November 9, 2009

2009-10 Record: 6-5-1-0, 13 points (4-1-1-0 Home, 2-4-0-0 Road), Tied-Third Place - East Division

Week 6 Recap:

Adirondack began Week 6 with an 11:00 am face off in Bridgeport, part of a school day special promotion as they battled the Sound Tigers in front of over 8,000 school kids. Jon Matsumoto gave the Phantoms a 1-0 lead with a power play goal in the first period, but Greg Mauldin tied the game with a second period penalty shot goal and Mauldin then gave the Sound Tigers a 2-1 lead at 9:30 of the third period with his second goal of the game. It took just ten seconds for the Phantoms to respond as Stefan Legein drove hard to the net and pushed in a rebound at 9:40, sparking a third period comeback. Andreas Nodl gave Adirondack the lead for good with a power play goal at 15:05 and defenseman Joey Mormina capped off the scoring with a power play strike at 18:41, his first goal of the year.

The Phantoms modest two-game winning streak was halted on Saturday night as they squandered a one-goal lead and lost to the Albany River Rats 3-1. Matsumoto scored in the final minute of the first period to give Adirondack their first lead in the Time Warner Cable Cup series, but Bryan Rodney turned the tables by tying the game in the closing minutes of the second period. That goal setup a strong third period for Albany as they took the lead just 63 seconds into the final frame and tacked on an insurance goal at 5:36 for a 3-1 lead. The Phantoms were plagued by penalties in the last ten minutes of play, hindering their chances for a comeback as they dropped their third-straight game to Albany this season.

Week 7 Preview:

It is time for a little home cooking for Adirondack as they host a pair of games at the Glens Falls Civic Center this weekend. The Phantoms begin their season series with New York State and East Division Rival Binghamton on Friday night with a 7:30 pm face off against the Senators. They will meet ten times this season; including a 6:05 pm Thanksgiving Day battle in Binghamton. Saturday, November 14th at 7:00 pm the Phantoms will tangle with Bridgeport for the third time this year, but it will be their first meeting in Glens Falls. Saturday night’s game is Phantoms Team Poster Night at the Civic Center, where the first 3,000 fans in the building will receive a free Phantoms Team Poster.

On the injury front, Adirondack has been without defenseman Sean Curry and right wing Krys Kolanos. Both veteran players are back on the ice in practice and could potentially return to action this weekend. At the start of the season the Phantoms had too many veteran players, players with over 260 games played in the AHL, NHL or elite leagues in Europe. But with defenseman Randy Jones being claimed off re-entry waivers by Los Angeles, Lukas Kaspar’s departure for Finland and recent injuries, Adirondack has not been close to the six veteran limit in the last few weeks.

Week 7 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.)

Friday, November 13 – 7:30 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Binghamton Senators (5-6-2-0, 12 pts)

Sixth Place, East Division

Binghamton have been very inconsistent so far this season, winning their first two games is convincing fashion, but then going on a six-game winless streak (0-4-2-0). The Senators have started to right the ship, winning three of their last five games and posting a team goals-against average of 1.60 over that span. G Mike Brodeur has been outstanding lately, shutting out Albany 2-0 last Wednesday and in his last three starts he has allowed just two goals and stopped 94-of-96 shots faced. The B-Sens power play has struggled so far, going 5-for-56 (8.9%) with the man-advantage, which ranks 28th in the AHL. Their penalty kill numbers are much better as they are 11th in the league with an 84.8% success rate (67-for79). Binghamton ranks 2nd in the AHL in shots on goal per game (33.62), but they are 26th in shots allowed per game (33.00).
Leading Scorers: Ryan Keller (RW) – 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 13 GP & Martin St. Pierre (C) – 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 13 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Mike Brodeur (G) – 2.56 GAA, 0.914 save pct., 4-3-0 in 11 GP.
Who’s Hot: Mike Brodeur (G) – 0.67 GAA, 0.980 Sv.%, 2-1-0 record and 1 shutout in his last 3 games played. Ryan Keller (LW) – 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +2 rating in his last five games played. Tomas Kudelka (D) – 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a +4 rating in his last five games played.

Saturday, November 14 – 7:00 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers (7-10-0-0, 14 pts)

Third Place, Atlantic Division

The Phantoms have beaten Bridgeport 4-2 in both meetings, both at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Sound Tigers have lost five straight games and have gone 3-10-0-0 since winning their first four games of the season. During their current losing streak Bridgeport has only six players with 2 or more points and they have been out-scored 20-10 in their last five games. Goaltenders Scott Munroe and Nathan Lawson have even split the starts over the last twelve games; Munroe is 1-5 in his last six starts, while Lawson is 2-4 over his last six appearances. Bridgeport leads the AHL in total penalty minutes (528), although they rank 2nd behind Syracuse in PIMs per game average (31.06). The Sound Tigers also lead the league in major penalties (32), 10-minute misconducts (7) and game misconducts (8). RW Pascal Morency leads the AHL in penalty minutes (97) and LW Trevor Gillies ranks 4th (83), while F Matt Martin leads all AHL rookies in minutes (42) and minors (11). Rookie LW Justin DiBenedetto ranks 2nd in the AHL in shots on goal (64).
Leading Scorer: Greg Moore (C) – 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in 17 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Nathan Lawson (G) – 2.44 GAA, 0.924 save pct., 3-4-0 in 7 GP.
Who’s Hot: Greg Mauldin (LW) – 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Greg Moore (C) – 3 assists in his last five games played. Mark Wotton (D) – 3 assists in his last five games played.

Week 6 Game Results:

November 4, 2009 Adirondack 4 @ Bridgeport 2

November 7, 2009 Adirondack 1 @ Albany 3

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 6)

Jon Matsumoto – C – #11 2 GP, 3 Points (2 goals, 1 assist), 2 PP Goals

Center Jon Matsumoto has caught fire over the last few weeks and continued his hot form in Week 6. The Ottawa, Ontario native had a two-point game, scoring a power play goal in the first period and assisting on a power play goal in the third period as Adirondack beat Bridgeport 4-2 Wednesday morning. Matsumoto followed it up by scoring the Phantoms only goal, another power play strike, in a 3-1 loss at Albany on Saturday night; the goal gave Adirondack their first lead of the regular season series with the River Rats. He finished the week with 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) and he is currently on a three-game goal streak (4 goals) and has six points in his last three games played. On the season he leads the Phantoms with 13 points and 6 goals and is tied for the team lead with 7 assists.

Phantoms Quick Hits:

· GOAL STREAK REACHES THREE – Center Jon Matsumoto became the first Phantoms player this season to score goals in three consecutive games when he scored the team’s only goal of Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Albany. Matsumoto has four goals over his last three games and leads the team in both goals and points.

· TO OUT-SHOOT OR TO BE OUT-SHOT – The Phantoms have been out-shot in eight of their twelve games so far this season. They are 4-4-0-0 in games where they are out-shot by their opponents; Adirondack is 2-1-1-0 when out-shooting their opponents.

· MILESTONES – Center Ryan Dingle and left wing Josh Beaulieu both reached personal milestones during Saturday’s game at Albany. Both players played in their 100th career AHL game against the River Rats at the Times Union Center; it was also Dingle’s 150th career Pro game.

· SATURDAY SLUMP – The Phantoms continued to struggle this season in games played on Saturday night. Adirondack is 0-4-1-0 on Saturdays this year, while compiling a 6-1-0-0 record in games played on any other day of the week.

· VERY SPECIAL TEAMS – Adirondack’s power play and penalty kill numbers have greatly improved over the last few games. The Phantoms have killed off their last 25 consecutive penalties, spanning their last five games, and have not conceded a power play goal since October 23rd vs. Hartford. Their penalty kill is now ranked 9th in the league at 87.3%. Adirondack’s power play was a paltry 5-for-49 (10.2%) over their first ten games of the season, but they have gone 4-for-14 (28.6) on the man-advantage in their last two games.

· THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER – The Phantoms have a perfect 5-0-0-0 record when scoring three or more goals in a game this season, but they are 1-5-1-0 when scoring two goals or less. Defensively Adirondack is 1-5-0-0 when allowing three or more goals in a game, but are 4-1-1-0 in games where they allow two goals or less.

· LESS THAN EXPECTED – Early in the season it seemed as though Adirondack allowed the first goal a lot more than they did score first, but it has evened out lately. The Phantoms have scored first in six of their twelve games and are 4-2-0-0 when doing so; they are 2-3-1-0 when allowing the first goal.

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Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Six players tied (12)

Goals: Jon Matsumoto (6)

Assists: Patrick Maroon & Jon Matsumoto (7)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (13)

Plus/Minus: Jonathon Kalinski, Jon Matsumoto & Jason Ward (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (44)

Power Play Goals: Jon Matsumoto (3)

Short Handed Goals: Jon Matsumoto (1)

Game-Winning Goals: Six players tied (1)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (36)

Shooting Percentage: Andreas Nodl (23.1%)

Saves: Johan Backlund (212)

Wins: Johan Backlund (5)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.37)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.918)

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Adirondack has two home games coming up this weekend. Friday, November 13th the Phantoms host the Binghamton Senators at 7:30 pm at the Civic Center and Saturday, November 14th the Bridgeport Sound Tigers are in town for a 7:00 pm game.

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.