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Titans Host AHL Phantoms On Monday

October 8, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. – The Sovereign Bank Arena will host a historic game on Monday when the Trenton Titans of the ECHL play a preseason game against the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League. The 7 p.m. game marks the first-ever meeting between an AHL team and its ECHL affiliate.

"We have had a great relationship with the Phantoms over the past five years and that relationship has paved the way for this game," said Geoff Berman, owner and CEO of the Titans. "This game is the first of its kind. We are thrilled to be hosting it and look forward to a competitive contest."

"The Phantoms organization is really looking forward to this game," said Frank Micelli, chief operating officer of the Phantoms. "It is going to be an excellent test for the team heading into the 2004-05 American Hockey League season and we know that Coach (Mike) Haviland will have a strong squad waiting for us."

The two teams have had a working relationship since the Titans inception in 1999, and the partnership has produced current NHL players Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jesse Boulerice of the Carolina Hurricanes and Ruslan Fedotenko of the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2003-04, Trenton had 21 call-ups to the Phantoms, who led the AHL with 46 regular season wins en route to their fourth division title and the Eastern Division Finals.

"I really don't know what to expect, but we'll approach it like any other game. I don't have a roster yet, but I would suspect that they will have a pretty competitive team put together," said John Stevens, head coach of the Phantoms. "I know some of the names and some of the guys that were in camp here with us. It should be fun and a lot of fans support both the Titans and the Phantoms, so it should be a good night for fans to witness both teams.

"Similar to the Flyers and Phantoms game last season, there's always a little extra incentive for the team from the lesser league and I think that's only natural. You want to try and take the opportunity to prove yourself against a team from a higher league," Stevens added. "I think that's always going to happen, but we're all professionals and we're going to approach the game seriously and go out there and compete like we would in any other game."

Trenton will take the ice for the first time in training camp on Saturday while Philadelphia will open its regular season on Saturday at Hartford.

"I think it's great for our organization and for our league," said Haviland, who is in his first season as head coach of the Titans after two years in Atlantic City. "It's an honor to be able to play a team from the American Hockey League and to be a part of a groundbreaking event like this game.

"I've been to the Phantoms camp and they've got some great speed," added Haviland, who led Atlantic City to the Kelly Cup Championship in 2003. "I think both teams are going to work hard and it's going to be a high-paced and high-energy game. It should be a great game for both our fans and their fans."

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