Phantoms Weekly Notes

Published on February 25, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Friday, February 29 - Phantoms vs. Binghamton Senators, 7:05: This will be the seventh match-up between these two clubs this season. The Phantoms are 4-2 against the Senators so far. The Senators came out on top by a score of 4-2 in the last game between these teams, thanks in large part to a 41-save night for goaltender Jeff Glass. The Senators are currently 26-23-5-4 for 61 points, which puts them in 6th place in the East Division but just four points behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the final playoff slot in the division.

Saturday, March 1- Phantoms at Wilkes/Barre Scranton Penguins, 7:05: This will be the eighth game between these two games this season. The Phantoms currently lead the season series with a record of 5-2. In the last meeting on February 15, Brian Boucher stopped all 23 shots for his fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory. Lars Jonsson scored the only goal for either team. The Penguins are currently 31-22-0-3 for 65 points, which puts them in 4th place in the East Division, 13 points behind the Phantoms.

Sunday, March 2- Phantoms at Albany River Rats, 5:00: The Phantoms are 3-2 this season versus the River Rats. In the last game on Feb. 18, Scott Munroe posted a shutout for the Phantoms with 24 saves to lead the Phantoms to a 2-0 win over the River Rats on President's Day. Frederik Cabana and Jonathan Matsumoto found the net for the Phantoms. The River Rats are currently 31-24-1-3 for 66 points, which puts them in 3rd place in the East Division, 12 points behind the Phantoms.

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

WEEKEND RECAP

The Phantoms split a home-and-home series with the Hershey Bears this weekend. After a 3-2 loss at the Wachovia Spectrum on Friday, the Phantoms picked up an extremely important come-from-behind win on Saturday night in Hershey. The team was down 3-0 after the first period, but came back to score three in the second period and two more in the third period to win it. Had the Bears won that game, they would have swept the home-and-home series and would be within six points of Philadelphia today in the East Division standings. Instead, they are 10 points back.

PHANTOMS RESET

The Phantoms are 37-18-2-2 for 78 points through 59 games. Rankings are as follows:

East Division - 1st, 10 points ahead of Hershey

Eastern Conference - 3rd, seven points behind Providence and two behind Hartford

AHL - 5th, behind the above, plus Toronto and Chicago in the Western Conference

Comparisons to past years through 59 games:

2007-08: 37-18-2-2, 78 points

2006-07: 23-29-2-5, 53 points

2004-05: 34-19-2-4, 74 points

1997-98: 38-14-1-6, 83 points

1996-97: 38-12-2-7, 85 points

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

2004-05 and later are W-L-OTL-SOL. 1996-97 and 1997-98 are W-L-OTL-T

The Phantoms equaled last season's total of 30 wins on February 1 and last season's total of 70 points on February 12.

With 21 games remaining, there are 42 standings points available to the Phantoms. They need to grab 34 of those 42 points through a combination of wins and overtime/shootout losses to break the franchise record of 111 standings points in a season held by the 1996-97 team. Doing so would require a minimum record of 17-4 in the final 21 games.

The team needs 13 wins in those 21 games to become the first team in franchise history to win 50 games in a season.

DON'T MISS THE FIRST TRIBUTE TO BOB CLARKE

This Friday, February 29, the Phantoms will give away a Bobby Clarke figurine courtesy of Toyota to the first 5,000 fans through the doors for the 7:05 start against the Binghamton Senators at the Wachovia Spectrum. This figurine depicts Clarke's leap after scoring in overtime against Boston in Game 2 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, a moment that is frozen in the Bobby Clarke Trophy given away annually to the Flyers team MVP. Tickets are still available! Call 1-800-298-4200 or visit www.phantomshockey.com for more details.

BOB CLARKE TICKET PACKAGES NOW AVAILABLE

The Phantoms have two ticket packages available that will let you catch every moment of the team's tributes to Bob Clarke over the next month. Both packages include four lower-level tickets to the Feb. 29 game with the Clarke figurine giveaway and to the March 30 game for the Hall of Fame induction, as well as an autographed Clarke item. One package also includes four tickets to the April 6 Phantoms game and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Wachovia Spectrum. For more information, vist Phantomshockey.com or call 215-465-4522.

ON THE TUBE

Friday night is also the second and final game on the Phantoms regular season television schedule. Flyers radio voice Tim Saunders and former Flyer Orest Kindrachuk will have the call on Comcast SportsNet beginning at 7:00 PM.

PHANTOMS READING TOUR CONTINUES THIS WEEK

Phantoms players will make 12 separate reading appearances at schools throughout the greater Philadelphia region this week. The tentative schedule is as follows and is subject to change:

Monday, February 25

1. Petway Elementary, Vineland, NJ - Chad Anderson

2. Parkway Elementary, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Scott Munroe

3. Roberts Elementary, Moorestown, NJ - Kyle Greentree

Tuesday, February 26

1. Scenic Hill Elementary, Springfield, PA - Darroll Powe

2. Fleetwood Elementary, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Jonathan Matsumoto

Wednesday, February 27

1. Fleetwood Elementary, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Josh Beaulieu

2. Larchmont Elementary, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Jared Ross

3. Broad St. School, Bridgeton, NJ - Darren Reid

Thursday, February 28

1. Bells Elementary, Turnersville, NJ - Jonathan Matsumoto

2. Beeler Elementary, Marlton, NJ - Kyle Greentree & Josh Beaulieu (evening visit)

3. Notre Dame de Lourdes, Swarthmore, PA - Frederik Cabana

4. St. John of the Cross, Rosyln, PA - TBD

Except where noted, all appearances are in the early afternoon hours. Media are invited to cover and should contact Phantoms PR for specific times and any late changes.

MAKING A COMEBACK

Philadelphia's erasure of a 3-0 first intermission deficit was its largest comeback of the season to this point. The Phantoms had not won a game this year in which they had trailed by more than two goals. The previous mark was a late comeback from a 2-0 deficit against Bridgeport on November 9.

A WEEK OF REST

This week is the first since the All-Star break, and just the second since December 17-20, that the Phantoms do not have a mid-week (Mon-Thu) game. The Phantoms are 4-6 in mid-week games this season, including a 1-5 record on Wednesdays.

DIVISONAL DUTIES

The coming weekend set against Binghamton, Wilkes-Barre and Albany marks the midpoint of a stretch of 13 consecutive games for the Phantoms against East Division opponents. In the five games so far, Philadelphia is 3-1-1-0 for seven out of a possible 10 points.

KANE NOMINATED

The Phantoms nominated center Boyd Kane for Rbk/AHL Player of the Week honors this week. Philadelphia's captain posted five points in two games over the weekend during a home-and-home with Hershey, his former team. It started with a goal 50 seconds into Friday night's 3-2 loss at the Wachovia Spectrum. On Saturday, Kane recorded two goals and two assists to lead the Phantoms out of a 3-0 first-intermission deficit to a 5-3 victory. He totaled two goals and three assists, as well as a plus-3 rating.

NOTES

The Phantoms are 18-18-2-2 when scoring three or fewer goals in a game, and are 18-0 when scoring four or more. They are 35-7-2-1 when allowing three or fewer goals in a game, and 1-11-0-1 when allowing four or more... The Phantoms and Hershey had the exact same number of shots in both games this weekend - 24-24 on Friday and 32-32 on Saturday... In terms of season series, the Phantoms have a losing record against just one team, Lake Erie. They lost both games to the Monsters this year. The Phantoms are .500 or better against every other team they've played this season, and have a winning percentage of .600 or better against each of the other teams in the East Division.

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. The Toyota Cup standings can be viewed at http://www.phantomshockey.com/numbers/toyotacup.asp

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.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2008


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