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Phantoms Weekly

October 7, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


PHANTOMS FINISH PRESEASON WITH 3-1-1 RECORD

The Phantoms wrapped up exhibition play on Monday with a 3-2 loss to the Albany River Rats, finishing with a 3-1-1 record this preseason. The third time was a charm for the River Rats, who fell 5-3 to the Phantoms on Sept. 19 and skated to a 2-2 draw with the men in black and orange five days later. Had Philadelphia won or tied on Monday, the team would have posted its first unbeaten preseason since going 3-0-1 in 2000-01.

VICTORY OVER FLYERS HIGHLIGHTS PRESEASON

The Phantoms turned some heads in Philadelphia on Oct. 3 when they defeated their parent club, the Flyers, 10-6. Ben Stafford scored two of the Phantoms' six third-period goals, Ian MacNeil also tallied twice and rookie Nick Deschenes finished with four points (1G, 3A) in the game that featured no penalties called.

The meeting between the Phantoms and Flyers was the first since Sept. 21, 1999, when the clubs played a benefit game in memory of Flyers defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny, who passed away earlier that summer in a boating accident. The Flyers prevailed in the game, 6-1, in front of 15,462 fans at the Spectrum.

KANE & ABEL LEAD TEAM IN PRESEASON SCORING

Believe it or not, but the Phantoms' two leading scorers during preseason play were Kane and Abel. Left wing Boyd Kane recorded seven points (1G, 6A), while rookie center B.J. Abel totaled six (2G, 4A) over the five exhibition contests. Fellow rookie Nick Deschenes also shined with five points (2G, 3A) and Mike Peluso topped the club with four goals.

SCORELESS STREAK ENDS

Phantoms goaltenders Antero Niittymaki and Neil Little had their preseason scoreless streak end on Oct. 3 at 100:46. The streak began when Little blanked the Albany River Rats for the final 32:23 of a 2-2 tie on Sept. 24. Niittymaki then shut out the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 3-0, on Sept. 27 and Little did not allow a goal to the Flyers until Simon Gagne lit the lamp at 8:23 of the first period.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

The Phantoms and Binghamton Senators will be meeting for the first time on Friday. Binghamton entered the league as an expansion team last season and finished first in the Eastern Conference's East Division with a 43-26-9-2 record (97 points). The Senators ousted Worcester and Bridgeport in the Calder Cup Playoffs before losing in five games to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Philadelphia and Binghamton will meet six times in 2003-04, with the next match-up scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 28 at the Wachovia Spectrum.

Philadelphia and Bridgeport begin their eight-game season series on Saturday in Connecticut. The teams split four games last year, as both Philadelphia wins were by 4-1 decisions and both Bridgeport victories were by 2-1 margins. Ian MacNeil and Kirby Law each played in three of the four meetings vs. the Sound Tigers last season and led the Phantoms in scoring with five and four points, respectively. Philadelphia is 4-3-0-1 all-time vs. the Sound Tigers, including a 2-2 mark when playing in Bridgeport. The teams will square off again in Bridgeport on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:35 p.m.

The Phantoms complete opening weekend with a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Norfolk Admirals. Philadelphia struggled with Norfolk last season, sporting a 3-6-0-1 record and three shutout losses. Phantoms right wing Mike Peluso was with the Admirals a year ago and led them with nine points in 10 games vs. Philadelphia. Peter White played for both teams in 2002-03 and had six points in six games vs. the Phantoms. Philadelphia is 12-13-1-2 all-time vs. the Admirals, including a 6-8 mark when playing at home. The teams will face off against each other 10 times this season, with the next encounter set for Saturday, Oct. 25 in Norfolk.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Everyone in attendance on Opening Night (Friday, Oct. 10) will receive a 2003-04 Phantoms magnetic schedule, courtesy of Toyota. From 5:00-7:00 p.m., don't miss the Phantoms Block Party outside the Wachovia Spectrum, complete with team inflatables, face painters & clowns, five radio stations broadcasting live, a moonbounce game for kids, bagpipers, purple snow-cones and the mysterious Purple People Greeters. The Band will be playing on the concourse before the game and performing the national anthem, and be sure to check out the 40 winning pictures from this summer's season ticket book coloring contest on display. The 40 winning children will take to the ice for pregame festivities.

Sunday, Oct. 12 is Fire Safety Night, as the first 4,000 kids will receive a Fire Safety media packet containing a video tape, audio tape and coloring book, courtesy of Toyota. A fire truck will be on display outside the Spectrum and don't miss the firemen relay contest during the first intermission.

CN8 TELEVISING SIX PHANTOMS GAMES THIS SEASON

The Phantoms are proud to announce that CN8, The Comcast Network, will be televising six games during the 2003-04 season. CN8, a leading regional news, sports and entertainment network, reaches 6.2 million homes spanning from Maine to Maryland. CN8's six-game package begins on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 5:00 p.m. ET, when the Phantoms host the Binghamton Senators at the Wachovia Spectrum. The schedule also features a Saturday afternoon showdown with the Milwaukee Admirals at the Wachovia Center on Jan. 31; road games in Hartford, Hershey and Manchester; and an important end-of-season home match-up with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday, March 26. The CN8 broadcast team will include play-by-play announcer Mick Moninghoff and color commentators Orest Kindrachuk and Brad Park.

PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
10/6 - ADD B.J. Abel, signed to an AHL contract
10/6 - DELETE Mathieu Brunelle & James Laux, assigned to Trenton (ECHL)
10/6 - DELETE Robert Snowball & Kirk Furey, released

PHANTOMS NOTES

* Philadelphia is 6-1 all-time in season openers, 5-1-1 in home openers and 4-3 in road openers.

* This is the fourth time the Phantoms have opened their season at home. They won all three previous games.

* Philadelphia's longest homestand of the 2003-04 season is five games (Jan. 25-Feb. 6). The longest road trip is seven games (Feb. 21-March 6).

* The Phantoms will play three games in three days on 16 occasions this season.

* Philadelphia is playing against a league-high 19 different teams in 2003-04.

* The 2003-04 Phantoms roster features 13 returning players and 10 newcomers, including seven rookies.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to all Phantoms home games are $19, $18 and $14 for adults, and $8 for all children 14 and under, and are available now at the Wachovia Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations throughout the Delaware Valley. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling (215) 336-2000, (856) 338-9000 or (302) 984-2000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Contact the Phantoms office at 215-465-4522 or log on to www.phantomshockey.com for information on group discounts, birthday packages and the Family Four Pack.



American Hockey League Stories from October 7, 2003


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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