Phantoms Weekly
March 17, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
The Phantoms split a pair of road games over the weekend to begin their stretch of seven games in 10 days. On Friday, Ladislav Kohn and Kirby Law each registered a goal and an assist as the Phantoms hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. Rookie Patrick Sharp added a pair of assists and goaltender Neil Little made 23 saves, while Domenic Pittis scored twice and Jan Lasak stopped 28 shots for Milwaukee. The following night in Chicago, Law and Sharp each tallied second-period power-play goals to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead, but Ben Simon evened the score at 5:44 with an unassisted shorthanded goal and Kurtis Foster netted the game-winner on the power play with 4:01 remaining as the Wolves prevailed, 3-2. Antero Niittymaki finished with 24 saves for the Phantoms and Chicago's Norm Maracle stopped 28 shots.
PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
3/11 - DELETE Peter White, rights acquired by Flyers and loaned to Norfolk (AHL)
3/13 - ADD Ladislav Kohn, loaned from the Saint John Flames (AHL)
KOHN ACQUIRED, OFF TO GOOD START
Right wing Ladislav Kohn was acquired on loan from the Saint John Flames on Thursday and didn't waste any time fitting into the Phantoms lineup. The Czech scored 4:07 into his first game with Philadelphia on Friday and added an assist in a 4-3 victory at Milwaukee. Kohn had compiled eight goals and 19 assists in 35 games with Saint John this year, while also recording an assist in three games with the Calgary Flames.
UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms hold a 5-3 season-series lead vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the teams prepare for Monday's encounter. 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. The Penguins also won big (5-1) on Dec. 21 thanks to a pair of goals by Tom Kostopoulos before rookie Jack Baker's goal 1:28 into overtime was the difference in a 4-3 Phantoms win on Dec. 26. The Phantoms cruised to a 5-1 win on Jan. 3 as Greig totaled a goal and three assists and Antero Niittymaki made 38 saves, and made it three straight wins on Feb. 5 when John Slaney had a goal and two assists in a 4-3 decision. Philadelphia is 25-12-3 all-time vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, going 14-5-1 on the road. The Phantoms and Penguins play each other 10 times this season, with the final match-up set for April 6 in Philadelphia.
The Phantoms and Cincinnati Mighty Ducks are set to square off at the First Union Spectrum on Wednesday and Friday. Philadelphia captured the first match-up on Feb. 15 as Neil Little made 34 saves and Peter White and Brad Tiley scored 19 seconds apart in the second period to give the Phantoms the lead for good in a 4-1 victory. Philadelphia swept both match-ups with Cincinnati in 2001-02, winning 4-1 on the road on Oct. 13 and 3-1 at home six days later. The Phantoms hold a commanding 29-8-2 lead in the all-time series, including a 16-2-1 mark when playing at home. The teams will meet for the final time on March 28 in Cincinnati.
The Phantoms and Worcester IceCats conclude their two-game season series on Saturday. In the first encounter, Justin Papineau scored the tying goal with 9:53 left in regulation and Christian Backman netted the game-winner 3:02 into overtime to lift Worcester to a 2-1 triumph. Patrick Sharp scored the lone goal and Neil Little made 22 saves for Philadelphia. Last year, each team won on its home ice, as Philadelphia opened the season with a 4-3 win over the IceCats on Oct. 5 before dropping a 6-3 decision on Jan. 16.
The Phantoms trail the all-time series, 5-5-2-3, and are 1-2-2-2 when playing on the road. Philadelphia is 0-2-2-1 in Worcester since its only win there on April 6, 1997.
Philadelphia and Hartford meet on Sunday for the first time since Oct. 26, when Mark Greig, Patrick Sharp, Mike Siklenka and Brad Tiley each recorded a goal and an assist in a 5-5 tie vs. the Wolf Pack. Neil Little finished with 24 saves for the Phantoms, while John Tripp scored twice for Hartford.
The teams also met twice last season, as Philadelphia suffered a 4-3 overtime loss at home on Jan. 4 and won 7-2 in Hartford two weeks later. The Phantoms' all-time record against Hartford is 7-6-2-2, but just 2-4-0-2 when playing at home. Philadelphia is on a three-game home winless streak (0-1-0-2) vs. the Wolf Pack since its last triumph on Oct. 27, 1999.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Two thousand fans in attendance on Wednesday, March 19 will receive a Phantoms umbrella, courtesy of PECO. The Battleship of New Jersey will also be giving away coupons for discounted tours of the ship. The one-and-only SpongeBob SquarePants is set to return to the First Union Spectrum on Friday, March 21. SpongeBob will be signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans who bring cameras. Members of the Philadelphia Charge will also be in attendance that night to sign autographs and drop the opening puck. The Phantoms' second postgame jersey auction of the season is set for Sunday, March 23 during Tribute to Philly Hockey Night. Philadelphia will be wearing replicas jerseys of the old Philadelphia Firebirds (1974-77 NAHL,1977-79 AHL) during its game against the Hartford Wolf Pack before auctioning them off in Bullies Sports Bar & Restaurant. Proceeds go to the National Adoption Center. Philadelphia Firebirds and Flyers alumni will be on hand to sign autographs and meet the public that night. And don't miss the ever-popular Chick-Fil-A Cows On Ice contest during the first intermission and check out the interactive Chick-Fil-A table on the concourse.
PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 3/16)
* Mark Greig is tied for sixth in power-play goals (13) and game-winning goals (7)
* Neil Little is 11th in goals-against average (2.45)
* John Slaney is tied for 13th among defensemen in points (37) and first in game-tying goals (2)
* Peter Vandermeer is second in major penalties (30) and third in penalty minutes (270)
* The Phantoms are third in penalty minutes per game (26.0)
* The Phantoms are tied for first in game misconducts (14)
* The Phantoms are third in shots allowed per game (27.12)
PHANTOMS NOTES
* Kirby Law registered his 100th AHL assist on March 14 at Milwaukee
* Philadelphia swept the two-game season series with Milwaukee after getting swept and not scoring a goal in two meetings with the Admirals in 2001-02
* Neil Little's wins on March 9 & 14 at Norfolk and Milwaukee are his first in consecutive starts since Jan. 5 & 10 vs. Syracuse and Lowell
* David Harlock played in his 300th AHL game on March 15 at Chicago
* The Phantoms killed 22 straight power plays at one point last week
TICKET INFORMATION Ticket 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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