February 14, 2010

GLENS FALLS, NY – Captain Jared Ross scored with 30 seconds left to cut the deficit to one, but the Adirondack Phantoms could not complete the comeback as they lost to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

After a scoreless first period where Adirondack out-shot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 9-6, Andreas Nodl put the Phantoms into the lead at 10:21 as he fired home a rebound off a Rob Bellamy shot; defenseman Denis Bodrov also assisted on the goal to record his first career AHL point. Less than a minute later it was tied at 1-1 when Zach Sill stole a clearing pass and scored an unassisted goal at 11:14. The Penguins out-shot the Phantoms 16-7 in the second period, but the game remained tied going into the third.

It took 22 seconds into the final frame for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to grab the lead on a Luca Caputi goal set up by Dustin Jeffrey and Tim Wallace, but 46 seconds later Stefan Legein tied the game at 2-2. Mika Pyorala’s shot from the slot rang off the left post and sat behind goalie Adam Berkhoel long enough for Legein to dive in and poke the puck over the goal line at 1:08. The Phantoms thought they had regained the lead when Denis Bodrov fired the puck into the net during a power play approximately one minute after Legein’s goal, but the referee waived it off, claiming that his whistle had already been blown. Halfway through the period Jesse Boulerice put the Penguins ahead 3-2 as his slap shot beat goaltender John Grahame at 9:40, converting on a two-on-one rush that resulted directly from a Phantoms defensive turnover. Another turnover late in the game led to Wallace finding Jeffrey for a fourth Penguins goal at 18:30 and a 4-2 lead. With Grahame pulled for the extra attacker captain Jared Ross made the final minute interesting as he scored at 19:29 to bring Adirondack back to within a goal, but the Phantoms could not complete the last ditch comeback as they fell 4-3.

Adam Berkhoel stopped 26-of-29 shots to record his fourth win of the season, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improve to 26-26-1-1. John Grahame made 26 saves on 30 shots in the loss for Adirondack, who dropped to 24-26-2-2. The Penguins out-shot the Phantoms 30-29 in the game and went 0-for-1 on the power play; Adirondack was 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.

Next up for Adirondack is a Wednesday, February 17th trip to Binghamton for a 7:05 pm face off with the Senators at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The Phantoms next home game is on Friday, February 19th as they host the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears for a 7:30 pm face off at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

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 online at www.phantomshockey.com.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4 At Adirondack Phantoms 2 - Status: Final
Feb 14, 2010 - Glens Falls Civic Center

W-B/Scranton 0 1 3 - 4
Adirondack 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Wagner Wbs (cross-checking), 0:23.

2nd Period-1, Adirondack, Nodl 7 (Bellamy, Bodrov), 10:21. 2, W-B/Scranton, Sill 2 11:14. Penalties-Bellamy Adk (hooking), 8:04.

3rd Period-3, W-B/Scranton, Caputi 19 (Wallace, Jeffrey), 0:22. 4, W-B/Scranton, Boulerice 3 9:40. 5, W-B/Scranton, Jeffrey 16 (Wallace), 18:30. 6, Adirondack, Ross 5 (Legein, Matsumoto), 19:29. Penalties-Tangradi Wbs (high-sticking), 1:34; Strait Wbs (delay of game), 7:01.

Shots on Goal-W-B/Scranton 6-16-8-30. Adirondack 9-7-12-28.

Power Play Opportunities-W-B/Scranton 0 of 1; Adirondack 0 of 3.

Goalies-W-B/Scranton, Berkhoel 3-3-0 (28 shots-26 saves). Adirondack, Grahame 2-8-0 (30 shots-26 saves).

A-3,429

Referees-Jeff Smith (49).
Linesmen-Mike Emanatian (69), Steeve Lemay (64).