February 20, 2010

ALBANY, NY – Jerome Samson’s second period goal proved to be the difference as the Albany River Rats edged the Adirondack Phantoms 2-1 Saturday night at the Times Union Center to officially capture the 2009-2010 Time Warner Cable Cup.

The Phantoms carried the pressure early in the game and out-shot the River Rats 11-9 in the first period, but could not crack the armor of goaltender Justin Peters. Instead it was Albany who scored first, capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover to race in on a three-on-one where Jerome Samson set up Zach Boychuk for a one-timer that beat goaltender John Grahame to the far post at 10:19 for the only goal of the period.

Adirondack tied the game just 2:39 into the second period as Patrick Maroon jammed in his own rebound, assisted by Jon Matsumoto and David Laliberte. But two minutes later Samson recaptured the lead for Albany as he muscled his way from the left wing corner out to the front of the cage and stuffed his shot into the back of the net at 4:39 for his 24th goal of the season and a 2-1 River Rats lead.

The Phantoms again pushed the game in the third period, out-shooting the Rats 11-4, and had back to back power plays in the middle of the frame, but they could not get the tying goal past Justin Peters.

Justin Peters finished with 30 saves on 31 shots for his 20th win of the season as Albany improved to 30-22-3-3 on the year. John Grahame stopped 22-of-24 shots in another solid effort in goal, but Adirondack again failed to provide him with much goal support as they dropped to 26-26-2-2. The Phantoms out-shot the River Rats 31-24 in the game and went 0-for-5 on the power play; Albany was 0-for-4 with the man-advantage.

The Phantoms head up to Montreal, Quebec as they battle the Hamilton Bulldogs at 1:00 pm on Sunday, February 21st at the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. Adirondack’s next home game is against the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday, February 24th; a 7:00 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. Don’t miss a minute of the exciting action of the Adirondack Phantoms 2009-2010 Season presented by Bud Light.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Adirondack Phantoms 1 At Albany River Rats 2 - Status: Final
Feb 20, 2010 - Times Union Center

Adirondack 0 1 0 - 1
Albany 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Albany, Boychuk 13 (Samson, Paiement), 10:19. Penalties-Boychuk Alb (boarding), 3:01; Marshall Adk (roughing), 15:47; Herauf Alb (roughing), 15:47; Matsumoto Adk (hooking), 17:20; Samson Alb (interference), 18:09; Curry Adk (boarding), 18:44.

2nd Period-2, Adirondack, Maroon 9 (Matsumoto, Laliberte), 2:39. 3, Albany, Samson 24 (Chaput, Rodney), 4:39. Penalties-Bowman Alb (hooking), 7:15; Herauf Alb (interference), 11:23; Clackson Adk (interference), 15:42; Kalinski Adk (roughing), 18:43.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Harrison Alb (interference), 10:20; Harrison Alb (interference), 12:38.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 11-9-11-31. Albany 9-11-4-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 of 5; Albany 0 of 4.

Goalies-Adirondack, Grahame 2-10-0 (24 shots-22 saves). Albany, Peters 20-15-2 (31 shots-30 saves).

A-5,100

Referees-Jamie Koharski (84).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Robert St. Lawrence (10).