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Phantoms Weekly Notes

January 7, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Wednesday, January 9: Phantoms at Lowell Devils, 7:05 - The Phantoms and the Lowell Devils (New Jersey Devils) get together for the second time in five days when they meet at Lowell's Tsongas Arena. In Friday's game, Philadelphia hung on for a 3-2 victory after jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Petr Vrana is the team's leading scorer with eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points. Noah Clarke and Barry Tallackson, the team's second and third leading scorers, respectively, were returned by New Jersey on Friday. Former Phantoms defenseman Rosario Ruggeri has two goals and three assists, while longtime NHL defenseman Richard Matvichuk has an assist in 24 games played.

Friday, January 11: Phantoms vs. Lake Erie Monsters, 7:05 - The Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche) visit Philadelphia for the first time this Friday night, and only time this season. Lake Erie is based out of Cleveland, Ohio and is owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA ownership group. The team includes several members of last year's Albany River Rats squad, where Carolina and Colorado split an affiliation for two seasons. Also on the roster is former Phantoms center Brent Kelly, who played 74 games in Philadelphia during the 2005-06 season. The Monsters start the week in sixth place in the North Division of the Western Conference with a record of 11-19-1-5 for 28 points. The teams met in Cleveland on December 1 in a game the Phantoms lost 2-1.

Saturday, January 12: Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05 - The Phantoms continue the season series with their rivals up the Northeast Extension when they visit Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Pittsburgh Penguins) on Saturday night. It's the sixth game of the 12-game season series between the two. The Phantoms won the first three games against the Baby Pens, but have dropped the last two. The most recent was a 3-2 setback in Philadelphia on Dec. 16. That win was the second in a nine-game winning streak that just ended on Friday night and vaulted the Pens into second place in the East Division. They were a .500 team when the streak started but they're now 21-13-0-1 for 43 points. Tim Brent is the team's leading scorer with six goals and 27 assists for 33 points, while Chris Minard leads the club with 17 goals.

Saturday, January 13: Phantoms vs. Manchester, 5:05 - The Phantoms welcome the Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) for their only visit of the season to the Wachovia Spectrum. Rookie Teddy Purcell has been lighting up the AHL, posting 12 goals and 35 assists for 47 points in 36 games, the second most in the league. The Monarchs enter the week in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 15-15-4-2 for 36 points.

PHANTOMS RESET

The Phantoms are 25-10-1-0 for 51 points. Rankings are as follows:

East Division - 1st, eight points ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and nine ahead of Hershey and Albany.

Eastern Conference - 2nd, 10 points behind a simply ridiculous Providence team that is 29-5-2-1

AHL - T-4 with Chicago, behind Providence, Toronto (3 back) and Rockford (1 back)

Comparisons to past teams through 36 games:

2007-08: 25-10-1-0, 51 points (most wins through 36 games in franchise history)

2004-05: 23-8-2-3, 51 points

1997-98: 24-7-1-4, 53 points

1996-97: 22-7-2-5, 49 points

The 2004-05 and 1997-98 teams won Calder Cups; the 1996-97 team had the best regular season record in team history.

Last year's team did not reach 51 points until February 24 and did not reach 25 wins until March 11.

LEARN A LOT WITH LITTLE

Friday night is the January installment of "Learn A Lot With Little," the monthly pregame chat with Phantoms goaltending coach Neil Little. He'll be talking with fans in Bullies about the Monsters strengths and weaknesses, and the keys to the game for the Phantoms. Visit phantomshockey.com for more details on the program and to RSVP!

THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER

The Phantoms have stepped up to the challenge when it comes to playing three games in three consecutive nights. This past weekend was the fourth time this season that the Phantoms have swept a three-game weekend. The team has played three games in three nights on eight occasions so far this season, and their overall record in those 24 games is 19-4-1-0, giving the team 39 of a possible 48 points. The Phantoms have three games over each of the next two weekends, and after that will play three consecutive games on five more occasions before the end of the season.

STILL GOING

The success mentioned above is good news considering the fact that although the Phantoms have played seven games in the last 11 days, they still have a long road ahead before the All-Star Break at the end of the month. Wednesday's game in Lowell starts a stretch of 11 games in 18 days. Overall in January, the Phantoms are stuffing 14 games into 23 days between Jan. 4 and Jan. 26.

A TEAM EFFORT

The Phantoms put forth some remarkable numbers as a team over their three-game weekend. Nearly the entire roster contributed offensively in an effort that displays some considerable depth in the organization.

- Eighteen players appeared in at least one game for the Phantoms this weekend, and 15 of those players came out of the weekend with at least one point.

- A total of 16 players appeared in all three games, and of that group, 13 players recorded at least two points.

- As a team, the Phantoms recorded a total of 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points over the three games, yet no individual player accounted for more than four of them.

Also, Philadelphia completed the 3-0 weekend despite five of the team's top-10 scorers missing at least one game due to injury or recall to the Flyers. Four of those five players - Darren Reid, Boyd Kane, Stefan Ruzicka and Steve Downie - missed all three of the games.

WEEKLY NOMINATIONS

The Phantoms nominated center Ryan Potulny for AHL Player of the Week consideration. Potulny had five points over the course of the week. He posted an assist on Monday night in Hershey and followed that up with a four-point weekend, recording two goals and two assists over the three-in-three stretch. Potulny was recalled this morning by the Flyers.

Honourable mention goes to:

Jared Ross - team's leading scorer, a goal and four assists over the weekend

Alexandre Picard - four assists

Pete Zingoni - three goals, one assist on the weekend

Scott Munroe - leads the league in goals-against average with a 2.01

Brian Boucher - fourth in the league in wins with 15 but just one behind the three goalies tied for the league lead; seventh in goals-against with a 2.21

OTHER NOTES

Alexandre Picard tied a franchise record when he posted three assists in the first period of Sunday's 6-2 win over Bridgeport. The mark of three assists in a period has been accomplished by "Several"...Philadelphia's special teams play returned to its early-season efficiency over the weekend. The power play was 5 for 15 (33 percent) and the penalty kill was 17 for 18 (94 percent).

TOYOTA CUP STANDINGS

Brian Boucher continues to lead the annual race for the Toyota Cup. Players are awarded points each time they are chosen as a star of the game, with five points given for a first star, three points for a second star and one point for a third star. The player with the most points at the end of the season will win a monetary donation to the charity of his choice courtesy of Toyota.

Player 1st Star 2nd Star 3rd Star Points

Brian Boucher 5 3 2 36

Steve Downie 2 2 0 16

Darren Reid 3 0 1 16

Alexandre Picard 3 0 0 15

Jared Ross 2 1 2 15

Stefan Ruzicka 2 1 1 14

Ryan Potulny 2 1 0 13

Boyd Kane 1 2 0 11

Jonathan Matsumoto 0 3 1 10

Denis Tolpeko 1 1 1 9

Pete Zingoni 0 3 0 9

Scott Munroe 1 1 0 8

Frederik Cabana 1 0 1 6

Kyle Greentree 0 0 4 4

Darroll Powe 0 1 1 4

Oskars Bartulis 0 1 0 3

Triston Grant 0 1 0 3

Jesse Boulerice 0 0 1 1

Nate Guenin 0 0 1 1

David Laliberte 0 0 1 1

PHANTOMS HOCKEY ON THE INTERNET

The Phantoms have teamed up with the Philadelphia Area Dodge Dealers to provide free audio broadcasts of all Phantoms games, home and away, this season. The Phantoms official website, Phantomshockey.com, in conjunction with league and team partner B2 Networks, will provide the home for the audio. In addition to the games, Dodge will also bring the ever-popular Coaches Corner to fans on Phantomshockey.com. New editions of the weekly sit-down with Phantoms head coach Craig Berube will be posted to the site every Tuesday.

WATCH THE GAMES THROUGH B2

Every Phantoms game this season is being broadcast with streaming video through the league's partnership with B2 Networks. A ticket for the game is $6, which allows fans to watch the game via a broadband Internet connection from their own homes! Visit www.phantomshockey.com for more details.

TICKET INFORMATION

All kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $10. To purchase, go to phantomshockey.com or call 1-800-298-4200.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Date Opponent Site Time

Wednesday, January 9 Lowell Devils Tsongas Arena 7:05

Friday, January 11 Lake Erie Monsters Wachovia Spectrum 7:05

Saturday, January 12 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Arena 7:05

Sunday, January 13 Manchester Monarchs Wachovia Spectrum 5:05

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Date Opponent Site Result Score

Friday, January 4 Lowell Devils Wachovia Spectrum W 3-2

Sat., January 5 Albany River Rats Times Union Center W 4-2

Sunday, January 6 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Wachovia Spectrum W 6-2

Live audio and video broadcasts are available for every game at Phantomshockey.com.

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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.

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