Phantoms Weekly
December 16, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
The Phantoms recorded a home loss and road win for the second straight weekend. On Friday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton exploded for five goals - four on the power play - in the second period en route to a 6-1 victory over the Phantoms. Philadelphia held a 1-0 lead after the first period thanks to Ben Stafford's fifth goal of the year before Shane Endicott and Matt Murley each tallied two of the Penguins' six unanswered goals. Matthew Yeats started and stopped 11-of-14 shots for Philadelphia before being replaced by Antero Niittymaki. Philadelphia bounced back on Saturday with a 2-1 triumph during its first trip to Hershey's new GIANT Center. Niittymaki made 33 saves to notch the win and Peter White deflected in the game-winner with 4:16 remaining. Ian MacNeil also scored for the Phantoms, who ended a six-game losing streak to the Bears.
PHANTOMS FINALLY COLLECT 10th WIN
Philadelphia posted its 10th win during its 26th game of the season on Saturday at Hershey. It is the latest the Phantoms have reached double-figure wins during their seven seasons in the AHL. The previous record for latest to accumulate 10 wins was the team's 25th game of the 1999-2000 campaign. The earliest the Phantoms accomplished the feat was in Game 14 of the 1998-99 season.
SLANEY IS ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER AMONG PHANTOMS DEFENSEMEN
John Slaney may not be scoring as much as last year, but he leads the team in assists (16) this season and quietly passed Andy Delmore recently as the Phantoms' all-time scoring leader among defensemen. Slaney has totaled 94 points (28G, 66A) in 115 games with Philadelphia, while Delmore accumulated 88 points (26G, 62A) in 182 games from 1997-2000. Slaney currently sits in 14th place on the Phantoms' all-time scoring chart, one point behind Vaclav Prospal (95).
PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
12/10 - DELETE Matt Zultek, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
12/16 - DELETE Matthew Yeats, released from PTO
UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms will look to make it two wins in a row over the Hershey Bears when the teams square off on Friday. On Nov. 29 in the teams' first encounter of the season, Brian Willsie scored twice and rookie Peter Budaj stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 2-0 Bears victory. A week later, Charlie Stephens and Eric Bertrand each had a goal and an assist as Hershey prevailed 3-1. The Phantoms got in the win column on Dec. 14 in Hershey as Peter White's goal with 4:16 remaining was the difference in a 2-1 decision. The Phantoms hold a 34-27-8-4 lead in the all-time series, including a 19-13-4-1 mark at home, but have lost the last four games played in Philadelphia. The teams play each other 12 times this season, with the next battle scheduled for Dec. 27 in Philadelphia.
The Phantoms are 2-2 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton heading into Saturday's game at the First Union Arena. The teams first met on Oct. 18, when Mark Greig scored twice and Andre Savage had four assists in a 5-4 Phantoms win. The next night in Wilkes-Barre, Sebastien Caron registered 28 saves as the Penguins prevailed, 4-1. Savage totaled another four assists and Greig added three points on Nov. 6 to lead the Phantoms to a 7-2 win, but Wilkes-Barre retaliated with a 6-1 rout on Dec. 13 behind four points by Matt Murley. Philadelphia is 22-11-3 all-time vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, going 12-4-1 on the road. The Phantoms and Penguins play each other 10 times this season, with the next match-up set for Dec. 26 in Wilkes-Barre.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Eliza and Donny from the Wild Thornberry's will be appearing at the Phantoms game on Friday, Dec. 20 to sign autographs and take pictures with all their fans who bring cameras. The first 2,000 kids will also receive a free Wild Thornberry's color sheet poster, courtesy of Nickelodeon. The Phantoms Wives Charity Foundation, a division of the Comcast-Spectacor Foundation, will also hold the first jersey auction of the season on Friday. The team will be wearing special red & green Holiday jerseys during the game vs. Hershey before auctioning them off following the match in Bullies. The game will be televised live on CN8.
PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
* John Slaney is tied for eighth among defensemen in points (18) and fourth in assists (16)
* The Phantoms are tied for fourth in penalty minutes per game (26.0)
* The Phantoms are first in shots allowed per game (26.27)
PHANTOMS NOTES
* Philadelphia ended a six-game losing streak vs. Hershey with Saturday's 2-1 win. The team also ended a four-game winless skid (0-1-1-2) at Hershey, winning there for the first time since Nov. 24, 2001.
* The Phantoms had a nine-game home unbeaten streak (7-0-2) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton halted on Friday with a 6-1 loss. Philadelphia allowed a franchise-record five goals in a period during the second stanza and tied a club mark by surrendering four power-play goals in a game.
* Jim Vandermeer played in his 100th game as a pro on Saturday.
* Ben Stafford has a four-game point streak (1G, 4A).
* Peter White has six points (5G, 1A) in his last four games.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets prices for Phantoms home games are $18, $17 and $13 for adults, and $8 for children 14 and under. The team also offers group rates, Game Plans, attractive premium area seating, birthday party and youth hockey packages, and the popular Family Value Pack. Please call the Phantoms sales office at 215-465-4522 for information, or log on to www.phantomshockey.com.
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