January 30, 2010

GLENS FALLS, NY – The Adirondack Phantoms, proud AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, announced today that the Flyers have assigned left wing Mika Pyorala (MEE-kah PYUR-ahl-lah) to the Phantoms.

Pyorala, 28, signed as a free agent with Philadelphia on July 14, 2009 and made the Flyers opening night roster out of training camp. The Oulu, Finland native made his National Hockey League debut on October 2nd as the Flyers began their 2009-10 season at Carolina. Pyorala has played in 36 games for Philadelphia this season, scoring four points (2 goals, 2 assists) and logging 10 penalty minutes; however, he has been a healthy scratch in 13 of the Flyers last 14 games. He came to North America having played eight full professional seasons in Finland with Oulu Kärpät and Sweden with Timrå IK. In 455 career pro games in the SM-liiga, Swedish Elitserien and the NHL Pyorala has posted 233 points (123 goals, 110 assists) and 161 penalty minutes.

Pyorala became the fifth player in NHL history to score a shootout game-winning goal before recording his first NHL goal when he scored the decisive goal in the shootout on November 7th vs. St. Louis. He would score his first career NHL goal on November 18th at Los Angeles. He spent the last two seasons with Timrå IK (SEL), as a teammate of Phantoms goaltender Johan Backlund.

The Phantoms are home again on Saturday, January 30th as they host the Norfolk Admirals for a 7:00 pm face off at the Civic Center. Saturday is Dollar Dog Night, where hot dogs at the concession stand are just one dollar all night long, there will be a hot dog eating contest during an intermission and the team will be keeping track of how many hot dogs the fans can consume during the game. Sunday, January 31st Adirondack completes their weekend with a trip to Rochester for a 5:00 pm game against the Americans at Blue Cross Arena.

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.