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Published on March 7, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms went 2-2 last week in a pair of home-and-home series vs. Bridgeport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On Wednesday, Dennis Seidenberg scored his second goal of the game 1:51 into overtime to lift the Phantoms to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Sound Tigers. Jon Sim and Wade Skolney each added two points, while Antero Niittymaki made just 13 saves to notch the win. The teams met again on Friday in Bridgeport and Neil Little stopped all 33 shots he faced to record his 200th AHL victory in the 4-0 Phantoms win. R.J. Umberger and John Slaney each registered a goal and two assists as Philadelphia took a 4-3 lead in the season series. The Phantoms traveled to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and suffered a 4-3 loss when the Penguins' Matt Hussey tallied a pair of power-play goals early in the third period. Tony Voce scored twice and Niittymaki turned aside 16 shots for Philadelphia. Wilkes-Barre invaded Philadelphia on Sunday and built a 3-0 third-period lead behind two goals by Hussey. But Sim scored twice, including a shorthanded marker with 50 seconds remaining, to even the score. However, Wilkes-Barre's Shane Endicott beat Little with 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 triumph. Wilkes-Barre has won the last four match-ups between the teams and owns a 6-3 lead in the season series.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
The Phantoms make their only visit of the season to Lowell this Wednesday. The Lock Monsters won the first match-up on Feb. 11 when Cam Ward stopped all 28 shots he faced in a 1-0 decision. Philadelphia swept the two meetings last year and owns a 5-4 lead in the all-time series, including a 3-1 mark when playing on the road. The Phantoms' only loss in Lowell came back on Jan. 24, 2001.

Philadelphia will seek a season sweep of the Manchester Monarchs this Friday. The Phantoms posted a 1-0 victory over the Monarchs on Dec. 17 when Antero Niittymaki made 24 saves and Jon Sim scored in the first period. Philadelphia has now won the last two match-ups and holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, but Manchester has captured the only two meetings on its home ice.

The Phantoms and Portland Pirates begin their two-game season series on Saturday. Philadelphia swept both encounters with the Pirates last season, winning 3-1 at home on Nov. 23 and 2-0 in Portland on March 14. The Phantoms hold a 7-4-1 lead in the all-time series, but are just 2-3-1 when playing on the road. The Pirates are set to visit the Wachovia Spectrum on Sunday, March 20.

Philadelphia looks to end a five-game losing streak against the Worcester IceCats when the teams collide on Sunday. The Phantoms dropped both meetings with Worcester last year and have not beaten the IceCats since Oct. 5, 2001. Philadelphia is also winless (0-5-2) in its last seven visits to Worcester, last winning there on April 6, 1997. All-time, the Phantoms are 5-11-2 vs. Worcester, including a 1-6-2 mark when playing on the road. The IceCats play in Philly on Friday, March 18.

LITTLE JOINS AHL'S 200-WIN CLUB
Goaltender Neil Little became just the 10th player to amass 200 career AHL wins in Friday's 4-0 victory in Bridgeport. The 33-year-old now owns a career AHL record of 200-144-42 in 412 games with Hershey and Philadelphia, and is only two wins shy of tying Jean-Francois Labbe (202) for ninth place. Little stopped all 33 shots he faced in the win over the Sound Tigers to notch his 17th AHL shutout and 20th as a pro.

CLOSE RACE IN THE EAST
The top four teams in the AHL's East Division are currently separated by just one point. Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre share first place with 75 points, but Philadelphia and Norfolk reside in third with 74 points apiece. The following is a breakdown of each team's remaining schedule (thru March 6):

Team Games Left Home Away vs. East
Binghamton 19 9 10 13
Wilkes-Barre 20 8 12 15
Philadelphia 20 9 11 13
Norfolk 18 14 4 15

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
The Phantoms will wear special St. Patrick's Day jerseys on Friday, March 18 vs. Worcester and then auction them off for charity in Bullies Sports Bar & Restaurant. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used CDs on March 18 for the WXPN CD Drive. All CD's collected that night will be donated to patients at local hospitals. Fans will receive a $3 discount off tickets that night in exchange for a CD. In addition, the Calder Cup will be on display on the concourse throughout the game.

PHANTOMS TRANSACTIONS
3/3 - DELETE Stephen Wood, reassigned to Trenton (ECHL)

PHANTOMS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS (thru 3/6)
* Riley Cote is second among rookies in penalty minutes (227) and major penalties (23).
* Ben Eager is first among rookies in minor penalties (42) and fourth in penalty minutes (179).
* Freddy Meyer is fifth among defensemen in shooting percentage (.094).
* Antero Niittymaki is fifth in goals-against average (2.01) and sixth in minutes (2440:21).
* Dennis Seidenberg is first among defensemen in game-winning goals (5).
* Jon Sim is tied for eighth in game-winning goals (6).
* R.J. Umberger is fifth among rookies in points (42), second in assists (27), tied for fourth in goals (15), and seventh in shots (147) and plus/minus (+9).
* Tony Voce is fifth among rookies in power-play goals (6).
* The Phantoms are second in penalty minutes per game (29.35), fifth in goals allowed per game (2.33), fifth in shots allowed per game (27.60) and seventh in penalty killing (86.6 percent).

PHANTOMS NOTES
* Dennis Seidenberg tied a team season high with a plus-4 rating on Wednesday vs. Bridgeport. Patrick Sharp had also accomplished the feat on Feb. 20 at Grand Rapids.
* R.J. Umberger's current four-game assist streak ties for the longest on the team this season. Both he and Patrick Sharp had four-game assist streaks during the first half of the year.
* Riley Cote compiled a team season-high 39 penalty minutes on Friday in Bridgeport.
* Boyd Kane recorded his 100th AHL assist on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
* Philadelphia allowed just one shot by the Penguins during the second period on Saturday.
* The Phantoms are 18-1 when scoring at least four goals in a game.
* Jon Sim leads the club in multi-goal games (5) and is tied with R.J. Umberger for most multi-point games (7).

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 9 Lowell Lock Monsters Tsongas Arena 7:05 p.m. (CSN)
Friday, March 11 Manchester Monarchs Verizon Wireless Arena 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 Portland Pirates Cumberland County Civic Center 2:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 13 Worcester IceCats Centrum Centre 4:05 p.m.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Date Opponent Site W-L Score
March 2 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Wachovia Spectrum W 4-3 (OT)
March 4 Bridgeport Sound Tigers Arena at Harbor Yard W 4-0
March 5 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Arena L 4-3
March 6 W-B/Scranton Penguins Wachovia Spectrum L 4-3

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American Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2005


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