Phantoms week in review
March 25, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
The Phantoms began last week on a high note before suffering three consecutive losses over the weekend. Neil Little returned from a stint with the Flyers to make 31 saves in a 2-0 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday. Mike Watt and Vaclav Pletka provided the offense for Philadelphia. Watt scored again for the Phantoms on Friday vs. Hershey, but Jaroslav Obsut's power-play goal with 5:05 remaining lifted the Bears to a 2-1 win. Corey Hirsch registered 27 saves in his Phantoms debut. Norfolk's Michael Leighton and Mike Peluso were the stars on Saturday and Sunday as the Admirals cruised to 6-0 and 4-0 triumphs over the Phantoms. Leighton stopped a combined 43 shots in earning both shutouts and Peluso scored twice in each game. Hirsch totaled 21 saves for Philadelphia on Saturday, while Little made 18 on Sunday.
PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
* 3/19 - ADD Neil Little, reassigned from Flyers (NHL)
* 3/19 - DELETE Maxime Ouellet, traded to Washington Capitals organization (NHL)
* 3/20 - ADD Dan Murphy & Peter Vandermeer, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
* 3/21 - DELETE Tomas Divisek, loaned to Springfield (AHL)
* 3/21 - DELETE Neil Little, recalled by Flyers (NHL)
* 3/21 - ADD Corey Hirsch, acquired on loan from Washington Capitals organization (AHL)
* 3/21 - ADD Kristian Kudroc, acquired on loan from Tampa Bay Lightning organization (AHL)
* 3/22 - DELETE Craig Brunel & Peter Vandermeer, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
* 3/23 - ADD Peter Vandermeer, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
* 3/24 - ADD Neil Little, reassigned by Flyers (NHL)
* 3/24 - DELETE Dan Murphy, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
* 3/25 - DELETE Neil Little, recalled by Flyers (NHL)
* 3/25 - ADD Dan Murphy, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
DOWN THE STRETCH WE COME
Four of Philadelphia's final seven games will be played at the First Union Spectrum and five of them are against South Division opponents. Entering this week's action, the Phantoms (77 points) own the eighth seed in the Western Conference, two points behind seventh-place Hershey and four in back of No. 5 seed Chicago, which has played an extra game. The seventh through 10th seeds will play a best-of-three qualifying tournament this season before the conference quarterfinals begin. Rochester currently owns the 10th spot in the West with 75 points.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
A lucky family of four will win a trip to Jamaica at Wednesday's game vs. Bridgeport. The four-day, three-night trip, which includes hotel accommodations and airfare, is being given away courtesy of AAA Mid-Atlantic and U.S. Airways Vacations. Wednesday is also Snyder's of Hanover Switcheroo Night, as all adults can purchase tickets for children's prices ($8) the day of the game. The first 4,500 kids (14 & under) on Friday will receive a free John LeClair bobblehead doll. Doors open for the game at 5:30 p.m.
PHANTOMS STRUGGLING WITHOUT TILEY & SLANEY
The Phantoms took a hit to their back line during their 4-2 win over Houston on Feb. 18, as the AHL's last two Eddie Shore Award winners went down with injuries. Brad Tiley suffered a broken tibia in his left leg and will miss the remainder of the regular season. John Slaney sustained a fractured right ankle, but is expected to return to the lineup this week. The Phantoms are 3-10-1-1 since the duo went down.
Tiley, the 1999-2000 Eddie Shore winner and a four-time AHL All-Star, compiled six goals and 15 assists over 56 games during his second season with the Phantoms. Slaney, last season's Eddie Shore winner, was leading the Phantoms and all AHL defensemen in points (57), goals (19) and assists (37) at the time of his injury. He is a three-time AHL All-Star and served as the Canadian team captain during this year's event.
UPCOMING OPPONENTS
Philadelphia brings a 2-1 record vs. Bridgeport into their fourth and final meeting of the year this Wednesday. Vaclav Pletka registered a goal and two assists in a 4-1 Phantoms victory on Oct. 10 in Bridgeport. Mark Greig also recorded a goal and an assist, Mark Freer had two assists and Neil Little made 26 saves. Petr Hubacek and Francis Lessard each collected two points and Maxime Ouellet stopped 23 shots as the Phantoms posted a 4-2 home win on Dec. 7. The expansion Sound Tigers got their first win over Philadelphia on Jan. 20 as Jason Krog had two goals and an assist in a 5-3 decision. Guillaume Lefebvre scored twice for the Phantoms in that game.
The Phantoms host the Albany River Rats on Friday as the teams conclude their two-game season series. Steve Guolla led Albany to a 4-2 home win on Jan. 11 when he scored a pair of goals over the final six minutes to snap a 2-2 tie. Mark Freer and Kirby Law each totaled a goal and an assist for Philadelphia. Albany won four of six match-ups between the teams last season, as Philadelphia captured two of the three games at home before dropping three in a row in Albany. Philadelphia is 8-11-3-1 all-time vs. the River Rats, including a 5-4-1-1 mark at home.
Philadelphia will try to gain ground on first-place Norfolk in the South Division this Saturday. The Phantoms fell to 2-5-1 vs. the Admirals with a pair of shutout losses over the weekend. Michael Leighton made 24 saves in Saturday's 6-0 home win and then stopped all 19 shots he faced on Sunday in a 4-0 decision. Mike Peluso scored two goals in each game for Norfolk. The Admirals won the first encounter 3-2 at home on Oct. 27 thanks to 19 saves by Leighton. Vaclav Pletka and Dan Peters each scored for Philadelphia, while Neil Little stopped 29 shots. On Jan. 13, Guillaume Lefebvre scored twice for Philadelphia, but Bobby Russell's power-play goal with 3:57 remaining was the difference in a 4-3 Admirals victory at the First Union Center. Tomas Divisek scored twice for Philadelphia, while Tyler Arnason had two goals and an assist for the Admirals in a 4-4 tie at Norfolk on Jan. 26. Little made 31 saves in a 2-1 Phantoms home win on Jan. 30 and Mark Greig registered two goals and an assist in a 6-3 road win on Feb. 6. Ajay Baines scored twice in a 4-2 Norfolk win on Feb. 24. The Phantoms went 5-2-0-1 against Norfolk last season during its inaugural season in the AHL, including a 3-1-0 mark at home. The teams' last regular-season meeting is set for Saturday, April 6 in Philadelphia.
PHANTOMS THREE OVERTIME GAMES SHY OF AHL RECORD
Philadelphia's total of 22 overtime games played exceeds the previous club mark of 19 set in 1997-98 and is three shy of the league record of 25, established this season by the Rochester Americans. The previous mark of 24 was held by Portland (1996-97), Hamilton (1997-98) and St. John's (1997-98). Philadelphia has also set a new team record for ties in a season (14). The previous franchise mark of 10 was established in both 1996-97 & 1997-98. The AHL record for ties in a season is 18, set by St. John's in 1997-98.
PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
* Goaltender Neil Little is second in the league in goals-against average (2.06).
* Defenseman John Slaney still ranks tied for first among AHL defensemen in points (57) and is second in goals (19).
* Center Guillaume Lefebvre is tied for first among AHL rookies with three shorthanded goals.
* Left wing Peter Vandermeer is fifth in penalty minutes (311).
* Philadelphia is second in penalty killing (.866 percent) and is tied for second in penalty minutes per game (28.4).
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
* Goaltender Corey Hirsch and defensemen Kristian Kudroc and David Harlock all made their Phantoms debuts last week. Left wing Todd Fedoruk, who appeared in 33 games with the team over the past two years, made his season debut.
* Goaltender Neil Little snapped a personal five-game losing streak with his second shutout of the season, fifth as a Phantom and eighth as a pro on March 20 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
* Centers Mark Freer and Guillaume Lefebvre are the only Phantoms to appear in all 73 games this season. Center Jarrrod Skalde has also appeared in 73 games this year, but the first 64 were with the Chicago Wolves.
* Right wing Kirby Law played in his 300th game as a pro on March 24 vs. Norfolk.
* Philadelphia has been shut out a club-record eight times this season and blanked an opponent on just three occasions. The team had never been held scoreless in back-to-back games before this weekend.
* The fatigue-style jerseys the Phantoms wore on March 22 vs. Hershey will be auctioned off online at www.phantomshockey.com
Tickets to all Phantoms home games are $12, $16 and $17 for adults, and $8 for all children 14 and under, and are available now at the First Union Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations throughout the Delaware Valley. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling (215) 336-2000 or (856) 338-9000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com
The Philadelphia Phantoms are on the World Wide Web at www.phantomshockey.com. The site is the best way for fans to stay updated with the latest news about the Phantoms, including timely scoring updates, statistics, news releases, player biographies and more.
American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2002
