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Phantoms Weekly

February 28, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms went 1-2 last week, but still own the best winning percentage in the AHL's East Division. On Wednesday, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks scored four times in the second period en route to a 5-0 victory over the Phantoms. Zenon Konopka tallied a pair of power-play goals and Stanislav Chistov had three assists to help Cincinnati end a six-game winless streak vs. Philadelphia. Frederic Cassivi made 25 saves to record the shutout, while Antero Niittymaki stopped 20-of-24 shots in just over 34 minutes of action. Philadelphia returned home on Friday for the first time in two weeks and posted a 4-1 victory over the Hershey Bears. Jon Sim scored three times in the second period, Todd Fedoruk had three assists and Niittymaki turned aside 34 shots as Philadelphia took a 5-3 lead in the 12-game season series with the Bears. On Sunday, Shane Endicott's shorthanded breakaway goal with 3:37 remaining lifted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Phantoms. Matt Hussey and Matt Murley each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury registered 29 saves. Freddy Meyer and Ben Stafford both scored and Niittymaki made 25 saves for Philadelphia.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms and Bridgeport Sound Tigers have a home-and-home series set for this Wednesday and Friday. 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 before Bridgeport responded with a 3-2 shootout win on Dec. 22 and a 2-1 victory on Jan. 29. Philadelphia is 9-10-2 all-time vs. the Sound Tigers, including a 6-4 mark when playing at home. The teams will meet for the final time on Friday, April 8 in Philadelphia.

The Phantoms are 3-4 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins heading into Saturday and Sunday's showdowns. 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 and then captured a 5-3 decision on Dec. 26 before Philadelphia countered with a 4-3 shootout win on Jan. 8. Wilkes-Barre then won 4-1 on Feb. 5 and 3-2 on Feb. 27. 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 34-22-3 lead in the all-time series (16-11-2 at home & 18-11-1 on the road). The 10-game series concludes on Sunday, April 3 in Philadelphia.

SIM SCORES FIRST PHANTOMS HAT TRICK OF SEASON
Jon Sim recorded Philadelphia's first hat trick of the season on Friday when he scored three times during the second period of a 4-1 win over Hershey. It was Sim's fourth career AHL hat trick and his first since 2001-02 when he was with the Utah Grizzlies. Sim became the fourth Phantom to score three goals in one period and registered just the second natural hat trick (three straight goals without anyone from either team scoring in between) in club history. Jason Zent recorded the Phantoms' only other natural hat trick on Nov. 6, 1998 vs. Albany.

WHAT A TRIP!
The Phantoms went 4-1 on their season-high five-game road trip to Norfolk, Cincinnati (twice), Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. It was Philadelphia's most successful road trip of at least four games since going 5-1 from Feb. 24-March 10, 2001 in Hershey, Quebec (twice), Saint John and Kentucky (twice).

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
The Phantoms are again teaming up with the People-Pet Partnership for the third annual Adopt-A-Pet Night on Sunday, March 6. Adoptable dogs, cats and rabbits will be on the concourse throughout the game to meet prospective owners. Also on Sunday, a Sesame Street Live star will be available for pictures, Chick-fil-A will give away 2,000 calendars and the 2003-04 purple jersey auction will take place following the game in Bullies.

PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
2/23 - DELETE Josh Gratton, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
2/23 - DELETE Rosario Ruggeri, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
2/24 - ADD Josh Gratton, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)
2/26 - DELETE David Printz, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
2/26 - DELETE Jeff Smith, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)
2/28 - ADD David Printz, recalled from Trenton (ECHL)

PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 2/27)
* Riley Cote is third among rookies in penalty minutes (183) and fourth in major penalties (19).
* Ben Eager is first among rookies in minor penalties (38).
* Freddy Meyer is fourth among defensemen in shooting percentage (.100).
* Antero Niittymaki is second in goals-against average (1.94) and sixth in minutes (2440:21).
* Dennis Seidenberg is tied for first among defensemen in game-winning goals (4).
* Jon Sim is tied for seventh in game-winning goals (6).
* R.J. Umberger is fifth among rookies in points (36), tied for fifth in goals (14), sixth in assists (22) and seventh in shots (139).
* Tony Voce is fifth among rookies in power-play goals (6).
* The Phantoms are third in penalty minutes per game (28.88), fifth in goals allowed per game (2.30), sixth in shots allowed per game (27.98) and seventh in penalty killing (86.8 percent).

PHANTOMS NOTES
* Todd Fedoruk played in his 300th game as a pro and tied a team record for most assists in a period (3) on Feb. 25 vs. Hershey.
* Randy Jones played in his 100th game as a Phantom on Feb. 27 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
* The Phantoms are 16-1 when scoring four or more goals in a game.
* Freddy Meyer's goal on Feb. 27 was his first since Nov. 26.
* After posting a 6-1 win in Grand Rapids on Feb. 20 for their most decisive road victory since Jan. 18, 2002, the Phantoms suffered their worst road loss since March 23, 2002 the following game at Cincinnati (5-0).

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, March 2 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Wachovia Spectrum 7:05 p.m.
Friday, March 4 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Arena at Harbor Yard 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 5 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Arena 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Spectrum 5:05 p.m.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Date Opponent Site W-L Score
Feb. 23 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Cincinnati Gardens L 5-0
Feb. 25 Hershey Bears Wachovia Spectrum W 4-1
Feb. 27 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Spectrum L 3-2



American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2005


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