Glens Falls, NY-The Adirondack Phantoms and a
cast of over a dozen other mascots bid a fond
farewell to their lovable mascot Phlex in his
retirement party Saturday night at the Glens Falls
Civic Center. But the Phantoms players weren't
able to come up with a send-off win for the masked
one as Adirondack fell to the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins 4-2.
The largest and perhaps most enthusiastic and
boisterous crowd of the season of over 3,900 came
out to send Phlex off in style. Phlex has been
the mascot of the Phantoms for 15 years dating
back to the beginning of the Philadelphia Phantoms.
He has entertained at approximately 600 consecutive
Phantoms games in front of over 4.5 million total
fans.
Greg Moore and Danny Syvret scored for Adirondack
while Michael Leighton took the setback in his
second consecutive start. Stefan Legein made his
return to the lineup for the first time since
November 20 and had several terrific scoring chances
including a first period bullet that he rang off
the metal. Legein served notice that he intends
on being a significant offensive presence following
his nearly two months of frustration watching
from the sidelines.
The Penguins are the top team in the AHL at 32-8-0
and stretched their winning streak to seven. But
the Phantoms skated stride-for-stride with the
league's best all game long.
Corey Potter's power play goal staked the Penguins
to an early 1-0 lead.
Adirondack tied it 13 minutes into the first when
Luke Pither stole the puck in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
zone, carried it to the corner, and nicely fed
to the cutting Greg Moore up the middle who chipped
in the one-timer top shelf on Curry. It was Moore's
5th goal of the season.
Brett Sterling would give the Penguins the lead
again 82 seconds later when he picked off a Phantoms
pass and raced up the left-wing on a 2-on-1 and
eventually opting to rifle the top-shelf blast
himself.
The wild and exciting first period featured 24
total shots on goal including 13 from Adirondack
but it was the visiting Penguins who led 2-1.
After a scoreless second period the Penguins were
able to extend their lead in the third. Just as
Jon Kalinski was returning from the penalty box
for the Phantoms, Ryan Craig would fire a centering
feed from the right-wing corner that Nick Johnson
standing in the crease was able to deflect in.
Adirondack had a power play with four minutes
left to try to cut into the two goal deficit and
also pulled goalie Michael Leighton with over
a minute left but were unable to score. Ryan Craig
sealed the win with an empty-netter with 29 seconds
left to make the score 4-1.
Danny Syvret scored his 6th of the year with just
9 seconds left on a Phantoms power play on a slap
shot from center-point that he banked of the base
of the post past Curry.
The Phantoms and Penguins will play again next
Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.
The Penguins outshot the Phantoms 31-30. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
was 1-for-4 while Adirondack 1-for-5.
Adirondack takes on the Syracuse Crunch Sunday
at 4pm. The Phantoms are 3-0 against the Crunch
this year and are directly behind them in the
East Division standings.
Phantoms notes: Before the game it was announced
that defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori was loaned to
a team in his native country of Finland. Scratches
for the game were Marc-Andre Bourdon, Matt Clackson
and J.P. Testwuide.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday, January 16, 4:00pm - Adirondack Phantoms
at Syracuse Crunch
Friday, January 21 7:00 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins vs Adirondack Phantoms (at Philadelphia)
Saturday, January 22 7:00 - Hamilton Bulldogs
at Adirondack Phantoms
Sunday, January 23 5:00 - Adirondack Phantoms
at Hershey Bears
Wednesday, January 26 7:00 - Binghamton Senators
at Adirondack Phantoms
Don't be left out! Tickets for all Phantoms games
are on sale now. Discount rates are available
for groups of 15 or more. Save off the individual
ticket price by asking the Phantoms about their
great group rate packages.
The AHL is celebrating their 75th anniversary
season and is the top development league for the
NHL. More than 85 percent of today's NHL players
are American Hockey League graduates and more
than 6 million fans attend AHL games every year.
Come watch future NHL stars and up-and-coming
Flyers prospects with exciting Adirondack Phantoms
hockey! A variety of ticket packages for all the
fast-paced action are on sale now. The Phantoms
selection of discount ticket packages includes
3-packs, 6-packs, 12 and 22 Select Plans, full
season plans and Flex Packs. Choose the plan that
works best for you! Get your tickets at the Phantoms
office inside the Glens Falls Civic Center, online
at ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Phantoms
at 518-480-3355.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4 at Adirondack
Phantoms 2 - Status: Final
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - Glens Falls Civic
Center
W-B/Scranton 2 0 2 - 4
Adirondack 1 0 1 - 2
1st Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Potter 1 (Tangradi),
4:10 (PP). 2, Adirondack, Moore 5 (Pither), 13:00.
3, W-B/Scranton, Sterling 13 14:22. Penalties-Bordson
Adk (high-sticking), 3:16.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Johnson Wbs
(elbowing), 0:18; Tangradi Wbs (roughing), 4:21;
Wagner Wbs (slashing), 4:21; Wallace Wbs (fighting),
4:21; Marshall Adk (fighting), 4:21; Kalinski
Adk (holding), 7:44; Legein Adk (roughing), 18:30.
3rd Period-4, W-B/Scranton, Johnson 14 (Craig,
Tangradi), 10:53. 5, W-B/Scranton, Craig 10 (Johnson),
19:31 (EN). 6, Adirondack, Syvret 6 (Holmstrom),
19:50 (PP). Penalties-Kalinski Adk (roughing),
8:49; Schnell Wbs (fighting), 15:44; Sill Wbs
(roughing), 15:44; Stephenson Adk (fighting),
15:44; Veilleux Wbs (high-sticking), 19:43.
Shots on Goal-W-B/Scranton 11-12-8-31. Adirondack
13-9-8-30.
Power Play Opportunities-W-B/Scranton 1 / 4; Adirondack
1 / 5.
Goalies-W-B/Scranton, Curry 14-5-0 (30 shots-28
saves). Adirondack, Leighton 1-5-1 (30 shots-27
saves).
A-3,889
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Steeve Lemay (64), Mike Emanatian (69).