February 9, 2010

2009-10 Record: 23-23-2-2, 50 points (12-9-2-0 Home, 11-14-0-2 Road), Tied-Fourth Place - East Division

Week 19 Recap:

The Phantoms began the week with their third trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and engaged in a wild game with the Penguins at the newly named Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Adirondack fought off an early 2-0 deficit to draw level by the end of the first period courtesy of captain Jared Ross and linemate Andreas Nodl, who combined for a pair of goals. Patrick Maroon put the Phantoms ahead 3-2 early in the second period, but they gave up a shorthanded breakaway goal to tie the game late in the frame and midway through the third period Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went ahead 4-3 on a Chris Lee goal, but Jason Ward rescued the Phantoms by tying the game with three minutes left in regulation. The Penguins went on to win the shootout and earn a 5-4 win, but the Phantoms came away from the scrap with a point.

Back in Glens Falls on Friday the Phantoms faced the Atlantic Division’s first place Manchester Monarchs for the first time this season. Adirondack put together one of its most complete efforts of the season, grabbing an early lead when Mika Pyorala tipped in a Joey Mormina shot for his first career AHL goal just three minutes into the game. Manchester tied the score in the second period, but Jonathon Kalinski beat All-Star goaltender Jonathan Bernier late in the second, finishing off a beautiful passing sequence from Ryan Dingle and Jason Ward with a backhand that crossed up Bernier and gave Adirondack a 2-1 lead. Goaltender Johan Backlund again dug in his heels and fought off a concerted push by the Monarchs as he picked up his 15th win of the year and Jon Matsumoto clinched the victory with an empty netter.

Saturday in Syracuse the Phantoms were the better team over the first forty minutes of play, including a near dominate second period where they out-shot the Crunch 16-6. However, Syracuse goalie Kevin Lalande came up with some big saves and after the second period ended Adirondack had nothing to show for their efforts. The momentum made a 180-degree turn towards Crunch when they scored the game’s first goal, a power play strike just 2:30 into the frame, the crack that would ultimately destroy the Phantoms flood gates. Syracuse scored again 47 seconds later, sparking a five-goal period, as they out-shot Adirondack 22-3 over the final 20 minutes.

Week 20 Preview:

This week the Phantoms start another three-game week on Wednesday, February 10th as they host the Rochester Americans for a 7:00 pm game at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Adirondack has traveled to Rochester twice in January, but came up on the short end of the stick on both occasions in two tightly contested games. With a rare Friday without a game, the Phantoms travel to Portland, Maine to face the Portland Pirates on Saturday, February 13th at 7:30 pm at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Then on Sunday, February 14th, Adirondack is back home for a 3:00 pm Valentine’s Day game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During Sunday’s game Scoville Jewelers will be announcing the winner of their Most Romantic Moment contest, where the grand prize winner will receive a great gift package from area vendors valued at $1,500, including a $500 shopping spree from Scoville Diamond Jewelers.

Four players were affected by a stomach flu last week that has been going through the locker room; Joonas Lehtivuori, David Sloane, Stefan Legein and Matt Clackson all missed games during Week 19 because of the stomach illness, totaling eight man-games lost. Krys Kolanos continued to be sidelined with an undisclosed injury; no timetable has been given for his return.

Week 20 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.)

Wednesday, February 10 – 7:00 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Rochester Americans (30-19-2-0, 62 pts)

Second Place, North Division

Rochester and Adirondack faced each other twice at Blue Cross Arena on consecutive Sundays at the end of January. On the 24th Jason Ward put the Phantoms ahead 1-0, but was equalized by Graham Mink. Michal Repik, who leads the team and is tied for 3rd in the AHL in game-winning goals (6), scored a short-handed goal to break the 1-1 tie and then added an empty net goal as time expired for a 3-1 win. Seven days later, January 31st, Jordan Henry and David Laliberte traded goals in the first two periods before Jeff Taffe broke the deadlock with 6:09 left in regulation in a 2-1 Amerks win. The Americans lost their first two games last week, losing at Lake Erie and suffering a home loss to Hamilton, but finished with a 5-4 win last Saturday at Binghamton, where rookie goalie Alexander Salak faced 57 shots from the Senators and made a career-high 53 saves. Graham Mink scored two goals in the game and Rochester scored four times in the second period to narrowly hold off Binghamton. The Amerks are led by C Jamie Johnson, who is tied for 6th in the AHL in points (51). LW Jimmy Bonneau leads the team in penalty minutes (143) and is 2nd in the league in major penalties (21). D Clay Wilson ranks tied for 4th in the AHL in defensemen scoring (36 points) and Salak ranks 2nd in the league with 23 wins.
Leading Scorer: Jamie Johnson (C) – 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 51 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Alexander Salak (G) – 2.63 GAA, 0.920 save pct., 23-8-1, 1 SO in 33 GP.
Who’s Hot: Clay Wilson (D) – 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Graham Mink (RW) – 4 goals and a +3 rating in his last five games played. Jamie Johnson (C) – 4 assists and a +3 rating in his last five games played.

Saturday, February 13th – 7:00pm – Cumberland County Civic Center – Portland, ME

@ Portland Pirates (27-16-5-2, 61 pts)

Fourth Place, Atlantic Division

With the potential of a fifth place Atlantic Division team crossing-over into the East Division’s playoffs, every game with the Atlantic is even more crucial. The Phantoms lost 2-1 to the Pirates in a low scoring affair on January 9th in Glens Falls, their only meeting of the year. In the game Flyers goalie Ray Emery made his Phantoms debut in a rehab stint and Adirondack clamped down defensively as the Pirates managed just 14 shots on goal in the game. However, Portland scored late in the first period on a Mark Mancari goal and added an unassisted goal by Cody McCormick early in the third period on a Phantoms defensive zone turnover. Andreas Nodl spoiled Jhonas Enroth’s shutout bid with three minutes left, but the Phantoms could not get the tying goal as Enroth finished with 26 saves on 27 shots. Portland is currently on a six-game winning streak, out-scoring their opponents 21-9 during that span; three of their wins during the streak have come via shootout. Mancari was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week by posting seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) and a +7 rating in the Pirates’ three games last week; Mancari is tied for 9th in the AHL in points and his goal last Saturday at Lowell secured his 4th consecutive 20-goal season. G Jhonas Enroth ranks 5th in the AHL in minutes played (2,076), 9th in goals-against average (2.34) and is tied for 3rd in the league in shootout wins (4). Enroth had his streak of nine straight starts snapped on Saturday at Lowell when J.P. Lamoureux got the shootout win over the Devils; Enroth was 7-2-0 during that streak and has started 20 of Portland’s last 22 games. C Tyler Ennis leads all AHL rookies in points (46) and assists (30) and is tied for 13th overall in the league in points.
Leading Scorer: Mark Mancari (RW) – 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 49 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Jhonas Enroth (G) – 2.34 GAA, 0.920 save pct., 20-14-1, 4 SO in 35 GP.
Who’s Hot: Mark Mancari (RW) – 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) and a +6 rating in his last five games played. Tyler Ennis (C) – 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +4 rating in his last five games played. Jeff Cowan (LW) – 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in his last five games played.

Sunday, February 14 – 3:00 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (23-25-1-1, 48 pts)

Sixth Place, East Division

The Penguins began last week with a 5-4 shootout win over Adirondack in a wild Wednesday night game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Friday night they had a lackluster performance and suffered a 4-1 loss to Syracuse and then dropped a heart breaker 5-4 at Hershey on Sunday as they opened up an early 3-0 lead, then fell behind on four straight Bears goals, tied the game at 4-4 midway through the third period only to have Bryan Helmer score the game-winning goal with 64 seconds left in regulation. With the loss Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now 2-5-0-0 in their last seven games and has fallen to sixth place in a very tight East Division. The Penguins have a four games in five days this week; they travel to Norfolk for a Wednesday night game against the Admirals, then host Binghamton on Friday night and Hershey on Saturday before traveling up to Glens Falls for a 3 pm face off with the Phantoms. LW Luca Caputi had his seven-game point streak snapped on Sunday at Hershey; he had 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) during that span. RW Chris Conner has four points in his last five games, but has 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in his last nine games played. Dustin Jeffrey leads the team in scoring and ranks 12th in the AHL in points (47), but he has been held scoreless in his last four games played.
Leading Scorer: Dustin Jeffrey (C) – 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) in 47 GP.
Leading Goaltender: John Curry (G) – 2.75 GAA, 0.896 save pct., 18-15-1, 1 SO in 35 GP.
Who’s Hot: Nick Johnson (RW) – 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) and a +3 rating in his last four games played. Luca Caputi (LW) – 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in his last five games played. Ben Lovejoy (D) – 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +2 rating in his last four games played.

Week 19 Game Results:

February 3, 2010 Adirondack 4 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5 - SO

February 5, 2010 Manchester 1 @ Adirondack 3

February 6, 2010 Adirondack 0 @ Syracuse 5

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 19)

Jared Ross – C – #18 3 GP, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), +1, 0 PIMs

Captain Jared Ross has endured an up-and-down season during 2009-2010 for the Phantoms, yet in spite of a slow start, he still ranks fourth on the team in points. The Huntsville, Alabama native found his scoring touch in Week 19 as he had three points (1 goal, 2 assist), breaking a personal 20-game goal scoring drought. Ross had a two-point night on Wednesday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, helping the Phantoms rally from an early 2-0 hole to secure a shootout point against the Penguins. Friday night against Manchester he assisted on Mika Pyorala’s first career AHL goal and had a +2 rating in a 3-1 win over the Monarchs. On the season Ross has 24 points (4 goals, 20 assists) in 43 games played.

Phantoms Quick Hits:

· NO GOAL SUPPORT – Goaltender John Grahame has not had the luxury of playing with a lead very often since his arrival in Glens Falls. In his first 10 starts with the Phantoms Grahame has played exceptionally well, but his 2-8-0 record can be attributed to the fact that Adirondack has a -15 goal differential in those games (being out-scored 14-29). The Phantoms average goals for when Grahame starts is a measly 1.40, which tends to magnify each goal allowed. In the eight losses, the Phantoms have scored just eight goals, including twice when they were shutout by their opponents.

· IN COMPARISION – Since John Grahame made his debut on December 18th vs. Hamilton, the Phantoms have given much better goal support to Johan Backlund and the numbers are evident. Backlund has made 13 starts since Grahame debuted, posting a record of 9-2-0-2, while the team’s goal differential is +7 (44 goals for, 33 goals against). That’s a goals scored average of 3.08; which is 1.68 goals per game more than what Adirondack has scored with Grahame in the net.

· SEASON HIGHS – The Phantoms set a few 2009-2010 season highs during their 5-0 loss at Syracuse on Saturday. The five goals they allowed in the third period was the most allowed by Adirondack in a single period this season and the 22 shots on goal by the Crunch tied a season high for most shots against in one period; Syracuse also had 22 shots on goal in one period against Adirondack on December 11th in a 5-2 loss at the War Memorial. Saturday’s game was the sixth time the Phantoms have been held scoreless this season, the first since December 31st vs. Albany, and it was the ninth time this year that the team has allowed two power play goals in one game.

· OVER THE HILL – Jon Matsumoto became the first Phantoms player to reach the 40 point mark this season with an assist last Wednesday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He leads the team with 41 points and 22 assists this year and is tied for the team lead with 19 goals; he is the only player to appear in all 50 games for the Phantoms this season.

· A NEW ACCOUNT – LW Mika Pyorala recorded his first career AHL goal in the first period of Friday’s 3-1 win over Manchester in Glens Falls. Pyorala tipped a shot from D Joey Mormina past Monarchs All-Star goalie Jonathan Bernier; the assist was Mormina’s 50th career Pro & AHL assist.

· SANS GOALIE – Jon Matsumoto’s 19th goal of the season was an empty net goal on Friday night in a 3-1 win over Manchester. It was the fourth empty-netter that he has scored this season, putting him into a three-way tie for the AHL lead in that category with Rochester’s Michal Repik and Texas’ Aaron Gagnon.

· APPROACHING MILESTONES – Captain Jared Ross is 2 games away from his 300th career AHL game and 1 assist away from his 150th career Pro assist. D Sean Curry needs 3 games for his 500th career AHL game. LW Jason Ward needs 1 assist for his 200th career Pro assist; he is 7 games shy of his 700th career Pro game. RW Rob Bellamy is 6 games from playing in his 100th career Pro & AHL game, while D Logan Stephenson needs 6 GP to record his 250th career Pro & AHL game.

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Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Jon Matsumoto (47)

Goals: Stefan Legein & Jon Matsumoto (19)

Assists: Jon Matsumoto (22)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (41)

Plus/Minus: Joonas Lehtivuori (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (133)

Power Play Goals: Jon Matsumoto (5)

Short Handed Goals: Stefan Legein (3)

Game-Winning Goals: Four players tied (2)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (152)

Shooting Percentage: Stefan Legein (18.3%)

Wins: Johan Backlund (15)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.56)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.914)

Saves: Johan Backlund (757)

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The Phantoms return to the ice on Wednesday, February 10th as they host the Western Conference’s Rochester Americans for a 7:00 pm face off at the Glens Falls Civic Center. After a trip to Portland on Saturday night, Adirondack is back home on Sunday, February 14th for a 3:00 pm game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During Sunday’s game Scoville Jewelers will be announcing the winner of their Most Romantic Moment contest.

There is no better way to watch Phantoms Hockey than by sharing it with a group of your family and friends. Bring a group of 15 or more people to the Glens Falls Civic Center and qualify for incredible discounted ticket prices off the regular box office rates. For more information about group tickets, contact the Phantoms at 518-480-3355 or visit www.phantomshockey.com.