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During the Phantoms'
hot start in October, two players conspicuously
absent from the action were Garrett Klotz and Jon
Kalinski who were both out with injuries. Friday
night in Springfield it was Klotz and Kalinski who
carried the offensive load. Both scored their first
goals of the season to provide Adirondack all the
offense it needed in a 2-1 win over the Springfield
Falcons at MassMutual Center as the Phantoms moved
into first place in the Northeast Division.
"It's nice to see Klotz get a goal,"
remarked Joe Paterson on the performance of Friday
night's goal scorers. "He's a big, strong player
who missed some time and it's big whenever he can
chip in offensively. And Kalinski has been out so
long. He's a great penalty killer and he made a
big play intercepting that pass, and that was the
goal that won the game tonight."
Playing in his first game after sitting out all
of October with injury, Kalinski intercepted a late
first period pass and raced in for a shorthanded
breakaway goal that proved to be the game-winner.
With the win, the Phantoms improve to 7-3-1 and
into a tie with the Connecticut Whale for first
place in the Northeast Division. The Phantoms, Whale
and Norfolk Admirals are tied for the second most
points in the Eastern Conference with 15. The St.
John's IceCaps are first in the conference with
17 points.
Although Adirondack's defense limited Springfield
to a very tidy 21 shots, Michael Leighton was beaten
just once and was the winning goalie. Leighton is
now 6-2-0 for the season, and improved his already-impressive
road statistics to a 1.83 goals-against average
and .930 save percentage away from the Glens Falls
Civic Center.
"Our overall defensive game has gotten better
and better," Paterson praised. "It isn't
just one guy, but a guy who I thought did a real
nice job tonight was Tyler Brown. He broke up a
lot of their chances" To go along with his
fine defensive play, Tyler Brown has a goal and
an assist in eight games, a season after he had
25 goals and 32 assists for the Ontario Hockey League's
Plymouth Whalers.
The losing goalie for the Falcons was Danny Taylor
who allowed two goals on 22 shots but made a number
of tremendous saves particularly in the third to
keep Springfield in the game.
Having their three-game win-streak snapped, the
Falcons fell to 6-6-0 and are now three points behind
the Phantoms in the Northeast Division standings.
It took the Phantoms 2:37 to open the night's scoring.
Following a blocked shot by Marc-Andre Bourdon which
foiled a Springfield rush, Garrett Klotz and Tye
McGinn were sprung on a 2-on-1 in the opposite direction.
Carrying the puck down the right side, Klotz elected
to shoot it himself, and he found his mark between
Taylor's arm and body.
The lanky forward Klotz is in his fourth season
with the Phantoms. The Regina, Sask. native spent
the bulk of last season with Bloomington, Ill. of
the Central Hockey League getting increased ice-time
and working on his game.
Six minutes later, former Boston College scoring
star Cam Atkinson tied the game with a power-play
goal, by firing a low shot through Leighton's legs
while sliding through the slot on one knee. Assists
went to Springfield's top two point scorers for
the season, Nick Drazenovic and Martin St. Pierre.
The Phantoms regained their one-goal lead with
30 seconds left in the first period when Jon Kalinski
intercepted an errant pass by Springfield defenseman
David Savard on the power play and ripped a shot
over Taylor's glove hand finishing his uncontested,
shorthanded breakaway. The goal would give the Phantoms
the 2-1 lead after one period and would conclude
the scoring for the night.
It was Kalinski's first game of the season after
sitting out the first 10 games with injury. The
fourth-year Phantom had six goals last year including
a couple of shorthanded tallies. The Minnesota-State
Mankato product looked like he had not missed a
step as he rejoined the lineup.
Over the final two periods, the Phantoms smothered
the Falcons' offensively, only allowing 12 shots
en route to a 2-1 win. Springfield had soe solid
chances though including striking a post on a shorthanded
rush in the 3rd period. Ben Holmstrom blocked three
shots in the final minute to help slam the door
on Springfield's late 6-on-5 efforts to equalize.
The final shot totals were 24 for the Phantoms
and 21 for the Falcons.
Springfield was 1-of-6 on the power play. The Phantoms
were 0-of-4, but scored a shorthanded goal. Adirondack
has scored a power-play goal in 9 of 11 games this
season and have special-teams goals in every game
they have played. In the only two games the Phantoms
haven't scored on the power play, their game-winning
goal has come shorthanded.
The Adirondack Phantoms remained unbeaten all-time
against Springfield sporting a 5-0-0 record against
the Falcons. The second game of the four-game divisional
rivalry series will take place on Friday, November
25 at the Glens Falls Civic Center when the Falcons
travel to the North Country for a Black Friday encounter.
This was Adirondack's lone game over a 13-day stretch
from October 30 to November 11 in one of their least
busy sections of the schedule. The Phantoms now
have another week off between games before returning
to action with a two-game homestand next Friday
and Saturday against Syracuse and Toronto.
The Phantoms scratches were Dan Jancevski and Mike
Testwuide. Eric Wellwood was also not in the lineup,
having been called up to Philadelphia earlier in
the day.
Friday night's game is Veteran's Appreciation Night
with free admission for all active and retired military
when accompanied by a paid-admission (must purchase
special package by Thursday. Saturday's game is
Phantoms Youth Jersey Night for the first 1,000
kids (age 14 and younger) presented by Glens Falls
Hospital.
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
Adirondack Phantoms 2 at Springfield Falcons 1 -
Status: Final
Friday, November 4, 2011 - MassMutual Center
Adirondack 2 0 0 - 2
Springfield 1 0 0 - 1
1st Period-1, Adirondack, Klotz 1 2:37. 2, Springfield,
Atkinson 4 (St. Pierre, Drazenovic), 8:17 (PP).
3, Adirondack, Kalinski 1 19:34 (SH). Penalties-Bartulis
Adk (holding), 7:48; St. Pierre Spr (hooking), 9:24;
Bohmbach Adk (tripping), 18:23.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Johnson Spr (holding),
1:37; Bourdon Adk (hooking), 9:33; Marshall Adk
(roughing), 9:33; Byers Spr (roughing), 9:33; Sestito
Adk (roughing), 13:45; St. Pierre Spr (roughing),
13:45; Johnson Spr (high-sticking), 16:39; Pither
Adk (slashing), 17:01; Lauridsen Adk (tripping),
19:56.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Marshall Adk (cross-checking),
14:07; Savard Spr (holding), 16:20.
Shots on Goal-Adirondack 10-5-9-24. Springfield
9-4-8-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 / 4; Springfield
1 / 6.
Goalies-Adirondack, Leighton 6-2-0 (21 shots-20
saves). Springfield, Taylor 4-2-0 (24 shots-22 saves).
A-4,496
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Jamie Koharski (84).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Brent Colby (7).
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