearance in Glens Falls will be January 1st.

Don't be left out! Tickets for all Phantoms games are on sale now. Discount rates are available for groups of 15 or more. Save off the individual ticket price by asking the Phantoms about their great group rate packages.

The AHL is celebrating their 75th anniversary season and is the top development league for the NHL. More than 85 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates and more than 6 million fans attend AHL games every year.

Come watch future NHL stars and up-and-coming Flyers prospects with exciting Adirondack Phantoms hockey! A variety of ticket packages for all the fast-paced action are on sale now. The Phantoms selection of discount ticket packages includes 3-packs, 6-packs, 12 and 22 Select Plans, full season plans and Flex Packs. Choose the plan that works best for you! Get your tickets at the Phantoms office inside the Glens Falls Civic Center, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Phantoms at 518-480-3355.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2010


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