Phantoms Weekly

Published on October 9, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


WEEK IN REVIEW

Friday, Oct. 6: Phantoms 5, Norfolk 4, OT - Stefan Ruzicka registered just the third natural hat trick in team history with a goal 15 seconds into overtime to give the Phantoms a dramatic 5-4 extra-session win over the Norfolk Admirals. Ruzicka's charge began with a power play goal with just over two minutes gone in the third, and continued with the tying goal at 19:45 of the third period and the game-winner 15 seconds into the extra session. Matt Ellison and Alexandre Picard also scored for the Phantoms, while Martin Houle took the win with 29 saves on 33 shots.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14 - Phantoms at Manitoba: The Phantoms make the trek north of the border to Winnipeg, Manitoba for a two-game set with the Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks). Manitoba opened the season with a four-game in five-night stretch through the Eastern Conference, with stops in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hamilton, Toronto and Rochester. The Moose went 1-2-1-0 on the trip despite a big weekend from Brad Moran, who emerged as the league's leading scorer after Week One with four goals and three assists for seven points in those four games. Manitoba has a completely new goaltender contingent this year, with Drew MacIntyre coming over from Grand Rapids and Mike Ayers from Syracuse. It will be a homecoming for several Phantoms players. Goaltender Rejean Beauchemin hails from Winnipeg, while friends and family of left wing Triston Grant will be making the 187-kilometer journey down the Yellowhead Highway from Neepawa. Center Marty Murray is from Deloraine, about 328 kilometers away on the Manitoba-North Dakota border.

Sunday, Oct. 15 - Phantoms vs. Binghamton, 7:05, Wachovia Center: The Phantoms will make the long flight home and get right back at it at the Wachovia Center against the Senators (Ottawa Senators). Binghamton went 1-1 in two games last week, rocking Syracuse 4-1 on Saturday before falling to Bridgeport 5-3 on Sunday. Former Phantoms defenseman Charlie Cook is skating for Binghamton this year.

Tickets for Sunday's game, as well as all Phantoms regular season games, are now available! As always, kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $8.00. Purchase online at phantomshockey.com or to charge by phone, call 1-800-298-4200.

RUZICKA NOMINATED FOR AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Stefan Ruzicka has been nominated for Player of the Week honors this week on the strength of his game-winning performance from Friday night. This week's awards will be announced on Tuesday due to the Columbus Day holiday in the U.S. and the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada.

OPENING NIGHT FODDER

Philadelphia's win on Opening Night pushed the club to a record of 8-3-0-0-0 in season openers and 8-2-1-0-0 in home openers, and also marked the second consecutive year that the Phantoms won in overtime after tying the affair late in regulation. In 2005, it was John Slaney scoring with 2.7 seconds left in regulation before Mark Murphy scored the game-winner at 3:13 of overtime to beat Binghamton 4-3. Friday's win also came on the 10th anniversary of the Phantoms first-ever home game, won over Rochester 3-1 at the Wachovia Spectrum.

PHANTOMS NOTABLES

The other two Phantoms to register natural hat tricks are Jason Zent vs. Albany (4-1W) on November 6, 1998 and Jon Sim vs. Hershey (4-1 W) on February 25, 2005... Ruzicka's hat trick itself was the 29th overall in Phantoms history... Marty Murray recorded three assists in his first AHL game since the 2001-02 season, which also was played with the Phantoms... six of Friday's nine goals came from special teams. The Phantoms were 2-for-9 on the power play while Norfolk was 1-for-8. Philadelphia scored one shorthanded goal and Norfolk had two. Last year, it took 32 games for the Phantoms to give up two shorthanded goals... Two-year Phantoms enforcer Riley Cote made the Flyers out of training camp but has not appeared in either of the team's first two games. His next crack at making his NHL debut comes Tuesday night when the Flyers visit the Rangers.

BIG FUN WITH THE PHANTOMS

The Phantoms have two upcoming promotional weekends that are sure to be a blast for fans of all ages. On October 29, the club will hold a Halloween parade on the ice! Just dress up in your Halloween costume and join the fun!

Then on the weekend of Nov. 3 and 4, the Phantoms welcome all area Scouts to two Scout Nights! We'll be holding an on-ice parade for all Scouts, and Scout groups receive special ticket and food discounts! To register your Scout group, call the Phantoms at 215-465-4522.

PHANTOMSHOCKEY.COM

This week marks the start of a new season on Phantomshockey.com, where we have plans to bring new content to the homepage every day! Look for a weekly recap on Monday's, Coach's Corner with Craig Berube on Tuesdays, a written feature on Wednesdays, the new "Pic of the Week" audio feature with locker room correspondent Alexandre Picard on Thursdays, and game previews and recaps Friday through Sunday. Phantomshockey.com will continue to be the place to get all the information you'd ever want about the Phantoms this season!

B2 RETURNS

Once again this season, all 80 Phantoms games will be broadcast with streaming video through the league's partnership with B2 Networks. A ticket for the game is $6, which allows fans to watch the game via a broadband Internet connection from their own homes! B2 is offering the new Power Play package this season, which offers fans the opportunity to purchase a season pass to all 80 games for as little as $150, a savings of almost 70 percent off the regular price. Visit www.phantomshockey.com for more details.

TICKET INFORMATION

All kids tickets for all Phantoms games are just $8. To purchase, go to phantomshockey.com or call 1-800-298-4200.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Date Opponent Site Time

Friday, October 13 Manitoba Moose MTS Centre 8:30

Saturday, October 14 Manitoba Moose MTS Centre 8:30

Sunday, October 15 Binghamton Senators Wachovia Center 7:05

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Date Opponent Site W-L Score

Friday, October 6 Norfolk Admirals Wachovia Center W 5-4 (OT)

RECORD: 1-0-0-0, 2 pts, 3rd, East Division

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American Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2006


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