On a night in which 4,680 loud and exuberant fans
packed the Glens Falls Civic Center on Youth Jersey
Giveaway Night, the Phantoms got shootout goals
from Jason Akeson, Denis Hamel and Oskars Bartulis
to get a exciting 2-1 win over the Toronto Marlies
in an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The game featured
several great chances from both sides in one of
the most exciting games of the year.
Following a scoreless five minutes of overtime,
the three Phantoms scored consecutive goals in the
shootout's first three rounds, while Jason Bacashihua
held the fort by stopping 3-of-4 Toronto shooters.
The win never would have happened were it not for
Bacashihua's showstopping save on Mike Zigomanis
in the closing seconds of regulation as his best
stop of the night came to deny the Marlies in their
late 3-on-1 rush.
"He (Bacashihua) looked like he's played more
a lot more than he has lately. But he's had a lot
of good practice time and he's a good pro with a
great attitude. It's nice to see him go in there
and do well, " said Phantoms head coach Joe
Paterson on the performance of Saturday night's
winning goaltender.
Prior to the shootout, Bacashihua made 27 saves
on 28 shots, and his win was his first at the Glens
Falls Civic Center as a Phantom. As a team, Adirondack
improved to 15-3-5 in its last 23 home games, dating
back to last February. And the home-ice advantage
with the largest crowd of the season was apparent
in this contest as the fans' noise level matched
the repeated close-calls for Adirondack's attack.
The Phantoms upped their record to 8-4-1 (17 pts)
with the win and received help on the night in the
form of a Connecticut loss at St. John's. Adirondack
vaulted into a first-place tie in the division with
the Whale and also with the Albany Devils atop the
Northeast Division.
Shane Harper, who scored in the second period to
erase a 1-0 Toronto lead, was Adirondack's goal
scorer in regulation time. Following a series of
offensive spurts by the Phantoms, the duo of Harper
and Jason Akeson stormed the Marlies zone, resulting
in Harper beating Marlies goalie Mark Owuya from
just to the left of the Toronto net. Akeson stopped
along the right-wing wall to wait for the opening
to find Harper on the back-door on the play. It
was the eighth assist of the season for the 21-year-old
rookie out of Orleans, Ontario. NHL veteran blueliner
Matt Walker got his first Phantoms point of the
year by recording the secondary assist on the headman
feed to Akeson.
"Guys on the bench were pretty pumped to see
him (Harper) score. Adding him as a fresh body to
the lineup tonight after he missed last night, and
him scoring a big goal for us was a huge bonus,"
remarked Paterson on Shane Harper's second-period
goal.
Mark Owuya, who came into the game with a 1.81
goals-against average and .917 save percentage,
was the losing goalie for Toronto after faltering
in the shootout. Owuya made 33 saves on 34 shots
in regulation and overtime.
Mike Zigomanis scored to give the Marlies a 1-0
lead less than a minute into the second period.
Zigomanis scored his goal by fielding the carom
of a slap shot off the endboards and forcing the
puck through Bacashihua, after Toronto defenseman
Jesse Blacker mis-fired an initial shot wide of
the left goalpost.
Ryan Hamilton scored Toronto's only shootout goal.
Despite the loss, the point the Marlies (6-5-3)
got for taking the game into the shootout helped
them tie the Rochester Americans for first place
in the North Division.
Adirondack's only remaining meeting with the Marlies
will come at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto on February
14. Saturday night's win gives the Adirondack Phantoms
a 3-2 edge in the all-time series.
The shots in Saturday's game were 35 for the Phantoms
and 28 for the Marlies.
The Phantoms were 0-of-4 on the power play. The
Marlies were 1-of-3.
Adirondack's scratches were Tye McGinn and Luke
Pither.
The Phantoms' big win capped off Saturday's festivities,
which began at 3:00 with the third-annual Guns and
Hoses game. The area's police and fire representatives
took on the NYPD team with the proceeds benefitting
the South Glens Falls Marathon Dance
The extremely popular SuperFan Cameron Hughes was
in attendance for the second straight night, and
fired up the crowd and kept them revved up all evening
long with his dances and t-shirt giveaways.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, November 12, 3:00 - Third Annual Guns
and Hoses game pitting area police and fire representatives
against the NYPD hockey team. Proceeds from this
charity game will go to benefit the South Glens
Falls Marathon Dance.
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.
Monday, November 14 - No Phantoms Power Hour show
this week. The team will be traveling.
Tuesday, November 15, 6:30 - Phantoms at Portland
Pirates.
Saturday, November 19, 7:00 - Phantoms at Syracuse
Crunch
Sunday, November 20, 3:00 - Phantoms at Bridgeport
Sound Tigers
Next Home Games
Friday, November 25, 7:00 - Springfield Falcons
at Phantoms. Annual Black Friday game. 80s Night.
Saturday, November 26, 7:00 - Albany Devils at
Phantoms. Time Warner Cable Cup Rivalry Game #2.
Phantoms Snow Cap Giveaway for first 1,000 kids
(age 14 and younger) courtesy of UniFirst.
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
Toronto Marlies 1 at Adirondack Phantoms 2 (SO)
- Status: Final SO
Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Glens Falls Civic
Center
Toronto 0 1 0 0 - 1
Adirondack 0 1 0 0 - 2
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Marshall Adk (delay
of game), 3:16; Engel Tor (roughing), 5:49; Finger
Tor (roughing), 5:49; Sestito Adk (roughing, roughing),
5:49; Roe Adk (hooking), 7:56; Blacker Tor (holding),
12:20; Wilson Tor (cross-checking), 17:07; Kadri
Tor (cross-checking), 19:59; Lauridsen Adk (tripping),
19:59.
2nd Period-1, Toronto, Zigomanis 3 (Blacker, Mikus),
0:59 (PP). 2, Adirondack, Harper 1 (Akeson, Walker),
10:57. Penalties-Holmstrom Adk (slashing), 0:15;
D'Amigo Tor (holding), 14:46.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Acton Tor (slashing),
7:09; Kadri Tor (roughing), 19:56; Walker Adk (cross-checking),
19:56.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout - Toronto 1 (Kadri NG, Zigomanis NG, Hamilton
G, Mikus NG), Adirondack 3 (Akeson G, Hamel G, Bartulis
G, Wellwood NG).
Shots on Goal-Toronto 10-8-7-2-0-27. Adirondack
9-14-10-1-1-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Toronto 1 / 3; Adirondack
0 / 4.
Goalies-Toronto, Owuya 1-1-1 (34 shots-33 saves).
Adirondack, Bacashihua 2-1-1 (27 shots-26 saves).
A-4,680
Referees-Chris Brown (86).
Linesmen-Jim Harper (59), Marty Demers (79).
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