Phantoms Weekly

Published on January 12, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


UPCOMING OPPONENTS Date Opponent Site Time

Wednesday, January 14 Worcester Sharks Wachovia Spectrum 7:05

Friday, January 16 Lowell Devils Wachovia Spectrum 7:05

Saturday, January 17 Hershey Bears GIANT Center 7:00

Sunday, January 18 Albany River Rats Wachovia Spectrum 5:05

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Date Opponent Site Result Score

Tuesday, January 6 Hamilton Bulldogs Copps Coliseum L 4-2

Friday, January 9 Grand Rapids Griffins Van Andel Arena W 4-3 (OT)

Saturday, January 10 Grand Rapids Griffins Van Andel Arena L 4-0

Sunday, January 11 Lake Erie Monsters Quicken Loans Arena L 3-0

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14 - PHANTOMS vs. WORCESTER SHARKS - 7:05, Wachovia Spectrum

It's the only visit of the season for the Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks) to the Wachovia Spectrum. The Sharks are 21-17-0-1 for 43 points through 39 games, which slots them in third place in the Atlantic Division. The Sharks feature 43-year-old NHL veteran Claude Lemieux, who joined the Sharks organization just after Thanksgiving and has posted three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 20 games. Ryan Vesce is enjoying a breakout year with the Sharks after spending last year playing in Finland. He leads the club in scoring with 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points in 39 games, while Riley Armstrong's 15 goals pace the club in that category. Worcester is preparing to host the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic at the DCU Center in two weeks.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 - PHANTOMS vs. LOWELL DEVILS - 7:05, Wachovia Spectrum

The Lowell Devils (New Jersey Devils) come to the Spectrum for the second and final time this regular season for a Friday night matchup. After a slow start to the season that had them languishing in last place in the Atlantic Division, the Devils have rebounded to win seven of their last nine games and climb to fifth place with a record of 18-16-1-3 for 40 points, which puts them just three points out of a playoff spot. Jon DiSalvatore, who signed with the New Jersey organization as a free agent last summer, leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points. He was the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 23. Defenseman Matt Corrente, New Jersey's first-round pick in 2006, has four goals and six assists for 10 points and is +4 on the season.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 - PHANTOMS at HERSHEY BEARS - 7:00, GIANT Center

The Phantoms resume their season series with the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) on Saturday night with a visit to the GIANT Center. The two teams met seven times in the first two months of the season, but have not played one another since November 29, when the Phantoms suffered their worst loss in franchise history in a 9-0 setback at GIANT Center. That loss ended up springing the Phantoms on a seven-game winning streak. Hershey's overall strong play has continued, as the Bears continue to pace the entire American Hockey League with a record of 28-11-0-1 for 57 points at the halfway point of their season. However, Hershey has dropped its last two games. The Bears have been an offensive juggernaut all season and are currently outscoring their opponents 159-112 on the year. Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux lead the AHL in scoring - Aucoin is first with 14 goals and 37 assists for 51 points, while Giroux, his linemate, has 28 goals and 16 assists for 44 points. The 28 goals lead the league. Additionally, eight of the league's top-20 plus minus ratings - and six of the top 10 - are Hershey players.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 - PHANTOMS VS. ALBANY RIVER RATS - 5:05, Wachovia Spectrum

The Phantoms host the Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes) in a Sunday matchup at the Wachovia Spectrum. Albany is 15-18-3-2 for 35 points, which slots them seventh in the East Division, seven points behind the Phantoms. However, the Rats are 5-5 in their last 10 and are coming off a win over the Hershey Bears last weekend. Albany is led in scoring by Michael Ryan, who leads the team with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points.

SUNDAY TIME CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

The Phantoms are anticipating a possible time change to Sunday's game against Albany due to the NFC Championship Game involving the Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals. If a change is made, it will be announced on Tuesday.

PHANTOMS RETURN HOME ON WEDNESDAY, CELEBRATE 1000TH GAME

With the longest road trip of the season behind them, the Phantoms will return to the Wachovia Spectrum for three games this week. The first comes on Wednesday night when the Phantoms host Claude Lemieux and the Worcester Sharks at 7:05 with a celebration of the 1000th game in team history, which was played on Sunday in Cleveland. There will be several prizes and giveaways related to the milestone over the course of the evening.

1976 ALL-STAR GAME REMEMBERED THIS SUNDAY

The Phantoms will honor one of the many great past events at the Spectrum on Sunday when they host the Albany River Rats. The Phantoms will be wearing replicas of the jerseys worn by the 1976 Campbell Conference All-Stars at the 1976 NHL All-Star Game, which was played at the Spectrum on January 20, 1976. Two players who represented the Flyers in the game - Jimmy Watson and Rick MacLeish - will be on hand to drop the first puck. After the game, the jerseys will be sold via auction in Bullies.

Tickets are available now at the Phantoms website or at 1-800-298-4200.

TRANSACTIONS

The Flyers today returned goaltender Scott Munroe to the Phantoms. Munroe had spent the last week with the Flyers backing up Martin Biron while Antero Niittymaki recovered from an injury. As of today, all other call-ups remain with the Flyers, including Andreas Nodl, Darroll Powe, Josh Gratton, Claude Giroux and Jonathon Kalinski.

PHANTOMS PLAY 1000th GAME

The Phantoms reached the 1000th game in team history on Sunday in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters. With the AHL's current 80-game schedule, it takes 12 ½ years to reach that point, and doing so means the Phantoms reached the halfway point of their 2008-09 schedule. Over their first 1,000 games, the Phantoms compiled a record of 514 wins, 357 losses, 65 ties, 40 overtime losses and 22 shootout losses for a points percentage of .578.

KIDS TICKETS NOW FIVE DOLLARS

All Phantoms kids tickets are now just $5 for the rest of the 2008-09 season. The new kids price was made possible through a partnership with Babies ‘R Us. More information is available at Phantomshockey.com.

GET YOUR HOCKEY LOVERS PACKAGE

For one great price, you can enjoy all the hockey at the Wachovia Complex - great NHL action with the Philadelphia Flyers, and the opportunity to see the Flyers of tomorrow with the Philadelphia Phantoms. You get 10 Phantoms tickets to use at any point throughout the season, as well as two tickets to a Flyers game. Call the Phantoms at 215-465-4522 for more details.

NEWS AND NOTES

The Phantoms were shut out in consecutive games this weekend for just the fourth time in team history. It hadn't happened since January 22-24 of 2003... Sunday's game in Cleveland marked the eighth consecutive game in which the Phantoms have given up at least 38 shots. Philadelphia has allowed an average of 42.8 shots per game during that timeframe. Prior to those eight games, the Phantoms were allowing 32.2 shots per game. During this eight-game stretch, the Phantoms have been outshot 342-224, a difference of 118 shots. The average during that period is 42.8 to 28.0, a difference of nearly 15 shots per game... When the Phantoms outshot the Monsters 14-11 in the first period on Sunday, it snapped a streak of 15 consecutive periods that the Phantoms had been outshot. It was also the first time in seven games that the Phantoms had outshot their opponent in the first period. In those previous seven, the Phantoms were outshot 104-52 in the first period... In their last 10 games, the only one in which the Phantoms have scored first is the game they won, on Friday night in Grand Rapids... In the last 10 games, Danny Syvret is Philadelphia's leading scorer with seven assists but is also a -9. Jonathan Matsumoto has four goals and an assist for five points; he is the leading goal scorer, but is a -8. Nobody who has appeared in at least eight of the last 10 games has better than Jared Ross's even rating. The other 15 players to do so are all -1 or lower.

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PHANTOMS HOCKEY ON THE INTERNET The Phantoms have joined with the rest of the American Hockey League in forming AHL Live, a brand-new way to catch Phantoms hockey on the Internet. Once again this year, all Phantoms games, home and away, can be viewed online at www.ahllive.com. The video broadcasts are $6 per game, and a full-season pass can be purchased for $140. Also once again this year, fans can listen to just the audio portion of all games free of charge at Phantomshockey.com.

TICKET INFORMATION

It's not too late to secure a great Phantoms ticket package for the 2008-09 season! Packages are available that range from six games to a full, pro-rated season ticket for all remaining Phantoms home games. Phantoms ticket packages get you a great list of benefits, including discounted seats, special perks and guaranteed access to tickets for the final regular season game at the Wachovia Spectrum on April 12, 2009.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2009


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