Phantoms Weekly

December 21, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs made their first trip to Glens Falls this season on Saturday night and young goaltender Cedrick Desjardins put on a display as he recorded his AHL-leading fifth shutout of the season in a 4-1 blanking of the Phantoms. Adirondack fought back to earn a weekend split as they traveled to Worcester and came from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Sharks 4-3. Defenseman Joey Mormina set up the game-tying goal early in the third period when he intercepted a pass at the red line, skated down the left wing and launched a wrist shot off the pads of the Worcester goalie and Stefan Legein was on hand to collect the rebound and fire it home. Captain Jared Ross then scored the game winner a few minutes later and goaltender Johan Backlund clamped down to record his seventh win of the season and finished with a season-high 36 saves.

Adirondack began the week with four goaltenders on their roster, but the situation subsided quickly as Michael-Lee Teslak was assigned to Wheeling (ECHL) and rookie Nic Riopel was reassigned to the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL). That left Swedish native Johan Backlund and NHL veteran John Grahame as the Phantoms tandem heading into the two-game weekend. Andreas Nodl and Jonathon Kalinski returned to Adirondack from their NHL call-ups with the Flyers on Friday night and defenseman Logan Stephenson returned to action after missing two weeks due to injury.

Week 13 Preview:

The entire Adirondack squad practiced early Monday morning,; with Logan Stephenson returning to the lineup last Saturday at Worcester the team boasted a fully healthy roster for the first time in over a month. Then the players left the rink for the holiday break, having the next four days to rest, recharge and spent time with family and friends. They will get back to work on Saturday, December 26th as they travel to the Southern Tier to tango with the Binghamton Senators; a 7:05 pm face off at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The Phantoms have not fared well against the B-Sens this season, losing their first two meetings by a combined scored of 12-0.

Week 13 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on Classic Hits Q-101.7 FM and can also be heard for free over the Internet at www.phantomshockey.com and can be viewed via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com.)

Saturday, December 26 - 7:05 pm - Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena - Binghamton, NY

@ Binghamton Senators (14-11-3-1, 32 pts)

Third Place, East Division

Having been out-scored 12-0 in the two games this season, the Phantoms will be looking to find the net early as they face the Senators in their post-Christmas game in Binghamton. The B-Sens split their two-game weekend series at Norfolk last weekend and have played 0.500 hockey (2-2-1-0) over their last five games. Goalie Chris Holt has been a bright spot since his call-up from the ECHL's Elmira Jackals. Holt earned back-to-back shutouts in his first two starts of the season in a home-and-home series with Syracuse on December 4th & 5th; he is 4-1-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a 0.937 save percentage. C Martin St. Pierre is tied for third overall in the AHL in points. Rookie LW Tim Spencer leads all AHL rookies in penalty minutes (98) and major penalties (12). Leading Scorer: Martin St. Pierre (C) - 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 29 GP. Leading Goaltender: Andy Chiodo (G) - 2.82 GAA, 0.917 save pct., 5-9-0 in 14 GP. Who's Hot: Martin St. Pierre (C) - 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his last four games played. Derek Smith (D) - 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) and a +5 rating in his last five games played. Denis Hamel (LW) - 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last four games played.

Week 12 Game Results:

December 18, 2009 Hamilton 4@ Adirondack 0

December 19, 2009 Adirondack 4 @ Worcester 3

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 12)

Stefan Legein - RW - #9 2 GP, 2 Points (1 goal, 1 assist), -1, 0 PIMs

Right wing Stefan Legein continued to be an influential offensive presence for the Phantoms this week. The Oakville, Ontario native scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season in the third period of Saturday's game at Worcester. Legein buried a rebound from a Joey Mormina shot to tie the game at 3-3 and then assisted on Jared Ross' game-winning goal, leading Adirondack's 4-3 comeback win over the Sharks at the DCU Center. On the season Legein has 17 points (14 goals, 3 assists) in 28 games played with Syracuse and Adirondack and is currently tied for fourth in the AHL in goals.

Phantoms Quick Hits:

- DIVIDING THE DIVISIONS - Adirondack has feasted on the Atlantic Division this season, posting a 7-2-0-0 so far and grabbing 14 points; half of their 28 this year. However, the Phantoms have struggled against their own East Division, going 5-9-2-0 (12 points) in 16 games played.

- LOGGING TIME - G Johan Backlund recorded his 18,000th minute played of his professional career on Saturday at Worcester. Backlund also stopped a season-high 36 saves in the game to record his seventh win of the year.

- A NEW ACCOUNT & BENCHMARK - D Sean Curry scored his first goal of the season early in the first period of Saturday's game against the Sharks. Curry's goal was his 100th career AHL point; he has 31 goals and 69 assists in 482 career AHL games played.

- A NEW PHANTOM - Veteran NHL goaltender John Grahame made his Adirondack debut on Friday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs. It was Grahame's 154th career AHL game played and first since the seven games he played with the Albany River Rats during the 2007-08 season.

- APPROACHING MILESTONE - Phantoms leading scorer Jon Matsumoto is one game away from his 200th career Pro and AHL game. Matsumoto has 135 points (63 goals, 72 assists in 199 career AHL games. He and LW Patrick Maroon are the only two Adirondack players to play in all 28 games this season and he leads the team with 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists).

- 300 CLUB - D Joey Mormina needs 2 games to play in his 300th career Pro game and 3 GP to record his 300th career AHL game. Mormina has played in 298 career AHL games and 1 NHL game with the Carolina Hurricanes back in the 2007-08 season.

- WORCESTER WIN, A FIRST - Adirondack completed another first last Saturday, winning for the first time in the 2009-10 season when trailing after two periods of play. The Phantoms now have a record of 1-11-1-0 when they are behind going into the third period.

- BY THE NUMBERS - The Phantoms scored first on Saturday, but had to come from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Sharks on Saturday at the DCU Center. By doing so they improved to 9-2-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal. Even with a tumultuous season thus far, Adirondack is an impressive 8-2-2-0 in one-goal games.

Phantoms Recent Transactions

December 18 - ADD - Jonathon Kalinski (C) - Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

December 17 - DELETE - Nic Riopel (G) - Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) to Moncton (QMJHL).

December 17 - DELETE - Michael-Lee Teslak (G) - Reassigned to Wheeling (ECHL).

December 16 - ADD - Andreas Nodl (LW) - Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

December 16 - ADD - Johan Backlund (G) - Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Three players tied (28)

Goals: Stefan Legein (14)

Assists: Patrick Maroon (16)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (24)

Plus/Minus: Jason Ward (+4)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (90)

Power Play Goals: Jon Matsumoto (5)

Short Handed Goals: Stefan Legein (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Danny Syvret & Jason Ward (2)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (80)

Shooting Percentage: Stefan Legein (20.0%)

Saves: Johan Backlund (463)

Wins: Johan Backlund (7)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.82)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.905)

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Adirondack is currently in the Christmas Break, but will return to the ice on Saturday, December 26th as they travel to New York's Southern Tier to face the Binghamton Senators at 7:05 pm at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The Phantoms next home game is at 3:00 pm on Thursday, December 31st at the Glens Falls Civic Center as they host the Albany River Rats for another Time Warner Cable Cup battle.

There is no better way to watch Phantoms Hockey than by sharing it with a group of your family and friends. Bring a group of 15 or more people to the Glens Falls Civic Center and qualify for incredible discounted ticket prices off the regular box office rates. For more information about group tickets, contact the Phantoms at 518-480-3355 or visit www.phantomshockey.com



American Hockey League Stories from December 21, 2009


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