Sports stats

Win Streak Frozen by Penguins

January 10, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


Cal Heeter was scored upon for the first time in 2014 and the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins halted Adirondack's four-game win-streak taking a 4-1 decision in Glens Falls on Friday night. The Phantoms finished their longest homestand of the season with a 4-1-0 record.

The Penguins broke a 1-1 tie in the second-period with a pair of consecutive 5-on-3 goals. Adirondack had their chances on the man-advantage too but their recently red-hot power-play came to a grinding halt with an 0-for-6 performance in this one. The game roared off to a rough-and-tumble start with a couple of fights, other near-fights, and lots of big hitting during the play and exchanges after the whistle. It appeared the top affiliates of the fierce NHL rivals in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were carrying the same feelings to the AHL level.

34-year-old captain Tom Kostopolous led the Penguins' attack with a pair of goals, his team-leading 13th and 14th of the season. Former Phantom speedster Harry Zolnierczyk sealed the victory with a late empty-netter for his 12th goal of the season. And Jeff Deslauriers put forth a 31-save performance in an impressive win.

Jason Akeson scored his ninth of the season for Adirondack's lone goal. Cal Heeter was tagged with the loss for Adirondack.

Trailing 2-1 after the first 5-on-3 goal had been scored, Rob Bordson raced away with a breakaway back to the Penguins side but was stoned by Deslauriers. He had a quick pick up of the rebound and tried to connect with Ben Holmstrom trailing in the slot but the Penguins would turn the opportunity into an odd-man rush back the other way with Brian Dumoulin converting in the slot on a give by Kostopolous for a pivotal goal.

"We get a breakaway on a 3-on-5," head coach Terry Murray said. "I haven't seen one of those for ten years! And our man (Bordson) is hacked and whacked going to the net and no call. I don't get it. Penalties hurt us tonight and there were situations where we need to have better composure. But there were a couple looks there that were pretty good shorthanded."

The 5-on-3 developed after Zack FitzGerald was called for a double-minor for boarding followed by Matt Mangene contacting the goalie as he was going for the rebound of a shorthanded breakaway.

Kostopolous had scored the first goal of the night in a chippy first period when Nick Drazenovic stole the puck behind the Phantoms goal and was able to connect with the Penguins captain all alone out in front. Kostopolous ended Cal Heeter's shutout streak at 139 minutes as he pulled the puck away from the poke-check of Cal Heeter.

Steven Deslisle dropped the gloves early in the period with Wilkes-Barre/s Reid McNeill in a spirited bout. And late in the first, Kris Newbury dealt a number of shots on Harrison Ruopp in their fight.

Jason Akeson blasted a one-timer directly off a Kris Newbury face-off win at seven minutes into the second period to even the score at 1-1. It was Newbury's team-leading ninth goal of the season and also his 42nd all-time with the Adirondack Phantoms. Akeson and Holmstrom are tied with 42 goals each in their careers. Both are chasing Denis Hamel's record of 48 career goals with the Adirondack Phantoms.

Zack FitzGerald's double-minor for roughing followed by Matt Mangene's goaltender interference on his own breakaway set up the back-to-back 5-on-3 goals for the Penguins who stretched the lead to 3-1.

Once you get down to the Penguins, the hill to climb in order to recover is perhaps a bit steeper.

"They're the stingiest team in the league," Murray said. "They give up the fewest shots per game of anyboy in the league. We talked about that. We knew they were going to block. They do a good job on the checking part of the game."

Adirondack had their chances in the third period and outshot the Penguins 13-4 in the final frame but Deslauriers stood tall and made a number of fine saves. On rush into the zone, defenseman Mike Matczak found himself with the puck in the high slot and a direct line at the net. His blast was perfectly aimed for the high-left corner but Deslauriers just barely nicked the puck with his right hand and was able to glance it away.

"We got to bounce back," Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom said. "We got to focus on tomorrow. We got a big game in Binghamton and we got to bounce back. Just back to our game. We were on a little bit of a roll there and its one game. It's going to happen. Things don't go your way. You're not going to play your best every night. We just gotta come back and get focused and get ready to play tomorrow night."

Adirondack falls to 18-14-2 with the loss and stays one point behind St. John's for the number 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Phantoms are ahead of the IceCaps in win percentage with two games-in-hand. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the fourth-place position in the Eastern Conference improved to 21-11-4. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 2-1-0 against Adirondack this year. The Phantoms return to northeast Pennsylvania on February 8 for the last game of the season series.

Adirondack outshot the Penguins 32-24. The Phantoms were 0-for-6 on the power play while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 2-for-5.

Cal Heeter was honored before the game as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week and was presented with his award by Phantoms Executive Vice President Chris Porreca while receiving a nice ovation.

Stored Tech Night brought a few hundred of their customers and employees to the game. The official I.T. provider of the Adirondack Phantoms also gave away an iPad Mini to one lucky fan in attendance. North Country Wild Care held a fundraiser in the lobby and brought a live owl to the game as well which impressed kids and adults alike.

The Phantoms travel to Binghamton on Saturday night taking on the Senators for the first away game of 2014. Adirondack returns for three straight in Glens Falls on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday against Binghamton, Hartford and Albany. Next Saturday night is Dax's Big Birthday Bash featuring all of Dax's awesome Mascot Friends! Call the Phantoms for tickets in advance to save: 518-480-3355.



American Hockey League Stories from January 10, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Adirondack Phantoms Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central