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Phantoms Weekly

December 20, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms went 2-1 last week, accumulating five of a possible six standings points along the way. On Wednesday, the Phantoms traveled to Tampa, Fla. and posted a 4-3 victory over the Springfield Falcons. Patrick Sharp assisted on all four Phantoms goals and Neil Little made 25 saves as Philadelphia defeated Springfield for the third straight time. The Phantoms returned home to take on the league-leading Manchester Monarchs on Friday and came away with a 1-0 win. Antero Niittymaki stopped all 24 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the year and Jon Sim tallied the lone goal 1:56 into the first period. Binghamton then hit town on Sunday and notched a 3-2 shootout win. Chris Kelly scored both Binghamton goals in regulation and Brandon Bochenski netted the decisive shootout goal in the fifth round. Sharp also scored twice for Philadelphia, including the tying goal with 4.1 seconds left in the third period.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
Philadelphia brings a 2-1 mark vs. the Sound Tigers into Wednesday's showdown in Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers posted a 4-2 home victory during the teams' first encounter on Oct. 17, snapping Philadelphia's three-game unbeaten streak in the series. The Phantoms bounced back at home on Oct. 27 with a 5-0 shutout, and then skated to a 3-1 victory on Nov. 19. Philadelphia is 9-7-2-1 all-time vs. the Sound Tigers, including a 3-4-2 mark when playing on the road. The teams will next meet on Jan. 29 in Bridgeport.

The Phantoms are 2-1 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins heading into Sunday's showdown. Philadelphia began the season series with a pair of 3-2 shootout wins, as R.J. Umberger and Ben Stafford tallied the deciding goals on Nov. 12 and Dec. 1, respectively. Wilkes-Barre answered with a 6-4 win on Dec. 11 behind Michel Ouellet's hat trick. Last season, the teams split 10 match-ups before meeting in the East Division Finals. The Penguins captured the best-of-seven series in six games before eventually bowing out in the Calder Cup Finals. Philadelphia owns a 33-18-3-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 17-9-1 mark on the road. The 10-game series continues on Saturday, Jan. 8 in Wilkes-Barre.

BEST START IN CLUB HISTORY
When the Phantoms reached the 20-win plateau on Dec. 15, it was the earliest the team had ever accomplished the feat. The previous earliest date occurred in the Calder Cup-winning season of 1997-98, when Philadelphia won its 20th game on Dec. 19. Last year, the Phantoms did not claim victory number 20 until Jan. 7.

PHANTOMS BLANK LEAGUE-LEADING MONARCHS
The Manchester Monarchs not only entered Friday's game with the best record in the AHL, they came in with the top offense (4.19 goals per game) and power-play unit (21.5 percent). Philadelphia proceeded to hand Manchester its first shutout of the season, including stopping all four Monarchs power plays. The East Division-leading Phantoms are currently three points behind Manchester with one game in hand.

SHARP TIES TEAM RECORD
Patrick Sharp made history on Wednesday when he matched club records for assists in a game (4) and period (3) in a 4-3 win over Springfield. Several Phantoms previously totaled four assists in a game, the last occurring on Nov. 21, 2003 by Peter White. Brad Tiley was the last player to register three assists in a period, accomplishing the feat on Feb. 14, 2003.

HOPE & MEYER SIDELINED
Defenseman Joey Hope suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in Wednesday's win over Springfield and is expected to be out of action for 10-12 weeks. Hope, who had been playing some forward as well this season, has four points (2G, 2A) and a plus-1 rating in 16 games. Fellow backliner Freddy Meyer is also sidelined due to a sports hernia. Meyer, who incurred the injury on Dec. 10 vs. Hershey, has 10 points (4G, 6A) and a plus-13 rating in 21 games.

Hope and Meyer are accompanied on the injured list by defenseman Wade Skolney, who has missed the last 14 games due to a concussion.

PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
12/16 - ADD Stephen Wood, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
12/19 - ADD Rosario Ruggeri, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)

PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 12/19)
* Ben Eager is tied for third among rookies in minor penalties (21).
* Josh Gratton is tied for second in penalty minutes (168) and tied for fourth in major penalties (18).
* Freddy Meyer is tied for fourth among defensemen in plus/minus (+13).
* Mark Murphy is tied for fifth in plus/minus (+16).
* Antero Niittymaki is fourth in goals-against average (1.76), tied for third in wins (14) and tied for first in shootout wins (3).
* Dennis Seidenberg is tied for ninth among defensemen in points (18) and tied for third in game-winning goals (2).
* R.J. Umberger is tied for second among rookies in points (20), tied for fourth in goals (9) and fifth in assists (11).
* Tony Voce is tied for seventh among rookies in points (17) and tied for second in power-play goals (4).
* The Phantoms are second in shots allowed per game (26.75), third in goals allowed per game (2.04), fifth in power-play percentage (19.3) and sixth in goals per game (3.14).

PHANTOMS NOTES
* John Slaney recorded his 400th AHL point on Dec. 15 at Springfield.
* Rosario Ruggeri made his AHL debut on Dec. 19 vs. Binghamton.
* Patrick Sharp has 10 points (4G, 6A) in his last six games.
* The Phantoms lost for the first time in 11 games at the Wachovia Spectrum on Dec. 19, as the team's two other home losses took place at the Wachovia Center. Philadelphia has the most home points (30) in the AHL and is tied for the most home wins (14).
* Philadelphia is now 7-2 when a game goes into overtime or a shootout.
* The Phantoms are 6-0 when playing on Wednesday this season.

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.

UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Site Time (ET)
Wednesday, Dec. 22 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Arena at Harbor Yard 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 26 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Arena 7:05 p.m.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Date Opponent Site W-L Score
Dec. 15 Springfield Falcons St. Pete Times Forum W 4-3
Dec. 17 Manchester Monarchs Wachovia Spectrum W 1-0
Dec. 19 Binghamton Senators Wachovia Spectrum L 3-2 (SO)

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