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Phantoms Weekly

November 28, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


Phantoms Results

Thursday, Nov. 24 (Binghamton): Adirondack Phantoms 2 - Binghamton Senators 5

Friday, Nov. 25 (Glens Falls): Springfield Falcons 1 - Adirondack Phantoms 5

Saturday, Nov. 26 (Glens Falls): Albany Devils 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 4 (OT)

Phantoms Upcoming Games

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7:00 - Syracuse Crunch at Adirondack Phantoms

Friday, Dec. 2, 7:30 - Adirondack Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7:15 - Adirondack Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals

Great Holiday Weekend

The Adirondack Phantoms returned home for two big divisional battles over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and won both games at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Saturday night's game saw 4,746 fans come out to cheer the Phantoms to an exciting overtime win over the Albany Devils. It was the largest Phantoms crowd in the last two seasons and fell just 60 fans short of an official sellout.

The Phantoms first ever Orange-and-Black Friday sale was a terrific success as well. Beginning Friday morning at 6:00 a.m., fans lined up to get their discount tickets for as low as $8 to upcoming Phantoms games and also grabbed some Phantoms merchandise sales items.

The Hometown Hearts Coat Drive once again done extremely well and the Glens Falls community has responded by helping fill several boxes with lightly used coat donations.

This coming week, the Phantoms have just one home game before hitting the road again for three in a row. Wednesday at the Glens Falls Civic Center, the Syracuse Crunch come to town on a $1 hot dog night. After that, the team heads down south for a pair of games at Norfolk, Virginia.

Phantoms Holiday Socks

The very popular Phantoms Holiday Socks are again available for purchase for your favorite Phantoms fan. $49 package for 4 tickets to a premium Phantoms game, an autographed puck, a program; all in a game-worn Phantoms hockey sock. $59 for an autographed stick with the 4 premium game tickets, program and game-worn Phantoms hockey sock. These holiday socks have been hot items the past couple of seasons. Only available while supplies last.

Congrats to Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall

The pair of 22-year-old defensemen both made their NHL debuts last Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Bourdon has stuck with the team and has now played in four games with the Flyers. Marshall came back to Adirondack for a game and then returned to join the Flyers for their Saturday afternoon contest at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

Bourdon was a third-round pick (67th overall) of the Flyers in 2008 out of Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QJMHL. Marshall was a second round choice (41st overall) in the 2007 draft from the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QJMHL. Both players are in their third season with the Adirondack Phantoms and are housemates in Glens Falls. Marshall holds the record for most games played for the Adirondack Phantoms at 163.

Northeast Division Standings

1. Connecticut Whale (25 pts)

2. Bridgeport Sound Tigers (24 pts)

3. Adirondack Phantoms (23 pts)

4. Albany Devils (23 pts)

5. Springfield Falcons (20 pts)

Phantoms' Push For First Place

The Phantoms enter the week two points behind the Connecticut Whale for first place in the very competitive Northeast Division, in which first place and last place are separated by just five points.

Adirondack begins its week by finishing a three-game homestand against the Syracuse Crunch on

Wednesday. The Phantoms then depart on one of their longer road trips of the season. Adirondack finishes the week with a two-game series in Norfolk, playing games on Friday and Saturday. The Phantoms' road trip will finish a week from Tuesday against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Upcoming Milestone For Joe Paterson

Phantoms head coach Joe Paterson enters the week with 99 career AHL victories and can pick up his 100th all-time professional coaching win on Wednesday night against Syracuse. He is now 36-23-9 as head coach of the Phantoms. He was also head coach of the Louisville Panthers in the AHL from 1999-2001 where he had 63 wins. The current resident of Glen Lake, NY starred for the Adirondack Red Wings from 1981-84 scoring 52 goals and 122 points in 169 career games. He also played in 291 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

11/24, (ADK 2, BNG 5) - Sens Take Turkey-Day Game, 5-2

Despite Tom Sestito scoring two goals and playing one of his best games of the year; the Senators used four straight goals to get a 5-2 win over the Phantoms.

With the teams tied 1-1, Binghamton broke the game open by scoring four times in a span of 9:09, beginning with a goal from Nikita Filatov with 12.6 seconds left in the first period.

Former U.S. Olympian Mark Parrish scored two of the Senators' other goals, while Derek Grant and Andre Petersson also scored.

Mike McKenna backed up the Senators' win, stopping 37-of-39 shots.

Jason Bacashihua surrendered all five of Binghamton's goals and was relieved midway through the second period by Johan Backlund, who stopped all 15 shots he faced in his season debut.

11/25, (SPR 1, ADK 5) - Leighton Spectacular in 5-1 Win

On a night in which the Phantoms had one of their best offensive games of the season, their goaltender Michael Leighton was their best player. Leighton made a season-high 43 saves to continuously frustrate the Springfield Falcons in a 5-1 Adirondack win.

The Falcons' starting goalie, 38-year-old Stanley Cup-winner Manny Legace, couldn't keep pace with Leighton. The Phantoms knocked Legace out of the game by scoring four times through two periods. Adirondack added one more goal against Danny Taylor, who played the entire third period in a relief appearance.

Two of the Phantoms' goals were scored by Shane Harper. Brayden Schenn (1g, 1a) and Tom Sestito (1g, 1a) chipped in multi-point games, and Matt Walker scored his first goal of the year.

Springfield's only goal was scored by Brayden Schenn's junior linemate with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Matt Calvert. Calvert, who has spent most of the season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, busted Leighton's bid for a shutout by scoring with 3:21 left in the third period.

11/26, (ALB 3, ADK 4 OT) - Kalinski Nets Game-Winner In OT

Although it didn't come easy, the Phantoms' 4-3 overtime win over the Devils couldn't have come in more dramatic fashion. After Albany erased a two-goal Adirondack lead late in the third period, Jon Kalinski scored 1:01 into overtime to lift the Phantoms to the win over their Northway rival.

The goal was one of two for Kalinski on the night. Kalinski's first goal came on a shorthanded breakaway, which gave the Phantoms a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Brayden Schenn and Garrett Roe scored Adirondack's other goals.

Although the Devils twice battled back from deficits, Michael Leighton was spectacular all night, making 32 saves on 35 shots.

Rookie goalie Keith Kinkaid out of Union College was the losing goalie for the Devils, allowing four goals on 30 shots.

Stephane Veillleux, Joe Whitney and Nick Palmieri scored Albany's other goals.

Phantoms Breakdown

--After missing a month with a broken foot, Brayden Schenn returned to the Phantoms with a vengeance. Schenn racked up two goals and two assists in three games, running his season's totals to six goals and six assists over seven games in a Phantoms uniform. Adirondack is 5-2-0 in games which Schenn has played in.

--Tom Sestito also had an impressive week, netting three goals and an assist. Sestito's two-goal performance on Thanksgiving in Binghamton was his second two-goal game of the season. Sestito is up to seven goals and five assists this season, and is on pace to bulldoze his way past his career high of 13 goals, which he amassed while playing for Adirondack and the Springfield Falcons last season.

--On Saturday versus Albany, Kalinski scored the game-winning goal in overtime and a shorthanded, breakaway goal early in the third period. Two of Kalinski's four goals this season have come shorthanded.

--Kalinski's game-winning goal in overtime against Albany was the Phantoms' first overtime-winner since November 12, 2010, when Denis Hamel scored in overtime against the Norfolk Admirals. Overall, the Phantoms have had three games go past 60 minutes this season. Along with the game Kalinski won in overtime, Adirondack has gone 1-1 in shootouts.

--Adirondack has scored four shorthanded goals this season and is a perfect 4-0-0 in those games. In three of those wins, the shorthanded goal was the game-winner. Jon Kalinski's first shorthanded goal of the season was the game-winner in Springfield on November 4, Harry Zolnierczyk did the honors in Rochester on October 23 and Eric Wellwood turned the trick in on November 19 in Syracuse.

Denis Hamel's Chase of Glenn Merkosky

Denis Hamel's most recent goal was his 324th career strike in the AHL. Hamel enters the week one back of the former Adirondack Red Wing great, Glenn Merkosky, for 12th place on the AHL's all-time goal-scoring list.

Hamel, a 15th-year professional, is just 16 games from 1,000 professional games and is 35th in all-time AHL points with 623. Hamel's next to targets on the all-time points list are Brian Kilrea and Ken Gernander, who both retired with 624 points. Kilrea and Gernander both went on to notable coaching careers after their playing days. Kilrea coached the Ottawa 67's in the Ontario Hockey League from 1974-2009 and was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003, while Gernander is currently the bench boss for the Connecticut Whale.

AHL Leaders - Goals Scored

1. Willie Marshall 1952-72 523

2. Fred Glover 1948-68 520

3. Jody Gage 1979-96 504

4. Dick Gamble 1954-70 468

5. Jimmy Anderson 1954-70 426

6. Harry Pidhirny 1948-66 376

7. Mitch Lamoureux 1982-99 364

8. Jim Bartlett 1955-73 360

9. Tim Tookey 1980-95 353

10. Alexander Giroux 2001-present 346

11.. Brad Smyth 1994-06 326

12. Glenn Merkosky 1980-91 325

13. Denis Hamel 1997-present 324

Phantoms Leaders:

Goals: Denis Hamel (9)

Assists: Garrett Roe (12)

Points: Denis Hamel (16)

Penalty Minutes: Tom Sestito (63)

Plus/Minus: Garrett Roe (+6)

Wins: Michael Leighton (8)

Goals-Against Average: Michael Leighton (2.51)

Save Percentage: Jason Bacashihua (.917)

Shutouts: Michael Leighton (1)

Upcoming Opponents

Syracuse Crunch (Anaheim Ducks) - The Phantoms start the week by playing the Syracuse Crunch for the fourth time this season. In the most recent meeting, Adirondack got its first win in the season-series by trouncing the Crunch, 5-2, on November 19 in Syracuse. Since then, the Crunch have gone a perfect 2-0-0 to improve their record to 9-6-3 (21 pts), which puts them fourth in the East Division.

Norfolk Admirals (Tampa Bay Lightning) - The Phantoms take to the road by making their first visit of the season to Norfolk, for games against the Admirals on Friday and Saturday night. The Admirals sport the league's best offense, leading the league in both goals per game and shots per game. The Admirals' top two scorers are rookie Cory Conacher (23 pts) and veteran Trevor Smith (22 pts), who are fourth and sixth in the league in scoring, respectively.

Transactions

November 21 - Marc-Andre Bourdon recalled by Philadelphia (NHL)

November 21 - Kevin Marshall recalled by Philadelphia (NHL)

November 22 - Cullen Eddy recalled from Greenville (ECHL)

November 22 - Kevin Marshall loaned to Adirondack by Philadelphia (NHL)

November 22 - Brayden Schenn loaned to Adirondack by Philadelphia (NHL)

November 26 - Kevin Marshall recalled by Philadelphia (NHL)

November 28 - Kevin Marshall loaned to Adirondack by Philadelphia (NHL)

Upcoming Events

Monday, November 28, 7:00 - Phantoms Power Hour LIVE from McGinny's Tavern airing on Q101.7. Free tickets and t-shirts for fans in attendance. Special guests, #7 Oliver Lauridsen and #12 Garrett Klotz as well as Tim McManus of the Post-Star.

Wednesday, November 30, 7:00 - Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms. $1 Hot Dogs. Free tickets with lightly used coat donation to Phantoms office this week.

Friday, December 2, 7:30 - Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals

Saturday, December 3, 7:15 - Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals

Tuesday, December 6, 7:30 - Phantoms at Hamilton Bulldogs

Phantoms Holiday Socks are on sale now. $49 package for 4 tickets to a premium Phantoms game, an autographed puck, a program, all in a game-worn Phantoms hockey sock. $59 for an autographed stick with the 4 premium game tickets, program and game-worn Phantoms hockey sock.

Catch all the action of Phantoms hockey all season long on the team's flagship station, Classic Hits Q101.7 and on phantomshockey.com. Bob Rotruck has the broadcast coverage 30 minutes prior to game-time with Countdown to Faceoff.

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