February 16, 2010

2009-10 Record: 24-25-2-2, 52 points (13-10-2-0 Home, 11-15-0-2 Road), Tied-Fifth Place - East Division

Week 20 Recap:

Adirondack started off the week in fine form, out-playing the Rochester Americans at home on Wednesday night as they earned a dominating 3-1 win over their Western Conference rivals. During the game they broke a long power play slump by scoring twice on four man-advantage opportunities, including a stunning goal from Jason Ward, which proved to be the game-winning strike. However, the Phantoms slipped up in their two weekend games losing two by slim one-goal margins. Saturday they lost a wild affair in Portland 5-4, falling behind 4-1 early in the game, but rallying for three straight second period goals to tie at 4-4 going into the third period before conceding a power play goal to Derek Whitmore which proved to be the game-winner. Sunday afternoon in Glens Falls the team dropped a heart-breaker on Valentine’s Day to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4-3. The Phantoms led 1-0 midway through the second period, but held the lead for less than a minute; then in the third period the teams traded goals before it looked as though the Phantoms took a 3-2 lead on the power play, only to have the referee waive the goal off. The Penguins capitalized on the unfavorable decision with two goals to take a 4-2 lead and captain Jared Ross’ goal with 31 seconds remaining was not enough for Adirondack.

Going 1-2-0-0 on the week dropped the Phantoms off the pace in the very tight East Division race, as they fell back to a fifth place tie with the Syracuse Crunch. Adirondack trails the fourth-place Penguins by two points, but they have one game in hand; they have three games in hand on third place Norfolk and trail the Admirals by six points.

Week 21 Preview:

Week 21 marks another very busy four-game in five-day week for the Phantoms, stretching their schedule over four different cities. Wednesday Adirondack travels to Binghamton for the fifth and final time this season for a 7:05 pm face off with the Senators at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Friday night, February 19th the Phantoms are back home as they host the Hershey Bears for a 7:30 pm game at the Glens Falls Civic Center, presented by Adirondack Community College. Saturday Adirondack travels to Albany for Round Nine of the Time Warner Cable Cup series; a 5:00 pm puck drop at the Times Union Center. The Phantoms will complete their schedule with a special road trip to Montreal, Quebec as they will battle with the Hamilton Bulldogs at 1:00 pm at the Bell Centre, home of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.

Andreas Nodl missed the first two games of Week 20 recovering from a stomach illness, returning to the lineup on Sunday against the Peguins. Josh Beaulieu did not make the trip to Portland and has missed Adirondack’s last two games due to a family emergency. Krys Kolanos remains out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury; with no updates given on his status.

Week 21 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 17 – 7:05 pm – Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena – Binghamton, NY

@ Binghamton Senators (22-24-3-2, 49 pts)

Seventh Place, East Division

This will be the seventh meeting of the season between Adirondack and Binghamton. It’s the fifth and final road trip for the Phantoms in the series; they will host the Senators three more times this year. After losing the first two games of the series by a combined 12-0 score, Adirondack is 3-0-0-1 in their last four against the Senators. Binghamton lost four straight games to close out January, but they are 3-2-0-1 in February. The B-Sens went 2-1-0-1 in four games last week, going to a shootout twice and beating Albany and Rochester. However, last Saturday Albany got revenge by trouncing the Binghamton 7-0 at the Times Union Center. Last weekend Ottawa assigned veteran NHL forward Jonathan Cheechoo to Binghamton; he made his B-Sens debut on Sunday vs. Rochester and had two points (1 goal, 1 assist).
Leading Scorer: Ryan Keller (RW) – 47 points (24 goals, 23 assists) in 44 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Mike Brodeur (G) – 3.09 GAA, 0.896 save pct., 9-6-2, 2 SO in 25 GP.
Who’s Hot: Kaspars Daugavins (LW) – 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last four games played. Josh Hennessy (LW) – 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +2 rating in his last five games played. Justin Keller (RW) – 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) and a +3 rating in his last five games played.

Friday, February 19 – 7:30 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Hershey Bears (41-10-0-2, 84 pts)

First Place, East Division

Since Adirondack beat Hershey 5-4 in a shootout on November 28th at the Giant Center, the Bears have been almost unbeatable, rolling off a record of 26-3-0-0. During that span they rattled off successive winning streaks of 12 games and 11 games, separated by just one loss; they have lost just two games since mid-December (24-2-0-0). Their most recent 11-game winning streak was ended with a resounding 5-0 win by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena, equaling the largest margin of defeat for Hershey all season; it was also just their tenth loss of the year. The Phantoms are 2-2-0-0 against the Bears, who own the league’s top record (0.792 winning pct.). Keith Aucoin leads the AHL in points (72) and assists (44), while Alexander Giroux is second in the league in points (68), third in goals (27) and tied for fourth in assists (41).
Leading Scorer: Keith Aucoin (C) – 72 points (28 goals, 44 assists) in 46 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Michal Neuvirth (G) – 1.92 GAA, 0.932 save pct., 11-5-0, 1 SO in 16 GP.
Who’s Hot: Mathieu Perreault (C) – 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) and a +3 rating in his last four games played. Chris Bourque (LW) – 9 (2 goals, 7 assists) and a +5 rating in his last five games played. Andrew Gordon (RW) – 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in his last three games played.

Saturday, February 20th – 5:00pm – Times Union Center – Albany, NY

@ Albany River Rats (29-20-3-3, 64 pts)

Second Place, East Division

With a record of 6-1-1-0 against Adirondack this year, Albany needs just one more point via a win, overtime loss or shootout loss to clinch the 2009-10 Time Warner Cable Cup. However, if the Phantoms win the final four games of the 12-game season series, they would be equal in record and points and would have to go to an alternate tie breaker. Carolina returned Justin Peters, Steven Goertzen and Zach Boychuk to the River Rats just before the NHL roster freeze during the Olympic Break went into effect; Peters won his first two career NHL starts and Boychuk scored his first NHL goal last week. Albany has won their last two games, destroying Binghamton 7-0 last Saturday night and then edging Norfolk 2-1 on Monday. The River Rats travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night and host Portland on Friday before facing Adirondack at 5 pm on Saturday. Rookie defenseman Jamie McBain is on a seven game point streak (11 points) and is also carrying a five-game assist streak (8 assists). Jiri Tlusty is currently on a six-game point streak (8 points) and Bryan Rodney is on a five-game streak (9 points).
Leading Scorer: Jerome Samson (RW) – 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) in 53 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Justin Peters (G) – 2.50 GAA, 0.917 save pct., 19-13-2, 1 SO in 35 GP.
Who’s Hot: Bryan Rodney (D) – 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists) and a +3 rating in his last five games played. Jiri Tlusty (LW) – 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in his last six games played. Jamie McBain (D) – 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists) and a +7 rating in his last seven games played.

Sunday, February 22nd – 1:00 pm – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC

vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (34-13-3-5, 76 pts)

First Place, North Division

Hamilton owns the best record in the Western Conference (0.691 winning pct.) and the second best record overall in the AHL. They host Texas on Tuesday night and travel to Grand Rapids on Friday before hosting Adirondack in Montreal on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs had a seven-game winning streak snapped last Friday night when they lost at Lake Erie 5-4 in a shootout. Then on Saturday night they fell short at home to the Abbotsford Heat, the first time they had lost back-to-back games since mid-January. David Desharnais missed the last four games on NHL recall with Montreal, but is currently on a 12-game point streak (2 goals, 16 assists). Cedrick Desjardins ranks 2nd in the AHL in goals-against average (1.95) and shutouts (5), while sitting fourth in the league in save percentage (0.925).
Leading Scorer: Brock Trotter (C) – 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) in 51 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Cedrick Desjardins (G) – 1.95 GAA, 0.925 save pct., 20-6-2, 5 SO in 31 GP.
Who’s Hot: Tom Pyatt (LW) – 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) and a +4 rating in his last four games played. Brock Trotter (C) – 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) and a +2 rating in his last four games played. P.K. Subban (D) – 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) and a +4 rating in his last three games played.

Week 20 Game Results:

February 10, 2010 Rochester 1 @ Adirondack 3

February 13, 2010 Adirondack 4 @ Portland 5

February 14, 2010 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 @ Adirondack 3

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 20)

Mika Pyorala – C – #22 3 GP, 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists), +4, 4 PIMs

It has not taken left wing Mika Pyorala very long to get back up to full game speed. The Oulu, Finland native had played just one game in the Flyers last eighteen when he was assigned to Adirondack in late January and he quickly found his scoring touch. In Week 20 Pyorala tallied points in all three games to put together his first three-game assist and point streak of the season. He had one assist and his first career AHL penalty minutes on Wednesday’s win over Rochester, then posted his first AHL multi-point game with an unassisted power play goal and one assist Saturday night in Portland. On Sunday he added his third assist of the week and was a +2 rating in a 4-3 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His four points (1 goal, 3 assists) tied him for the team lead in the week and he led the squad with a +4 rating; in eight games this year Pyorala has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) and a +3 rating.

Phantoms Quick Hits:

PHANTOMS NOTABLES: WEEK 20

· SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY – After starting off the season 4-0-0-0 on Sunday games the Phantoms have endured a change of fortune. Adirondack has lost its last four straight Sunday games, all since the beginning of the 2010 calendar year, and is 4-4-0-0 over this season on Sundays. The Phantoms will have plenty of chances to improve their end of week mark; they play on four of the next five Sundays.

· BEAUTIFUL DAY – The Phantoms set a new 2009-2010 single-game season low by recording just two penalty minutes on Sunday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Twice before Adirondack had taken just four PIMs in a game this year, but Rob Bellamy’s second period hooking minor was the team’s only infraction. The Penguins took three minors, for six penalty minutes, which tied a Phantoms season-low of eight combined PIMs in one game; they also accomplished that mark on December 4th vs. Norfolk at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and on January 22nd at Binghamton.

· HELTER SKELTER – Penguins left wing Luca Caputi recorded the fastest goal to start a period of any Phantoms’ opponent this season. Caputi scored a mere 22 seconds into the second period, setting a new Phantoms season mark. Jon Matsumoto holds Adirondack’s current fastest goal, scoring 22 seconds into the first period on January 22nd at Binghamton.

· THE SWEETEST THING – Captain Jared Ross and left wing Mika Pyorala are currently both enjoying three-game assist and point streaks. Each player had one assist in all three games during Week 20, and added one goal a piece. Ross holds the Phantoms longest assist streak of the year (5 games), which also tied him with Stefan Legein and Patrick Maroon for the longest point streaks by an Adirondack player in 2009-10.

· MYSTERIOUS WAYS – Defenseman Denis Bodrov recorded his first career AHL point with an assist on Andreas Nodl’s second period goal on Sunday against the Penguins. Later in the game Bodrov was denied his first career AHL goal when his one-timer found the back of the net during a third period power play, but the referee waived it off, ruling that his whistle had already blown.

· ELEVATION – Defenseman Sean Curry scored a power play goal on Wednesday against Rochester and then blazed in an even strength goal on Saturday at Portland for his first two-game goal streak of the year. Then on Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Curry played in his 500th career AHL game; he has 105 career AHL points (33 goals, 72 assists).

· STARING AT THE SUN – LW Jason Ward needs 1 assist for his 200th career Pro assist; he is 4 games shy of his 700th career Pro game. RW Rob Bellamy is 3 games from playing in his 100th career Pro & AHL game, while D Logan Stephenson needs 3 GP to record his 250th career Pro & AHL game. C Jared Ross is 3 assists shy of his 150th career AHL assist.

· WALK ON – Captain Jared Ross recorded his 150th career Pro assist on Wednesday vs. Rochester and then played in his 300th career AHL game on Saturday at Portland. In 301 career AHL games he has 225 points (78 goals, 147 assists). Ross has also played in 13 NHL games with Philadelphia, 12 UHL games with Motor City and 1 ECHL game with Gwinnett during his five-year pro career.

Phantoms Recent Transactions

No Recent Transactions

Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Jon Matsumoto (53)

Goals: Stefan Legein (21)

Assists: Jon Matsumoto (24)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (43)

Plus/Minus: Joonas Lehtivuori (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (135)

Power Play Goals: Jon Matsumoto (5)

Short Handed Goals: Stefan Legein (3)

Game-Winning Goals: Jason Ward (3)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (162)

Shooting Percentage: Stefan Legein (19.3%)

Wins: Johan Backlund (16)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.59)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.914)

Saves: Johan Backlund (816)

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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 visit www.phantomshockey.com.