Phantoms week in review

Published on January 9, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


WEEK IN REVIEW

Wednesday, Jan. 4: Bridgeport 1, Phantoms 0 - Bridgeport goaltender Frederic Clouthier made 30 saves to lift the Sound Tigers to a 1-0 win at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The only goal on the evening came from Bruno Gervais, who scored at the 12:34 mark of the second period. Martin Houle was perfect otherwise, stopping 25 of 26 Bridgeport shots. The teams combined for 136 penalty minutes, 128 of which came in the first two periods.

Friday, Jan. 6: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4, Phantoms 2 - Philadelphia cut into a two-goal lead on two occasions, but could not quite find enough offense to top the Penguins at the Wachovia Spectrum. Wilkes-Barre jumped out to a 2-0 advantage on goals by Arpad Mihaly and Noah Welch. Brent Kelly scored at 11:28 of the second to make it a 2-1 game, but the Penguins regained the double-goal lead when Guillaume Lefebvre redirected a puck home early in the third period. Josh Gratton scored at 11:45 to pull the Phantoms within a goal once again, but an empty-netter sealed Philadelphia's fate. Martin Houle stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced, while Penguins netminder Dany Sabourin made 24 saves on 26 Phantoms chances.

Saturday, Jan. 7: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1, Phantoms 0 - The Phantoms threw everything they had at the Penguins on Saturday night, but were unable to slip a puck past goaltender Dany Sabourin in a 1-0 loss at Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. Kenny Corupe scored the game's only goal at 13:43 of the third period. Sabourin stopped all 20 Philadelphia opportunities to earn the shutout. Phantoms goaltender Rejean Beauchemin also put forth a solid effort, making several highlight-reel saves and showing no signs of rust in his first start for the Phantoms since November 12. He stopped 29 of 30 Penguins shots and earned the evening's third star for his efforts. It was the fifth time this season that Philadelphia had suffered a shutout, and the third time this season - along with the second time in the past week - that the Phantoms had lost a game by a 1-0 score.

Sunday, Jan. 8: Phantoms 4, Lowell 2 - Matt Ellison scored his first three goals as a Phantom to register his first career hat trick and lead Philadelphia to a 4-2 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters at the Wachovia Spectrum. Marc Cavosie had the other Philadelphia goal, his first of the season, and Riley Cote had an assist for his first point of the year. Rejean Beauchemin started his second consecutive game and took the win, making 30 saves on 32 Lowell shots. Vitaly Kolesnik absorbed the loss, making 28 saves on 32 Phantoms chances.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14: Phantoms at Manitoba - Philadelphia will enjoy a light week in terms of games, but will endure its longest road trip of the season in terms of distance when the team visits the Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks) for two games this week. The 3200-mile round trip to Winnipeg has the Phantoms getting on a plane for the first time this season. The teams met in Philadelphia on Dec. 7 for the Phantoms annual School Day game, an 11AM start that ended with Manitoba taking a 3-1 win. The Moose enter the week with a record of 23-13-3-2 for 51 points, which puts them second in the North Division and third overall in the Western Conference. Goaltender Wade Flaherty is tied for seventh in the AHL with a 2.37 GAA, while Jesse Schultz leads the team offensively with 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points.

PHANTOMS RECEIVING STELLAR FAN SUPPORT

The Wachovia Spectrum has been booming over the past few games. This weekend, the Phantoms welcomed a total of over 15,500 fans into the building for the games against Wilkes-Barre and Lowell. In their last three contests, Philadelphia has averaged 8,056 fans per game.

SLANEY-PALOOZA

Sunday's game capped off a whirlwind week of honors for Phantoms captain John Slaney. The blueliner recorded his 300th career AHL assist when he helped on Matt Ellison's first goal of the night. On Friday night, a week after becoming the American Hockey League's all-time leading scoring defenseman, Slaney was honored before the game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with awards from the Flyers/Phantoms organization and the American Hockey League. Slaney registered his 454th career point with an assist in the Dec. 30 game against Bridgeport, breaking a 41-year-old record formerly held by Steve Kraftcheck. AHL president Dave Andrews presented Slaney with an award from the AHL, and Flyers director of pro player personnel Ron Hextall was on hand to present a gift from the team.

SHAKING IT OFF

Sunday's win over Lowell did a lot to help the Phantoms pull out of a recent funk. The 4-2 victory snapped a five-game losing streak for Philadelphia, a stretch in which they only scored four goals. At the same time, the team's defense and goaltending stood out, as two of the losses were 1-0 affairs. It was the first time in seven games that the Phantoms had scored first, and the third time this season that Philadelphia registered three goals in the first period.

OUT AND ABOUT

Watch for your Philadelphia Phantoms in the community and on the air over the next week, with the following schedule:

TONIGHT - Rejean Beauchemin and Brent Kelly will be at Action Sports in Pottstown at 6:30.

WEDNESDAY - Phantoms head coach John Stevens will be on XM Satellite Radio's Home Ice channel 204 at 8:45 Wednesday morning. Later that day, Pat Kavanagh will be a guest on Bill Clement's Hockey World radio show, which airs on 1490-AM WBCB at 6pm.

Also this week, KYW 1060 will feature Phantoms captain John Slaney and his recent record accomplishment.

ROCK 'N ROLL MIC NIGHT AT THE SPECTRUM

Make sure you get your tickets for the Phantoms next game at the Wachovia Spectrum, coming up on Friday, January 20. It's Rock 'N Roll Mic Night at the Spectrum, featuring Preston from WMMR's Preston & Steve morning show, who will be doing karaoke with fans before the game and during the intermissions, and will also be roaming the stands during the game. Afterwards, local rock band IKE will perform live at center ice, with this concert coming just days before they open up for a sold-out Bon Jovi performance in Atlantic City!

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT THE PHANTOMS

"We've learned to live without the players. Tonight is 200 man-games lost. What helped us was the people we brought in from the Phantoms." - Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock, on his team leading the NHL despite a rash of injuries

Guys like R.J. Umberger, Ben Eager, Freddy Meyer, and now Randy Jones. They've proven they can play in the NHL and more than that, they contribute with points. - Tim Panaccio, Philadelphia Inquirer

So here we go into the second half of the season with, as many expected back in September, the Flyers looking down on the rest of the NHL. But who could have guessed how they got there? With Freddy and Ben and R.J. and a bunch of other kids looking like they're straight out of casting for some teen movie, that's how. - Wayne Fish, Bucks County Courier Times

Three months ago, expectations were high. So, if it was known that the Flyers would have the best record in the NHL at the halfway point of the season, it wouldn't have come as much of a surprise. But if the known included a roster decimated by injuries, and the fact that it would be patched together with a few handfuls of players who spent last season or part of this season in the AHL and still the best record in the league was in the cards at the midpoint, it would have seemed to be no more than a figment of imagination. - Anthony SanFilippo, Delco Times

PHANTOMS MEDIA GUIDES ARE IN

The 2005-06 Philadelphia Phantoms media guide is now available! The 132-page, full-color guide is packed with information on the current team, last year's team, and every team before it. Media members can obtain their complimentary copy by contacting the Phantoms PR office. Fans can order the guide for $12 plus shipping and handling by calling the Phantoms at 215-465-4522 or can pick up the guide at any home game.

PHANTOMSHOCKEY.COM

Don't forget to check out www.phantomshockey.com every day for the latest news on the Philadelphia Phantoms! In addition to press releases, player bios and schedules, you can download wallpaper featuring your favorite player, try your hand at several games, and much more!

TICKET INFORMATION

All kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $8. To purchase, go to phantomshockey.com and click tickets. To charge by phone, call (215) 336-2000, (856) 338-9000 or (302) 984-2000.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2006


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.

OurSports Central