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February 7, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms suffered a trio of 4-1 losses last week to Hershey, Grand Rapids and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On Wednesday, Mathieu Darche and Jeff Ulmer each recorded three points to lead the Bears to their three-goal win over the Phantoms. Cody McCormick added two points and Peter Budaj made 29 saves as Hershey defeated Philadelphia for the third straight time. Riley Cote scored his second goal in the second period and Antero Niittymaki finished with 23 saves for Philadelphia. On Friday, four different Griffins scored a goal and Joey MacDonald stopped 36-of-37 shots in Grand Rapids' victory. Randy Jones tallied the lone goal and Niittymaki turned aside 24 shots as Philadelphia fell to 0-3 all-time at home against the Griffins. Wilkes-Barre evened the 10-game season series at three wins apiece with Saturday's 4-1 triumph over the Phantoms. Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves and Ryan Whitney had three assists for the Penguins. R.J. Umberger scored for the Phantoms and Niittymaki stopped 12-of-15 shots before being replaced by Neil Little in the second period.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms will look to end a four-game losing streak vs. the Norfolk Admirals when the teams hook up on Wednesday and Saturday. Ben Stafford lifted Philadelphia to a 3-2 win on Nov. 14 when he scored 2:41 into overtime. Norfolk answered with a 2-1 triumph on Dec. 4 thanks to Pavel Vorobiev's goal with 41.1 seconds left in overtime, and then posted another 2-1 overtime win on Dec. 29 on Mikhail Yakubov's score. Norfolk coasted to a 6-2 home victory on Jan. 14 and pulled out a 3-2 shootout win two days later. Philadelphia went 5-4-1 against the Admirals last year, including a 3-1-1 mark at home, before defeating Norfolk in six games in the East Division Semifinals. The Phantoms are 18-23-2 all-time vs. the Admirals, including an 8-9-1-2 mark on the road. The teams will next play on April 2 & 6 in Norfolk.

The Lowell Lock Monsters make their only visit of the season to Philadelphia this Friday. Philadelphia swept the two meetings last year, posting a 6-2 home win on Nov. 21 and a 2-1 victory in Lowell on Feb. 15. The Phantoms are 5-3 all-time against Lowell, including a 2-2 mark when playing at home. Philadelphia is set to play in Lowell on Wednesday, March 9.

THREE PHANTOMS NAMED AHL ALL-STARS
Patrick Sharp, Joni Pitkanen and Antero Niittymaki have all been selected to participate in the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, which takes place next Sunday and Monday, Feb. 13-14, at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. Sharp will play for the Canadian team, while Pitkanen and Niittymaki will be on the PlanetUSA squad. Pitkanen was also voted a starter for PlanetUSA via on-line balloting at theahl.com. Comcast SportsNet will televise Sunday's Skills Competition at 8:30 p.m. (tape delay), while Monday's All-Star Game will air live on ESPN2.

WOOD HAS BUSY WEEK
Rookie defenseman Stephen Wood had quite an eventful week. On Tuesday, the 2005 ECHL All-Star was reassigned from the Phantoms to Trenton and picked up an assist in that night's 2-1 shootout loss to Peoria. He also played in the Titans' 2-1 win over Toledo on Friday before being recalled on Saturday to fill in during Philadelphia's 4-1 loss in Wilkes-Barre. Wood was sent back down on Sunday and proceeded to score twice in Trenton's 4-1 victory over Reading.

POWER PLAY STRUGGLING
After ranking seventh in the AHL in power-play percentage just one month ago, the Phantoms have been in a rut lately as the team is just 2-for-59 with a man advantage over the last 12 games. Randy Jones' second-period power-play goal on Friday snapped an 0-for-28 drought by the Phantoms.

PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
2/1 - DELETE Stephen Wood, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
2/5 - ADD Stephen Wood, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
2/6 - DELETE Stephen Wood, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
This Friday is Faith and Family Night at the Wachovia Spectrum when the Phantoms host the Lowell Lock Monsters. Following the game, national recording artist John Reuben will perform live!

PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 2/6)
* Riley Cote is third among rookies in penalty minutes (164) and tied for third in major penalties (16).
* Ben Eager is second among rookies in minor penalties (33) and fifth in penalty minutes (131).
* Antero Niittymaki is tied for fifth in goals-against average (2.05) and shootout wins (3).
* Dennis Seidenberg is tied for second in game-winning goals (3).
* R.J. Umberger is tied for sixth among rookies in points (28) and tied for fourth in goals (13).
* The Phantoms are third in penalty minutes per game (29.45), fourth in shots allowed per game (27.36), eighth in goals allowed per game (2.47) and ninth in penalty killing (86.1 percent).

PHANTOMS NOTES
* Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are the only teams that haven't been shut out this season.
* Boyd Kane played in his 100th game as a Phantom on Feb. 2 in Hershey.
* Riley Cote's goal last Wednesday was his first since Oct. 22.
* Ben Stafford played in his 200th game as a Phantom on Feb. 4 vs. Grand Rapids
* Ryan Ready played in his 400th game as a pro on Feb. 5 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
* The Phantoms have lost three consecutive games by at least three goals for the first time since Oct. 30-Nov. 7, 1999.
* Philadelphia lost on Friday for the first time in 10 tries during regular-season play over the past two seasons when wearing purple third jerseys.
* The Phantoms have dropped three straight games by the same score for the first time since March 31-April 4, 2001 (all 5-4 defeats).

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.

Comcast-Spectacor is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and ice hockey rinks and Comcast SportsNet. Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 40 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; and New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities. Comcast-Spectacor also owns the Bowie Baysox, Delmarva Shorebirds and Frederick Keys baseball teams, all affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles.

UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Site Time (ET)
Wednesday, Feb. 9 Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Scope 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11 Lowell Lock Monsters Wachovia Spectrum 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 12 Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Scope 7:30 p.m.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Date Opponent Site W-L Score
Feb. 2 Hershey Bears GIANT Center L 4-1
Feb. 4 Grand Rapids Griffins Wachovia Spectrum L 4-1
Feb. 5 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Arena L 4-1

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