Phantoms Prevail in Shootout

by David W. Unkle
Published on November 12, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms


(PHILADELPHIA)---The cliché is that you have to play sixty minutes of hockey.

Marc-Andre Fleury played fifty-nine minutes of solid hockey during regulation time.

With 36.2 seconds to go and with the extra attacker, Peter White set the stage for overtime and the shootout knocking in a Joni Pitkanen rebound.

The Phantoms did in the shootout what they couldn't do most of the night---find a way to get the puck past Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

"I'm not so sure of the shootout," said Phantoms Head Coach John Stevens.

"I'm not so sure I'd like to be on the losing side but it sure is nice to get two points against a divisional opponent."

Fleury was undefeated in his last three starts, carrying a 0.97 goals against average and .967 save percentage into tonight's contest against the Phantoms.

"I think both goalies made some big-time saves throughout the hockey game," said Stevens.

The first overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft kept Philadelphia scoreless, stopping hot-handed Patrick Sharp and Pitkanen in the closing minutes of the second period while preserving a one-goal lead.

John Slaney, the AHL's all-time leading scorer among defenseman, knotted the score at 1:31 of the final period but the excitement was short lived.

Maxime Talbot and the Pens came right down the ice regaining the lead just 36 seconds after Slaney's goal.

With the extra attacker, White knocked home Pitkanen's blast from the high slot through one of the few times there was traffic in front of the Penguins goal.

A scoreless overtime set the stage for the Penguins third shootout and the Phantoms' first in regular season action.

After surrendering shootout goals to Beech and Christensen on the first three shot faced, Niittymaki shut the door setting the stage for the Phantoms' historic win.

Pitkanen and Patrick Sharp, whose nine-game scoring streak came to an end tonight each scored for Philadelphia.

Rookie R.J. Umberger, who scored his first professional goal five days earlier, netted the game winner for the 3-2 Philadelphia win.

"I noticed that (Fleury) was leaning to his left side; I wanted to come down on my forehand and put (the puck) in low to his blocker" said Umberger.

"I think R.J.'s line played really well tonight and they earned the right to be out there (in the game's final minute)."

As for his rookie's performance in the shootout, "it's great when you see guys that you put in that situation and they come through for you."

SCORING

WBS: 0-1-1-0-0
PHL: 0-0-2-0-1

SHOTS ON GOAL

WBS: 6-13-6-0-0
PHL: 11-8-10-5-1

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1
No scoring.

Period 2
WBS Endicott 9 (Scuderi) 10:55.

Period 3

PHL Slaney 1 (White, Umberger) 1:31 (pp)
WBS Talbot 1 (Abid, Hussey) 2:07
PHL White 2 (Pitkanen, Smith) extra attacker 19:23

Overtime
No Scoring.

Shootout

WBS PHL
Shooter Score Score Shooter
Michel Ouellet No No Mark Murphy
Kris Beech Yes No Tony Voce
Erik Christensen Yes Yes Joni Pitkanen
Shane Endicott No Yes Patrick Sharp
Tomas Surovy No Yes R.J. Umberger

POWER PLAYS

WBS: 0 for 2
PHL: 1 for 6

GOALIES S SA MIN
Fleury (WBS) 32 34 65:00
Niittymaki (PHL) 23 25 64:46

ATTENDANCE: 7,421

NOTES:

  1. The Phantoms have won eight in a row, one shy of the franchise record set in 1997, while allowing just 12 goals during that span.
  2. Patrick Sharp's nine game scoring streak came to an end tonight; he had previously scored in the team's previous nine games this season.
  3. Shane Endicott has scored a goal in nine of the Penguins' first 13 contests in 2004-05, including four straight.
  4. Philadelphia's Joni Pitkanen has five assists and Peter White has six assists in the team's last five games.
  5. Antero Niittymaki is undefeated in his last six starts.
  6. Philadelphia now leads the all-time series 32-17-3-1 including a 15-9-2-1 mark at home.
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American Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2004


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