Phantoms sink Admirals, 2-0

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Phantoms sink Admirals, 2-0

by David W. Unkle
March 9, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)




(NORFOLK) ‚¬" Coming off two overtime losses this weekend, the last team the Philadelphia Phantoms wanted to face was the Norfolk Admirals. For the third game in a row, the Phantoms took a lead into the third period while shutting out their opponent through the first two stanzas.

Philadelphia started the game with the same lackluster performance that created the overtime loss to the 16-42-5-3 Lowell Lock Monsters Saturday.

"It was a stupid loss," said Phantoms defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. "We just didn ‚¬â„¢t play smart enough to protect the win. It was mental fatigue yesterday and today we tried to look ahead and learn a lesson from the loss."

And learn they did. Playing sixty minutes of hockey at both ends of the ice often results in good things.

The Phantoms power play, not normally known for its prowess (next to last on the road), generated the first two Philadelphia goals.

Mark Greig took Peter White ‚¬â„¢s feed through the slot and one-timed it past Norfolk goalie Michael Leighton for the 1-0 lead just thirty seconds into the power play.

It would be Greig ‚¬â„¢s seventh game-winner of the season.

Seidenberg ‚¬â„¢s tally from between the circles gave the Phantoms their second power play goal of the afternoon with Marty Wilford in the box for high-sticking.

Admirals captain Ajay Baines lost his stick on the play, giving the Phantoms the pseudo five-on-three advantage. Seidenberg weaved his way through the Norfolk defense for his first AHL goal.

"I saw that (Baines) lost his stick and when I went to the middle, he went down," said Seidenberg. "I went around him and took the shot. I don ‚¬â„¢t think the goalie saw the puck and I was lucky it went in."

"We got four out of six points and normally you would be excited about that but the way we got them tells a different story," said Phantoms Head Coach John Stevens.

Added Stevens, "It was probably our best effort in a long time. It ‚¬â„¢s a credit to our guys that they came out and played with the character that they did. We ‚¬â„¢re in a position now that we can ‚¬â„¢t sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. There ‚¬â„¢s no sense in watching the scoreboard when we ‚¬â„¢re not winning our own games."

The gut check begins now for the Phantoms as they have four days to reflect on the events of this weekend.

Whether they are still (and deserve to be) playing hockey in the second week of April remains unknown.

Fans can visit the Phantoms web site for schedule and ticket information at: www.phantomshockey.com and www.admirals.com for the Admirals.

SCORING

1st Period: PHL Greig 26 (White, Wright) 14:26 (pp).
2nd Period: PHL Seidenberg 1 (J. Vandermeer, Savage) 14:34 (pp).
3rd Period: No scoring

SCORE BY PERIOD: 

Philadelphia:   1-1-0
Norfolk:        0-0-0

SHOTS ON GOAL: 

Philadelphia:   6-11-3
Norfolk:        11-4-7

POWER PLAY: 

                PPG	ATT
Philadelphia:   2	5
Norfolk:        0	6

GOALIES: 

                Shots	Saves	GA	Mins
Little (PHL)    22	22	0	60:00
Leighton (NOR)  20	18	2	59:08

PENALTIES

1st Period: PHL Lephart (cross-checking) 1:04; NOR McLean (hooking) 1:04; NOR Yakubov (high-sticking) 9:27; NOR Yakubov (tripping) 13:56; PHL Skolney (hooking) 14:51.

2nd Period: PHL P. Vandermeer (boarding) 2:41; NOR Halperl (elbowing, roughing) 2:41; PHL Tiley (interference) 5:59; NOR Peluso (tripping) 9:03; NOR Wilford (high-sticking) 12:43; PHL Greig (hooking) 15:58: NOR Baines (roughing) 18:35; PHL Savage (double minor, roughing) 18:35.

3rd Period: PHL Seidenberg (cross-checking) 00:53; NOR Henderson (unsportsmanlike, diving) 0:43; PHL White (slashing) 10:52; PHL Savage (holding) 15:35; PHL J. Vandermeer (tripping) 19:08.

Officials: Referee Dean Morton; Linesmen: Scott Pomento and Terry Wicklum

ATTENDANCE: 4,283

STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Mark Greig (PHL)
  2. Dennis Seidenberg (PHL)
  3. Ajay Baines (NOR)

NOTES:

  1. Norfolk holds a 5-3-0-0 advantage in the season series including a 2-2-0-0 mark at home.
  2. The Phantoms are 12-11-1-2 in the all-time series, with a 6-4-1-2 record on the road.
  3. The Admirals Mike Peluso has registered nine points (3G, 6A) in seven games against the Phantoms.
  4. The Phantoms are 2-4-1-3 in their last nine games.

The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central.

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