Phantoms Playoff Preview - East Division Semifinals vs. Albany

Published on April 14, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


SERIES SYNOPSIS The Phantoms and the Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes) open up the Calder Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night at Albany's Times Union Center in the best-of-seven East Division Semifinals. Philadelphia returns to the postseason after a two-year hiatus, with its last appearance coming in 2005 when it won the Calder Cup. Albany is in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Rats were defeated by Hershey four games to one in last year's East Division Semifinals.

The Phantoms and River Rats played an eight-game series during the 2007-08 regular season. Philadelphia went 5-2-1-0 in the series, winning the first two before the teams alternated the rest of the way. One of the losses came in overtime. Philadelphia shut out Albany on two occasions - the since-departed Brian Boucher won 3-0 on October 12, and Scott Munroe won 2-0 on February 18.

Late in the first game of the series, on October 12, the two teams engaged in a line brawl late in the third period. The incident resulted in 174 penalty minutes and eight ejections.

SEASON SERIES RECAP Friday, October 12: Phantoms 3, Albany 0

Sunday, November 11: Phantoms 2, Albany 1

Saturday, December 29: Albany 3, Phantoms 1

Saturday, January 5: Phantoms 4, Albany 2

Saturday, February 16: Albany 3, Phantoms 2, OT

Monday, February 18: Phantoms 2, Albany 0

Sunday, March 2: Albany 2, Phantoms 1

Sunday, April 13: Phantoms 3, Albany 2

Phantoms Overall Record: 5-2-1-0

Albany Overall Record: 3-5-0-0

Complete boxscores and recaps for these games can be located at http://www.phantomshockey.com/schedule/scheduleresultsNEW.asp?section=PressBox

PLAYOFF SERIES SCHEDULE Although the series opens at Albany on Wednesday, the Phantoms hold home-ice advantage. The series will follow a 1-2-2-2 format, opening up in Albany before returning to Philadelphia for Games 2 and 3 at the Wachovia Center. All Phantoms home games in the first round will be played at the Wachovia Center while the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performs at the Wachovia Spectrum, the team's regular home, from April 16-27. The series will return to Albany for games 4 and 5, if necessary. Games 6 and 7, also if necessary, will be played at the Wachovia Center.

Game 1: Wednesday, April 16 - Phantoms at Albany, 7:00 Game 2: Friday, April 18 - Albany at Phantoms, 7:05 (Wachovia Center)

Game 3: Sunday, April 20 - Albany at Phantoms, 5:05 (Wachovia Center) Game 4: Tuesday, April 22 - Phantoms at Albany, 7:05

*Game 5: Thursday, April 24 - Phantoms at Albany, 7:05 *Game 6: TBD - Albany at Phantoms *Game 7: TBD - Albany at Phantoms * - if necessary

Unlike the NHL playoffs, the American Hockey League does not seed teams across the whole conference. The first two rounds of the playoffs are within each division. The winner of the Phantoms/Albany series will play the winner of the other East Division Semifinal between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey.

OVERALL LEADING SCORERS (Only Among Players Eligible for Playoffs - format is Games Played, Goals-Assists-Points) Philadelphia C Jared Ross: 67 GP, 23-39-62

LW Stefan Ruzicka: 59 GP, 19-31-50

RW Kyle Greentree: 72 GP, 24-24-48

C Ryan Potulny: 58 GP, 21-26-47

Recently Added to Roster

D Michael Ratchuk (Michigan State): 3 GP, 1-2-3

RW Andreas Nodl (St. Cloud State): 3 GP, 1-0-1

LW Matt Clackson (Western Michigan): 2 GP, 19 PIM

D Jason DeSantis (Ohio State): 10 GP, 0-5-5

LW Jon Kalinski (Minnesota State-Mankato): 5 GP, 0-3-3

Albany C Jamie Johnson: 79 GP, 21-37-58

LW Brandon Nolan: 48 GP, 22-26-48

RW Jakub Petruzalek: 78 GP, 14-31-45

RW Jerome Samson: 65 GP, 21-18-39

Recently Added To Roster

RW Brandon Sutter (Red Deer, WHL): 7 GP, 1-0-1

F Ben Cottreau (Mercyhurst): 9 GP, 3-2-5

PHILADELPHIA VS. ALBANY REGULAR SEASON SERIES LEADERS Philadelphia - Skaters Jared Ross - 7 GP, 1G-4A-5 PTS, 19 PIM

Ryan Potulny - 4 GP, 3G-1A-4 PTS, 6 PIM

Frederik Cabana - 5 GP, 3G-0A-3 PTS, plus-5 rating

Albany - Skaters Jerome Samson - 8 GP, 3G-1A-4 PTS, 6 PM

Noah Babin - 7 GP, 0G-3A-3 PTS, 2 PIM

Casey Borer - 4 GP, 2G-0A-2 PTS, 19 PIM

Philadelphia - Goaltenders Scott Munroe - 4GP, 3-1-0, 5GA, 1.26 GAA, .946 sv%

Albany - Goaltenders Michael Leighton - 5 GP, 3-2-0, 9GA, 1.80 GAA, .943 sv%

Justin Peters - 2 GP, 0-2-0, 2.59 GAA, sv% unavailable

SERIES HISTORY The two clubs are meeting in the postseason for just the second time. It's been ten years since the last meeting, which took place in the 1998 Western Conference Finals. The Phantoms won that series four games to two and went on to defeat the Saint John Flames to win their first Calder Cup championship.

ABOUT THE RIVER RATS Head Coach/General Manager: Tom Rowe

Primary NHL Affiliate: Carolina Hurricanes

Home Arena: Times Union Center

The River Rats joined the American Hockey League for the 1993-94 season as the primary affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. They made the playoffs in each of their first seven seasons, winning the Calder Cup in 1995. The Rats then missed the postseason for six straight campaigns, from 2000-01 until 2005-06. They ended ties with New Jersey in the summer of 2006 and became the dual affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche during the 2006-07 season, and became a Carolina-only primary affiliate prior to this season.

SERIES STORYLINES (additional ones to come throughout the week) The Phantoms are a young team, with an average age of just under 24 years old. Only five players on the team have professional hockey playoff experience - Boyd Kane, Denis Gauthier, Rory Fitzpatrick, Jesse Boulerice, and Martin Grenier. Kane has won two Calder Cups, one with Philadelphia and one with Hershey, and Gauthier made it to the Finals against the Phantoms as a member of the Saint John Flames in 1998.

The River Rats are anchored by goaltender Michael Leighton, who was named the American Hockey League's outstanding goaltender for the 2007-08 season. He finished the year with a 2.10 goals-against average and a save percentage of .931. A year ago, Leighton spent the season surfing the waiver wire. He started the season with the Anaheim organization but was claimed off waivers three times over the course of the year - first by Nashville, then by the Flyers, and finally by Montreal. He played in a total of 26 games for four teams, including five for the Phantoms and four for the Flyers. This year was much more stable for Leighton, as he played three games for Carolina and 58 for Albany.

Brandon Sutter, Carolina's first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, joined the River Rats late this season following the conclusion of his season with the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels. He is part of the second generation of Sutters to play in the NHL. He is the son of former Islanders captain and current New Jersey coach Brent Sutter, and is the nephew of former Flyers Ron Sutter and Rich Sutter.

Two members of the 2005-06 Philadelphia Phantoms squad have latched on and flourished with the River Rats this season. Both Kiel McLeod and Marc Cavosie left the American Hockey League following that season - McLeod spent a year and a half playing in the ECHL, while Cavosie spent last year in Sweden and this year in the ECHL. Both joined the River Rats mid-season and have done quite well - McLeod has five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 20 games, while Cavosie has four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 16 games.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2008


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