March 9, 2010

2009-10 Record: 28-32-2-2, 60 points (16-13-2-0 Home, 12-19-0-2 Road), Sixth Place - East Division

Week 23 Recap:

The Phantoms ran into a rough patch during Week 23 as they battled every night, but came up on the short end of the stick in their four games. Wednesday night at Hamilton, Adirondack pushed the Western Conference’s top team in a physical battle at Copps Coliseum. Mika Pyorala’s second period goal tied the game at 1-1, but the Bulldogs rallied for three third period goals and a 4-1 win. Friday night the Phantoms battled another strong North Division club as they hosted Rochester; David Laliberte’s 15th goal of the season tied the score at 2-2 halfway into the third period, brining the standing-room-only crowd at the Civic Center roaring to life. However, the Amerks responded with three goals in the last five minutes, including an empty net goal to take the game 5-2. Saturday night goaltender Jeremy Duchesne looked sharp in his Adirondack debut, his first AHL start in two years, holding Binghamton to one goal on 24 shots as the Senators edged the Phantoms 1-0. Capping off a busy week of four games in five days, the Phantoms once again gave the first place Hershey Bears all they could handle in front of over 10,000 fans at the Giant Center. Andreas Nodl scored on a first period breakaway and Rob Bellamy’s unassisted goal in the second period gave the Phantoms a 2-1 lead, but the Bears came back with three power play goals in the third period, including one empty net goal, to beat Adirondack 4-2.

Week 24 Preview:

It’s finally here, Hall of Fame Weekend at the Civic Center, perhaps the biggest three-game weekend for the Phantoms all season long; three days to celebrate the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame, presented by Glens Falls National Bank. Friday night, March 12th, as they host the first place Hershey Bears for a 7:30 pm face off, the team will be giving away 3,000 Johan Backlund Bobbleheads at the doors courtesy of Associates of Glens Falls. Saturday, March 13th is Induction Day, starting with the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at 4:30 pm at the Queensbury Hotel. Saturday night at 7:00 pm the Phantoms host the Providence Bruins for the only time this season; there will be a special pre-game ceremony to honor the inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 2010 members on the ice. Then on Sunday, March 14th at 3:00 pm the Phantoms battle with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the team will be giving away a Limited Edition Hall of Fame Hockey Card strip to the first 2,000 fans presented by Curtis Lumber.

Defenseman Denis Bodrov returned from injury last Friday night and played in all three games over the weekend. Right wing Jason Ward played at Hamilton on Wednesday, but missed the remaining three due to injury. Defenseman Danny Syvret was returned to Adirondack by the Philadelphia Flyers, but is still rehabbing from a shoulder injury. More casualties hit the Phantoms as both Stefan Legein and Garrett Klotz missed Sunday’s game at Hershey. With left wing Krys Kolanos in the early stages of his post-surgery rehab, Adirondack had five players miss Sunday’s game due to injury.

Week 24 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.)

Friday, March 12 – 7:30 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Hershey Bears (49-12-0-2, 100 pts)

First Place, East Division

The Bears clinched a post season berth into the 2010 Calder Cup playoffs with their 4-0 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday night at the Giant Center. Their win over Adirondack 4-2 on Sunday was a record-setting victory; it was their 23rd consecutive home win, which is a professional hockey record. Defenseman Bryan Helmer’s third period assist on Sunday gave him the All-Time AHL leader in assists by a defenseman (387). Keith Aucoin leads the AHL in assists (53) and points (84) and ranks third in goals (31). Alexandre Giroux ranks second in the league in goals (33) and points (81) and is fourth in assists (48). This will be the seventh of eight games between Adirondack and Hershey and the final regular season game in Glens Falls this year; the Phantoms are 3-3-0-0 against the Bears and are the only AHL team to have three wins against the defending champs.
Leading Scorer: Keith Aucoin (C) – 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) in 56 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Michal Neuvirth (G) – 1.99 GAA, 0.929 save pct., 13-5-0, 1 SO in 18 GP.
Who’s Hot: Chris Bourque (LW) – 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) and a +4 rating in his last five games played. Alexandre Giroux (LW) – 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) and a +4 rating in his last five games played. Keith Aucoin (C) – 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) and a +3 rating in his last five games played. Steve Pinizzotto (RW) – 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) and a +7 rating in his last five games played.

Saturday, March 13 – 7:00 pm – Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY

vs. Providence Bruins (31-30-3-1, 66 pts)

Sixth Place, Atlantic Division

The Boston Bruins recalled Dany Sabourin last week, but returned him to Providence on Monday, giving the P-Bruins their workhorse goaltender who has appeared in 44 of their 65 games (68%) this season. Providence played a grueling five games in six days last week, including a two-game trip to Abbotsford, British Columbia, posting a 2-2-0-1 record, but falling behind Bridgeport in the battle for fifth place in the Atlantic Division and the potential cross-over into East Division for the playoffs. After picked up two shootout wins to sweep the two-game trip to Abbotsford, the Bruins finished the week 0-2-0-1. LW John Lammers has assists in each of his last three games and RW Jordan Knackstedt is on a five-game point streak (6 points). In the first meeting this year between Adirondack and Providence on January 8th at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, former Phantoms goaltender John Grahame turned in a stellar 37 save performance, but the team lost 3-1 to the Bruins.
Leading Scorer: Mikko Lehtonen (C) – 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists) in 63 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Dany Sabourin (G) – 2.63 GAA, 0.914 save pct., 23-20-0, 3 SO in 44 GP.
Who’s Hot: Jordan Knackstedt (RW) – 6 points (5 goals, 1 assist) and a +3 rating n his last five games played. Zach Hamil (C) – 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last three games played. John Lammers (LW) – 3 assists in his last three games played.

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

vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (31-29-1-2, 65 pts)

Fourth Place, East Division

The Penguins got back into the thick of the playoff hunt by rattling off a six-game winning streak in late February. They won their eight game in their last ten (8-1-0-1) with a 4-2 victory over Norfolk on Wednesday, but then dropped a pair of road games last weekend, losing at Syracuse 5-2 on Friday and then being blanked by Hershey 4-0 on Saturday. Wilkes-Barre Scranton leads Adirondack by 5 points for fourth place in the East Division with 17 games left (the Phantoms have 16 games remaining). The Phantoms are 2-3-0-1 against the Penguins this season with two games left in the season series. Sunday’s game is the fourth and final game between Adirondack and Wilkes-Barre at the Civic Center this year; they will play one more game at Mohegan Sun Arena on March 31st. The Penguins lost their leading goal-scorer Luca Caputi (23 goals) on Wednesday when he was dealt by Pittsburgh to the Toronto Maple Leafs right before the Trade Deadline; he still ranks second on the team in points (47).
Leading Scorer: Dustin Jeffrey (C) – 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) in 60 GP.
Leading Goaltender: John Curry (G) – 2.76 GAA, 0.897 save pct., 21-17-1, 1 SO in 40 GP.
Who’s Hot: Chris Conner (RW) – 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) and a +2 rating in his last five games played. Tim Wallace (LW) – 4 (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Ben Lovejoy (D) – 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a +1 rating in his last five games played.

Week 23 Game Results:

March 3, 2010 Adirondack 1 @ Hamilton 4

March 5, 2010 Rochester 5 @ Adirondack 2

March 6, 2010 Binghamton 1 @ Adirondack 0

March 7, 2010 Adirondack 2 @ Hershey 4

Phantoms Player of the Week: (Week 23)

Logan Stephenson – D – #28 4 GP, 2 assists, -1, 10 PIMs

Defenseman Logan Stephenson increased his season assist total by forty percent this week, picking up two assists in four games. The Outlook, Saskatchewan native was tied for the team lead with two points on the week and also posted ten penalty minutes. On the season, Stephenson has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 51 games played; he ranks second on the team with 125 PIMs.

Phantoms Quick Hits:

· VACATED CREASE – Friday night Rochester forward Michal Repik scored an empty net goal at 19:31, a shorthanded goal to clinch a 5-2 Amerks victory. It was the first time all season that Adirondack had allowed an empty net goal at home; their last home empty net goal against came on February 2, 2009 at the Wachovia Spectrum when Joey Mormina scored for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 19:03 in a 4-1 win over the Phantoms.

· GILBERT APPROACHING AHL MILESTONE – Friday night against Hershey, head coach Greg Gilbert will be coaching in his 950th career game. Gilbert is four wins away from his 300th career AHL victory; he will be just the 15th coach in AHL history to reach the 300 win mark.

· THE CENTURY MARK – Right wing Rob Bellamy played in his 100th career Pro & AHL game on Saturday night vs. Binghamton. On Sunday in Hershey he scored his second goal of the season, giving the Phantoms a 2-1 second period lead. In 101 career Pro & AHL games, Bellamy has seven points (4 goals, 7 assists) and 34 penalty minutes.

· MORE EMPTY NET STATS – The Phantoms allowed empty net goals in three of four games this past week, the first time this season that they have allowed three empty net goals in one week.

· THREE POWER PLAY GOALS ALLOWED – The Hershey Bears rallied from a 2-1 deficit to secure a 4-2 win over the Phantoms on Sunday by scoring three power play goals in the third period. It was the first time this year that Adirondack has allowed three power play goals in one game. Sunday’s loss was also just the second time all season that the Phantoms have lost in regulation when leading after two periods.

· HAT TRICK – Hamilton’s J.T. Wyman had a three-goal performance on Wednesday night at Copps Coliseum, the first hat trick for or against the Phantoms this entire season. Four Adirondack players have registered two-goal games, but none have captured that elusive third goal. Jon Matsumoto and Stefan Legein have each accomplished the two-goal game twice this year, while Jason Ward and Patrick Maroon each did it once; the Phantoms are 5-1-0-0 in games where one of their players scores two goals.

· SCORELESS STAT – The Phantoms were shut out for the eighth time this season last Saturday in their 1-0 loss against Binghamton. The AHL record for most times being shut out in one season is 17, set by the Springfield Falcons during the 2004-05 season.

· MILESTONES COMING UP – RW David Laliberte is 4 points shy of his 100th career AHL point. RW Jason Ward needs 3 goals for his 150th career Pro goal and 2 points for his 350th career Pro point. LW Garrett Klotz is 3 GP away from his 100th career Pro & AHL game. D Sean Curry is 7 GP away from his 550th career Pro game.

Phantoms Recent Transactions

March 3 – ADD – Joey Mormina (D) – Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

March 3 – ADD – Jeremy Duchesne (G) – Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Kalamazoo (ECHL).

March 3 – DELETE – John Grahame (G) – Released from PTO; signed by Colorado (NHL) to NHL contract.

March 2 – ADD – Danny Syvret (D) – Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL).

Adirondack Phantoms Team Leaders:

Games Played: Jon Matsumoto (64)

Goals: Stefan Legein (23)

Assists: Patrick Maroon, Jon Matsumoto & Jared Ross (27)

Points: Jon Matsumoto (48)

Plus/Minus: Mika Pyorala (+4)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Clackson (167)

Power Play Goals: David Laliberte & Jon Matsumoto (6)

Short Handed Goals: Stefan Legein (3)

Game-Winning Goals: Jon Matsumoto & Jason Ward (3)

Shots: Jon Matsumoto (195)

Shooting Percentage: Stefan Legein (18.5%)

Wins: Johan Backlund (20)

GAA: Johan Backlund (2.79)

Save Percentage: Johan Backlund (0.906)

Saves: Johan Backlund (1,043)

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The Phantoms next game is on Friday, March 12th at 7:30 pm against Hershey at the Glens Falls Civic Center, beginning Hall of Fame Weekend with Johan Backlund Bobblehead Night; the first 3,000 fans will receive a free bobblehead doll courtesy of Associates of Glens Falls.

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.