Phantoms Weekly

Published on January 3, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


WEEK IN REVIEW

Wednesday, Dec. 28: Phantoms 3, Norfolk 1 - Phantoms captain John Slaney tied an American Hockey League record for career points by a defenseman Wednesday night when he scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win over the Norfolk Admirals. Norfolk broke a scoreless deadlock at 11:28 of the second period on a goal by Milan Bartovic, but it was all Philadelphia from that point. David Printz, Stefan Ruzicka, and Slaney scored the tallies for the Phantoms. Slaney's sixth goal of the year was his 453rd career AHL point, tying the record set by Steve Kraftcheck between 1949 and 1964.

Friday, Dec. 30: Bridgeport 4, Phantoms 1 - 8,612 witnessed history at the Wachovia Center on Friday night when John Slaney became the American Hockey League's (AHL) all-time leading scoring defenseman. Slaney eclipsed a 41-year old record, logging his 454th career AHL point with an assist on the Phantoms only goal of the night in a 4-1 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Slaney's historic point came on a power play goal at 6:21 of the third period, when his shot from the point was defected by Josh Gratton to Tony Voce, who in turn beat goaltender Wade Dubielewicz. Sean Bergenheim, Rob Collins and Bruno Gervais scored for Bridgeport, with Gervais firing into an empty net.

Saturday, Dec. 31: Hershey 5, Phantoms 1 - The Hershey Bears scored three power play goals en route to a 5-1 win over the Phantoms in an early Saturday evening contest at the GIANT Center on New Year's Eve. Hershey opened the scoring on its initial power play opportunity at 5:57 of the first frame on a goal by Colin Forbes, and took a 2-0 lead just 38 seconds later on Mark Watton's one-timer from the left circle. Philadelphia made it 2-1 on a goal from Stefan Ruzicka at 17:08 of the period, but Hershey pushed their lead to 3-1 at 3:58 of the second period on Eric Fehr's team-leading 15th of the season. A goal from Joey Tenute, followed by Wotton's second of the night, closed out the scoring for Hershey. Martin Houle allowed two goals on eight shots in the game's first seven minutes before yielding to Rejean Beauchemin, who stopped 18 of 21.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Wednesday, Jan. 4: Phantoms at Bridgeport, 7:05 - Philadelphia will look to avenge last week's loss to the Sound Tigers with a mid-week visit to The Arena at Harbor Yard. Bridgeport's three wins last week were anchored by goaltender Wade Dubielewicz. In fact, the goal by Tony Voce that yielded John Slaney's historic 454th point in Friday's 3-1 loss was the only goal Dubielewicz gave up in three games last weekend. He stopped 86 of 87 shots, shutting out Springfield and Lowell, en route to CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week honors. However, Dubielewicz was promptly recalled by the New York Islanders on Monday, so the Phantoms may not have to face him this time around. Bridgeport enters the week in fourth place in the East Division with a record of 15-18-2-1 for 33 points, two points ahead of the Phantoms.

Friday, Jan. 4 and Saturday, Jan. 5: Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - The Phantoms play a home-and-home with the Penguins this weekend. The clubs will face off in Philadelphia at the Wachovia Spectrum at 7:05 on Friday night before heading north to meet at Wilkes-Barre's Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza at 7:05 on Saturday night. The Baby Pens shut out the Phantoms on Dec. 23 in Wilkes-Barre, holding them to a season-low 16 shots on net. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton starts the week at the top of the AHL with a record of 27-3-2-1 for 57 points.

Sunday, Jan. 6: Phantoms vs. Lowell, 5:05 - The Lowell Lock Monsters make their first trip of the season to the Wachovia Spectrum to meet the Phantoms. Lowell is in its first season as an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. The Lock Monsters start the week with a record of 13-18-1-4 for 31 points, putting them fifth in the Atlantic Division. The teams have met once this season, getting together at Tsongas Arena back on October 26, when Lowell took a 4-1 win.

ALL-DECADE TEAM HONORED THIS WEEK

The Phantoms will be giving out their All-Decade Team trading card set this Friday night, which features the Phantoms All-Decade Team. The first 4,000 fans through the doors will receive the two-strip card sets, courtesy of CN8, when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins come to town.

COMING OUT IN FORCE

A crowd of 8,612 was on hand at the Wachovia Spectrum on Friday night to see John Slaney make AHL history in the 4-1 loss to Bridgeport. The crowd was the second-largest of the season for the Phantoms, behind only the opening night throng of 11,584 at the Wachovia Center for Philadelphia's thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Binghamton.

READY FREDDY

Defenseman Freddy Meyer celebrated the occasion of his first NHL goal on Thursday in the Flyers 4-3 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Meyer scored the goal off a drive from the center point at 18:50 of the second period.

PUTTING UP THE DUKES

Josh Gratton has ascended to the top of the AHL's penalty minute rankings after earning 29 minutes in Saturday's game at Hershey, a Phantoms season high for a single game. Gratton now has 196 PIM through just 33 games, four ahead of Wilkes-Barre's Dennis Bonvie.

NEW FACES

Newly-acquired Phantoms Kiel McLeod and Blake Bellefeuille made their debuts with the team this past week. McLeod was acquired in the trade that sent Eric Chouinard to the Phoenix organization, while Bellefeuille was signed as a free agent. Head coach John Stevens discusses the additions to the team in this week's Coach's Corner program with Phantoms broadcaster Mike Thornton, which is available at www.phantomshockey.com.

PHANTOMS MEDIA GUIDES ARE IN

The 2005-06 Philadelphia Phantoms media guide is now available! The 132-page, full-color guide is packed with information on the current team, last year's team, and every team before it. Media members can obtain their complimentary copy by contacting the Phantoms PR office. Fans can order the guide for $12 plus shipping and handling by calling the Phantoms at 215-465-4522 or can pick up the guide at any home game.

PHANTOMSHOCKEY.COM

Don't forget to check out www.phantomshockey.com every day for the latest news on the Philadelphia Phantoms! In addition to press releases, player bios and schedules, you can download wallpaper featuring your favorite player, try your hand at several games, and much more! The site also includes complete details on the newly-announced Phantoms All-Decade Team.

TICKET INFORMATION

All kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $8. To purchase, go to phantomshockey.com and click tickets. To charge by phone, call (215) 336-2000, (856) 338-9000 or (302) 984-2000.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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