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Phantoms Weekly

February 14, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms went 2-1 last week to regain the best winning percentage in the AHL's East Division. On Wednesday, Mark Murphy and Tony Voce scored 43 seconds apart late in the third period to lift the Phantoms to a 3-1 victory at Norfolk. B.J. Abel also scored and Antero Niittymaki made 25 saves as Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak vs. the Admirals. The Phantoms were back home on Friday and suffered a 1-0 loss to the Lowell Lock Monsters. Mike Zigomanis tallied the lone goal 5:58 into the game and Cam Ward stopped all 28 shots he faced to notch his fifth shutout. Niittymaki finished with 22 saves for Philadelphia. The Phantoms returned to Norfolk on Saturday and came away with a 2-1 victory. Eric Meloche and Patrick Sharp each scored in the first 2:27 of the game and Niittymaki registered 34 saves to help Philadelphia hold on for the win.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms bring a five-game unbeaten streak against the Mighty Ducks into Friday's game in Cincinnati. Philadelphia registered a win and two ties in the final three meetings of 2003-04 before posting a 4-2 victory back on Nov. 3 and a 3-1 triumph four days later. The Phantoms hold a commanding 34-9-5 lead in the all-time series, including a 15-6-2 mark when playing on the road. Philadelphia is also unbeaten in its last five visits (4-0-1) to the Cincinnati Gardens since its last loss there on March 28, 2001. The Phantoms also play in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Philadelphia will seek a two-game sweep of the defending Calder Cup-champion Milwaukee Admirals when the teams collide at the Bradley Center on Saturday. The Phantoms cruised to a 5-1 home win on Dec. 12 thanks to two goals by Josh Gratton and 26 saves by Neil Little. Philadelphia owns a 4-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 1-2 mark on the road.

The Phantoms hope to avenge a recent 4-1 loss to Grand Rapids when they meet up again on Sunday. Joey MacDonald stopped 36-of-37 shots on Feb. 4 when the Griffins came into Philadelphia and notched the three-goal victory. The teams split two meetings last year, as Philadelphia posted a 5-3 road win on Feb. 29 and lost 3-2 at home on March 21. Grand Rapids has captured four of the five all-time match-ups between the teams.

THREE PHANTOMS TO PLAY IN MONDAY'S AHL ALL-STAR GAME
Patrick Sharp, Joni Pitkanen and Antero Niittymaki will all participate in the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Game, which takes place on Monday 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. The AHL All-Star Game will air live on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m.

PLANETUSA WINS SKILLS COMPETITION
Rochester Americans goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 15-of-19 shots and Providence Bruins forward Andy Hilbert recorded the AHL's first-ever perfect accuracy shooting performance to lead PlanetUSA to a 17-13 victory over the Canadian team in the 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday night. For complete results, visit www.theahl.com.

PHANTOMS & PENGUINS LAST TO BE SHUT OUT
Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton entered Friday's action as the only AHL teams not to have been shut out this season. That came to an end for both clubs that night, however, as Lowell posted a 1-0 victory over the Phantoms and Hershey handed the Penguins a 2-0 loss. Philadelphia's record for fewest times being shut out in a season is zero, as the team accomplished the feat during the Calder Cup-winning year of 1997-98.

JUST OFF OF LAST YEAR'S PACE
Through 50 games, the Phantoms find themselves just two points shy of last year's pace when they went on to win the East Division title. Last year, Philadelphia was 29-15-5-1 for 64 points after 50 games. This season, the team is 28-16-2-4 for 62 points. The Phantoms currently reside in third place in the division, but have the best winning percentage (.620) because the other clubs have played more than 50 games.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
On Friday, Feb. 25 when the Hershey Bears visit the Wachovia Spectrum at 7:05 p.m., the Phantoms will hold a teddy bear toss. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used stuffed animals to the game, and then toss them onto the ice following the Phantoms' first goal. The stuffed animals will then be distributed to local children's hospitals in the Philadelphia area. ... The Phantoms will hold their first of three bobblehead doll nights on Sunday, Feb. 27, when the team takes on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Wachovia Spectrum at 5:05 p.m. Antero Niittymaki bobblehead dolls will be given out to the first 4,000 kids (14 & under) in attendance.

PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 2/13)
* Riley Cote is third among rookies in penalty minutes (169) and tied for third in major penalties (17).
* Ben Eager is tied for first among rookies in minor penalties (34).
* Antero Niittymaki is third in goals-against average (1.97), tied for fifth in shootout wins (3) and eighth in minutes (2167:15).
* Dennis Seidenberg is tied for second in game-winning goals (3).
* R.J. Umberger is tied for seventh among rookies in points (29), seventh in shots (121), tied for fifth in goals (13) and tied for eighth in assists (16).
* Tony Voce is tied for fifth among rookies in power-play goals (5).
* The Phantoms are fourth in shots allowed per game (27.40), fifth in penalty minutes per game (28.78), fifth in goals allowed per game (2.38) and seventh in penalty killing (86.8 percent).

PHANTOMS NOTES
* Dennis Seidenberg played in his 100th game as a Phantom on Feb. 9 at Norfolk.
* The Phantoms were shut out at home on Friday for the first time since March 16, 2004 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
* Antero Niittymaki has started the last 11 games in net for the Phantoms. The club record for most consecutive starts by a goalie is 19, accomplished by Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1998-99.
* Todd Fedoruk has six points (2G, 4A) in his last six games.

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.

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