October 24, 2009

ALBANY, NY – Garrett Klotz scored the first goal of his professional career but the Adirondack Phantoms came up one goal short as they lost 3-2 to the Albany River Rats Saturday night at the Times Union Center.

The two teams saw each other a week ago in Glens Falls, but it took several minutes of feeling out before the intensity began to rise. Jacob McFlikier, who was called up before the game from the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, put Albany ahead at 13:49 as he slammed in a rebound from Brad Herauf and Chris Terry. But with 1:30 left in the period Adirondack pulled back level on Stefan Legein’s first goal in a Phantoms uniform. After a sustained offensive zone possession, Jon Matsumoto found Legein with a clever cross-ice pass and the newest roster member made no mistake as he snapped a one-timed wrist shot into the net to tie the game.

The Phantoms built on that momentum in the second period, out-shooting Albany for most of the frame, but it was against the grain that the River Rats regained the lead. After killing off an Adirondack power play Rats captain Pat Dwyer led a three-on-one rush down the left wing, dropped the puck to Jerome Samson and then poked the rebound from Samson’s shot underneath Adirondack rookie goaltender Nic Riopel at 16:43. The Phantoms out-shot the River Rats 14-8 in the second frame, but found themselves trailing 2-1 as they went into the third period.

Adirondack dug deep to get back into the game and they found the tying goal from an unlikely source. Garrett Klotz, who did not score in 36 games played last season for the Phantoms, took a centering pass from Joonas Lehtivuori and hammered home a one-timer from the slot, ripping the puck over Albany goalie Justin Peters at 9:24 for his first career professional goal. The intensity rose throughout the period, but just when it looked as though Adirondack would grab the lead the River Rats nosed in front. Off a counter-attack rookie Zach Boychuk zipped into the slot and snapped a quick shot over Riopel, off the underside of the crossbar and into the net at 14:00 for a 3-2 advantage. Adirondack pulled Riopel in the final minute, but could not get another goal past Peters as they fell to the River Rats by one goal.

Justin Peters made 31 saves on 33 shots to record his 4th win of the season as Albany improved to 5-3-0-0 on the year. Phantoms goaltender Nic Riopel finished with 31 saves on 34 shots faced, but took the loss as Adirondack dropped to 4-3-1-0 this season. The River Rats out-shot the Phantoms 34-33 in the game and went 0-for-2 on the power play; Adirondack was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Next up for the Phantoms is a trip to Ontario as they will battled the Toronto Marlies on Friday, October 30th at 7:00 pm at Ricoh Coliseum. Adirondack’s next home game is scheduled for Sunday, November 1st against the Syracuse Crunch; a 5:00 pm face off at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Time Warner Cable Cup Four-Pack is now on sale at the Phantoms office, starting as low as $56. 2009-10 Phantoms full and partial season ticket packages are still available for the 2009-10 season presented by Bud Light. For more information please contact the Adirondack Phantoms at (518) 480-3355 or online at www.phantomshockey.com.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Adirondack Phantoms 2 At Albany River Rats 3 - Status: Final
Oct 24, 2009 - Times Union Center

Adirondack 1 0 1 - 2
Albany 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Albany, Micflikier 1 (Herauf, Terry), 13:49. 2, Adirondack, Legein 3 (Matsumoto, Maroon), 18:30. Penalties-Clackson Adk (fighting), 2:53; Blanchard Alb (fighting), 2:53; Marshall Adk (roughing), 19:22; Paiement Alb (roughing), 19:22; Bartulis Adk (roughing), 20:00; Jones Adk (roughing), 20:00; Bellemore Alb (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Albany, Dwyer 4 (Samson, FitzGerald), 16:43. Penalties-Klotz Adk (fighting), 2:41; FitzGerald Alb (fighting), 2:41; Herauf Alb (holding the stick), 5:46; Laliberte Adk (slashing), 6:16; FitzGerald Alb (roughing), 11:18; FitzGerald Alb (hooking), 14:36.

3rd Period-4, Adirondack, Klotz 1 (Lehtivuori, Matsumoto), 9:24. 5, Albany, Boychuk 3 (Chaput, Samson), 14:00. Penalties-Blanchard Alb (interference), 1:26.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 10-14-9-33. Albany 16-8-10-34.

Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 of 4; Albany 0 of 2.

Goalies-Adirondack, Riopel 0-2-0 (34 shots-31 saves). Albany, Peters 4-2-0 (33 shots-31 saves).

A-4,303

Referees-Francis Charron (46).

Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Frank Murphy (29).