December 15, 2009

2009-10 Record: 12-12-2-0, 26 points (8-4-2-0 Home, 4-8-0-0 Road), Sixth Place - East Division

Week 11 Recap:

Adirondack began Week 11 on a down note as they traveled to Syracuse and suffered a 5-2 loss to the Crunch on Friday night. For the first forty minutes Syracuse dominated, out-shooting the Phantoms 33-15 through two periods and scoring the game’s first four goals. Former Crunch forward Stefan Legein scored twice for Adirondack to give the team a faint hope, but Dan Fritsche’s empty net goal sealed a dismal road game for the Phantoms. However, the weekend took a dramatic turn for the better as Adirondack returned home for a two-game series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Saturday night the Phantoms exploded for their largest offensive output of the season, out-gunning the Penguins 7-4. Stefan Legein, Jason Ward and Jon Matsumoto each scored twice and Danny Syvret and Trent Daavettila both chipped in with a pair of assists. Sunday was a lower scoring affair, but the drama was even higher. The Penguins trailed 2-1 going into the third period before Luca Caputi’s second goal of the game tied the score at 10:49. Syvret was the hero for the second straight Sunday as he took a pass from Patrick Maroon and slammed the puck into the net with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to stun the Penguins and earn a 3-2 win.

On the injury front three players returned to action last weekend; defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori and forward Josh Beaulieu each missed the previous six games due to injury before re-entering the lineup on Friday at Syracuse and defenseman Kevin Marshall returned after missing four games.

Week 12 Preview:

Defenseman Logan Stephenson has not played in the last four games, three due to an injury suffered on December 5th vs. Albany and was held out as a precautionary healthy scratch on Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Stephenson’s potential return to the lineup Friday night as the Phantoms host the Hamilton Bulldogs could be an important roster boost for Adirondack, who had top scoring defenseman Danny Syvret recalled by the Flyers on Tuesday morning. Another potential boost was the signing of veteran NHL goaltender John Grahame to a PTO on Sunday. Grahame, who won the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has been practicing with the Phantoms for the last few days, but has not yet suited up for game action.

This week Adirondack hosts Hamilton on Friday night at 7:30 pm, the first of four meetings this season with their North Division foe. After the game the Phantoms will hop on the team bus and head into Massachusetts where they will face the Worcester Sharks for the second and final time this year. Having played ten games in the last eighteen days, Adirondack has a lighter game load going into the holidays as they play three games in the next twelve days.

Week 12 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, December 18 – 7:30 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (16-6-2-3, 37 pts)

Second Place, North Division

The Bulldogs are currently one of the hottest teams in the AHL, going 5-0-1-0 in their last six games (11 points) to move up to within two points of the first place Rochester Americans in the North Division. They boast the 2nd ranked defense in the AHL with 2.07 goals allowed per game and have allowed a league-low 56 total goals Prior to Hamilton’s latest point streak, they had not won consecutive games since late October. During this span the Bulldogs have posted four shutouts, out-scoring their opponents by a whopping 23-7 margin. Goalie Cedrick Desjardins has won his last four straight starts, including three shutouts, and has stopped a massive 95-of-96 shots over that stretch for a 0.990 save percentage. Desjardins is tied for the AHL lead in shutouts (4) and he ranks 2nd in the league in both goals-against average (1.45) and save percentage (0.944). The Bulldogs’ 9-3-1-2 record away from home is one of the best road records in the entire AHL. This is the first of four meetings between the two teams; after Friday’s game Adirondack will face Hamilton at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Sunday, February 21st at 1:00 pm.
Leading Scorer: Brock Trotter (C) – 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 27 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Cedrick Desjardins (G) – 1.45 GAA, 0.944 save pct., 8-4-1 in 14 GP.
Who’s Hot: Brock Trotter (C) – 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) and a +3 rating in his last five games played. David Desharnais (C) – 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Ryan Russell (C) – 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in his last five games played.

Saturday, December 19 – 7:05 pm – DCU Center – Worcester, MA

@ Worcester Sharks (15-11-0-2, 32 pts)

Tied-Fifth Place, Atlantic Division

The Sharks have been on a tear since the end of November, crawling their way back into the middle of a very tight Atlantic Division race. Worcester has gone 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games, but had their six game winning streak snapped with a shootout loss at Manchester on December 5th. The Sharks only had one game last week, suffering a 6-3 loss at Manchester; it was their first loss in regulation since November 20th at Portland. They have been led by a pair of rookies, goaltender Alex Stalock and center Logan Couture. Stalock is 7-1-0 in his last eight starts and is currently tied for 3rd in the AHL in wins (13) and ranks 4th in minutes played (1,243). Couture leads the Sharks in scoring; he leads the league in game-winning goals (6) and ranks 2nd amongst AHL rookies in points (22).
Leading Scorers: Logan Couture (C) – 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 16 GP & Steven Zalewski (C) – 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) in 27 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Alex Stalock (G) – 2.41 GAA, 0.910 save pct., 13-7-1 in 21 GP.
Who’s Hot: Logan Couture (C) – 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Steven Zalewski (C) – 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) and a +4 rating in his last five games played. Benn Ferriero (C) – 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +2 rating in his last four games played.

Week 11 Game Results:

December 11, 2009 Adirondack 2 @ Syracuse 5

December 12, 2009 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 @ Adirondack 7

December 13, 2009 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 @ Adirondack 3

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 11)

Stefan Legein – RW – #9 3 GP, 5 Points (4 goals, 1 assist), +3, 0 PIMs

Right wing Stefan Legein has been the Phantoms hottest offensive threat over the last two weeks. The Oakville, Ontario native began the week by scored both of Adirondack’s goals in his return to Syracuse for the first time since being traded by Columbus to Philadelphia. He followed it up with two more goals on Saturday night against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, including scoring his second shorthanded goal of the season as the Phantoms secured a 7-4 win. Legein has his four-game goal streak (6 goals) snapped on Sunday against the Penguins, but he extended his point streak to five games with an assist on the game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in the third period. For the week Legein had five points (4 goals, 1 assist), no penalty minutes and a +3 rating; his four goals on seven shots gave him a 57.1% shooting percentage. He currently leads Adirondack and is tied for 4th in the AHL in goals (13).

Phantoms Quick Hits:

· MISTER CLUTCH – D Danny Syvret is quickly becoming Adirondack’s go-to goal-scorer when the game is on the line. Syvret scored the game-winner with 0.1 seconds left in the third period of Sunday’s game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, lifting the Phantoms to a 3-2 win. He also scored the game-winning goal a week ago on Sunday, December 6th at Springfield when he found the net with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime. Syvret is currently tied with RW Jason Ward for the Phantoms lead in game-winning goals (2).

· A LEGEIN OF HIS OWN – RW Stefan Legein had his Phantoms season-high goal streak snapped on Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His four-game goal scoring streak lasted from December 5th vs. Albany to December 12 against the Penguins, a span where he tallied six goals. Legein is still running a five-game point streak (6 goals, 1 assist) thanks to an assist on Sunday.

· BY THE NUMBERS – Adirondack has a 10-1-0-0 record this season when scoring three or more goals in a game. When allowing two or less goals the Phantoms are 9-0-2-0. They have also enjoyed a strong record in one-goal games (7-2-2-0).

· HELPING HAND – LW Patrick Maroon is currently on a three-game assist streak, the longest such streak by a Phantoms player this season. Maroon has five assists during that span, including the primary assist on Sunday’s game-winning goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

· NOW THAT’S DISCIPLINE – The Phantoms enjoyed their least penalize week of the season so far as they managed to stay under double digit penalty minutes in all three of their games. Adirondack totaled just 14 PIMs in those games, including a season-low four minutes on both Friday at Syracuse and Saturday vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; their opponents combined for just 22 total penalty minutes.

· THE 400 CLUB – LW Krys Kolanos played in his 400th career professional game in Glens Falls on Saturday against the Penguins. Kolanos has appeared in 136 career NHL games; in 220 career AHL games he has 196 points (105 goals, 95 assists).

· BREAKING THE SLUMP – Captain Jared Ross has three points in his last three games, but his goal on Sunday against the Penguins broke a 15-game goal drought. Ross is sixth on the team in points (11) and third in assists (9), but had not scored since October 18th at Bridgeport. Since returning from his NHL call up with the Flyers Ross has been a key component of the Phantoms offense.

· SUNDAY BEST – The Phantoms have enjoyed an unbeaten record on Sunday games this year; they are a perfect 4-0-0-0 on Sundays, including a 5-4 shootout with at Hershey. Coincidentally, their next Sunday game falls on January 2nd at Hershey.

Phantoms Recent Transactions

December 15 – DELETE – Danny Syvret (D) – Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL).

December 13 – ADD – David Laliberte (RW) – Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

December 13 – ADD – Logan Stephenson (D) – Signed to standard AHL contract (SPC).

December 13 – DELETE – Logan Stephenson (D) – Released from PTO.

December 13 – ADD – John Grahame (G) – Signed to PTO.

Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Four players tied (26)

Goals: Stefan Legein (13)

Assists: Patrick Maroon (15)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (23)

Plus/Minus: Jason Ward (+5)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (88)

Power Play Goals: Jon Matsumoto (5)

Short Handed Goals: Stefan Legein (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Danny Syvret & Jason Ward (2)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (75)

Shooting Percentage: Stefan Legein (19.4%)

Saves: Johan Backlund (383)

Wins: Johan Backlund (6)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.81)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.903)

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Adirondack is currently preparing to host the Hamilton Bulldogs for the first time this season on Friday, December 18th for a 7:00 pm face off at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

In the spirit of the holiday shopping season the Phantoms are offering special free domestic ground shipping on all orders made at the Phantoms Online Team Shop. This special free shipping offer will expire on Sunday, December 20th, so get your Adirondack Phantoms Merchandise today. The Phantoms Online Store can be found at http://shopphantomshockey.com.