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ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS (6-3-1) at Springfield Falcons
(6-5-0)
Phantoms - 2nd Northeast Division, 5th Eastern Conference
Falcons -3rd Northeast Division, 7th Eastern Conference
MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA
Friday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.
Back In Action!
On Friday night, second place in the Northeast Division
is on the line when the Phantoms play the Springfield
Falcons for the first time this season. The Phantoms
enter the game having received some much-needed
rest, not having played in the last six days, following
a stretch where they played three times in four
nights last week. But like Adirondack, the 6-5-0
Falcons have also not played in six days. After
starting the season with a 3-4-0 record in seven
games, Springfield has taken three straight one-goal
decisions to get above .500.
Northeast Division Standings
1. Connecticut Whale (15 points)
2. Adirondack Phantoms (13 points)
3. Springfield Falcons (12 points)
4. Bridgeport Sound Tigers (11 points)
5. Albany Devils (10 points)
Denis Hamel Countdown – 2 Goals to
Catch Merkosky
Denis Hamel continues to rise up the all-time AHL
ranks in goals, points and total games played. Last
weekend, he scored his 323rd goal in the AHL, which
puts him two behind Adirondack Hockey Hall of Famer
Glenn Merkosky (1980-1991) for 12th place all-time
in the AHL. The former Adirondack Red Wing great,
Merkosky, had 325 goals.
Denis is 37th all-time in total points with 620.
He is 33rd in games played with 786, just seven
games ahead of veteran teammate Dan Jancevski. Hamel
has also played in 192 games in the NHL, giving
him a total of 976 professional games and an opportunity
to reach the 1,000 game milestone by midseason.
Adiroindack Phantoms (NHL Affiliate: Philadelphia
Flyers)
In the Phantoms’ most recent game, last Saturday
against Hershey, the team used a solid goaltending
performance by Michael Leighton to earn an exciting
2-1 win over the Bears. The victory improved Leighton’s
record to 5-2-0. Leighton enters Friday's game at
Springfield with fantastic road numbers this season.
Leighton has 2.04 goals against average and .926
save percentage in four games away from the Glens
Falls Civic Center. Leighton has 35 career shutouts
in the AHL placing him sixth all-time including
one this season and five last year.
Leighton has shared the goaltendiing duties with
29-year-old Jason Bacashihua. "Cash" is
a former first round selection of the St. Louis
Blues who has played in three games this season.
He played with the Lake Erie Monsters last season
and put up stellar numbers with the Hershey Bears
the year before that.
The game-winning goal on Saturday was scored by
Harry Zolnierczyk, who was called up to the Flyers
earlier in the week. Zolnierczyk has five goals
and four assists with Adirondack this season and
also scored a highlight-reel goal with the Flyers
two weeks ago in his NHL debut.
Team Captain Ben Holmstrom was also called up to
Philadelphia and played in Wednesday night's game
against the Buffalo Sabres. The Phantoms' team MVP
in 2010-11 was returned to the Phantoms on Thursday
afternoon and is eligible to play in Friday night's
game at Springfield. It was his third NHL game after
appearing in two Flyers contests last year. Holmstrom
scored 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points with
Adirondack last year in his rookie season. At 24-years-old
he is the youngest captain in Phantoms history.
The game is a homecoming of sorts for Tom Sestito
who was quite popular in his time with the Springfield
Falcons last year and was teammates with many of
their current players. Last year with Springfied,
he scored 11 goals and 21 assists while racking
up 192 penalty minutes in 46 games. The big winger
was then acquired by the Flyers orgnization in a
late February deal for Greg Moore. He had played
in the Columbus Blue Jackets system for four seasons
since 2007-08 including three years with the Syracuse
Crunch who were the Blue Jackets AHL farm-team before
switching to Springfield last season. He played
nine games in the NHL with Columbus last year scoring
two goals and two assists.
Adirondack received a boost to its blue line with
the arrival of Matt Walker, who is eligible to make
his 2011-12 Phantoms debut on Friday. Walker, a
veteran of 313 NHL games and 11 professional seasons,
had a +3 rating in 11 games with Adirondack last
season.
Andy Bohmbach is also eligible to be in the lineup
for the Phantoms on Friday. Bohmbach, who has played
in one game for Adirondack earlier this season,
had six goals in five games with the ECHL’s
Trenton Titans, prior to returning to Adirondack
this week. As a member of the Toledo Walleye last
season, Bohmbach led ECHL rookies in scoring with
72 points (28g, 44a).
Second to Hamel among active Phantoms players in
scoring is Eric Wellwood (4g, 4a, 8 points) who
had his three-game goal-scoring streak snapped in
the Saturday night game against Hershey. The former
Windsor Spitfire standout and younger brother of
Winnipeg Jet Kyle Wellwood had 18 goals and 12 assists
with the Phantoms last season.
Rookie Garrett Roe is tied with Wellwood with eight
points including a team-leading seven assists. The
St. Cloud State product hails from the Washington
D.C. suburb of Vienna, Virginia.
Phantoms Tidbits
The Adirondack Phantoms finished October with six
wins, which is the most they've ever had in October
The last time a Phantoms team won as many games
in October was 2007-08, when the Philadelphia Phantoms
went 8-1.
Denis Hamel leads the Phantoms with eight goals
and 12 points, and is one back of Norfolk’s
Carter Ashton for the AHL’s lead in goals.
Hamel led the Phantoms with 25 goals and 50 points
last season. Five of Hamel’s eight goals this
season have come on the road.
Michael Leighton is 5-2-0 and is tied for second
in the league in goalie wins. Leighton has a 2.04
goals-against average and .926 save percentage on
the road.
Garrett Roe and Jason Akeson are both among the
AHL’s leaders in rookie points. Roe (1g, 7a)
is tied for ninth in points (8) and second in assists
(7), while Akeson (1g, 6a) is tied for 16th in points
and fourth in assists.
Dan Jancevski is one assist away from 200 in the
AHL.
Adirondack is 6-0-0 when allowing three goals or
fewer and 0-3-1 when allowing more than three goals.
The Phantoms are 5-0-1 when scoring more than three
goals, but just 1-3-0 when scoring three goals or
fewer.
The Phantoms are 3-2-0 on the road.
The Falcons are 3-3-0 at home.
The Adirondack Phantoms are a perfect 4-0-0 against
the Falcons since relocating to Glens Falls, and
2-0-0 at MassMutual Center in Springfield.
Springfield Falcons (NHL Affiliate: Columbus
Blue Jackets)
For the first time, the Phantoms and Springfield
Falcons each other as members of the same division.
The AHL’s realignment will see Adirondack
play four times in 2011-12, as opposed to twice
in previous seasons. Tonight’s contest is
the first of two meetings between the teams in Massachusetts
this month (November (25), and the teams will meet
at the Glens Falls Civic Center twice, later in
the season.
The Falcons have gotten exceptional goaltending
from Danny Taylor, who has outplayed former Stanley
Cup-winning goalie Manny Legace to get most of his
team’s starts in goal lately. A native of
Plymouth, England, Taylor has been in net for all
three games in the team’s current three-game
winning streak. Overall, Taylor is 4-1-0, with a
2.36 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
Offensively, the Falcons are paced by Nick Drazenovic
(3g, 10a), who spent several seasons in the St.
Louis Blues organization with the Peoria Rivermen;
and Martin St. Pierre (4g, 7a), who spent last season
playing in three different leagues in Europe.
Also of note is Adam Mair, a former NHL tough guy
with 829 penalty minutes in 615 NHL games, which
he’s split between the Los Angeles Kings,
Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils.
Upcoming Events
Monday, November 7, 7:00 - "Phantoms Power
Hour" LIVE from McGinny's Tavern. Player guests:
#18 Tyler Brown and #38 Jason Akeson.
Friday, November 11, 7:00 - Syracuse Crunch at
Phantoms. Veterans Appreciation Night. Free admission
to all active duty and military personnel when accompanied
by paid admission. Must purchase in advance by Thursday,
November 10. $2 draft beer specials: Bud Light and
Labatt Blue Light.
Saturday, November 12, 7:00 - Toronto Marlies at
Phantoms. Youth Jersey Giveaway night for first
1,000 kids (age 14 and younger) courtesy of Glens
Falls Hospital.
Get great savings and have fun with your friends,
family or co-workers by bringing your group of 15
or more fans to enjoy fast-paced, hard-hitting Phantoms
hockey. Call the Phantoms to find out more at 518-480-3355
and check the team's website at phantomshockey.com.
Catch all the action of Phantoms hockey all season
long on the team's flagship station, Classic Hits
Q101.7 and on phantomshockey.com. Bob Rotruck has
the broadcast coverage 30 minutes prior to game-time
with Countdown to Faceoff.
Recently reaching 4,000 Twitter followers , the
Adirondack Phantoms are now over 10,000 members
strong on their social media networks. Be sure to
follow us on twitter @phantomshockey and on facebook.com/adkhockey
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