Last season, the Phantoms dominated the Crunch by winning 7-of-of-8 games in their season series. After Syracuse opened the teams' 2011-12 series with two straight wins, Adirondack got back to its winning ways against its intra-state rival by winning 5-2 on Saturday night.

"We play them (the Crunch) so many times. It's good to mentally break that bubble after they won the first two against us. I thought it was a solid, 60-minute effort for our team and a real clean game for us," said Phantoms Head Coach Joe Paterson.

The Phantoms' victory was fueled by the team's biggest offensive explosion since October 26 with a season-high 42 shots. Jon Kalinski, Ben Holmstrom, Eric Wellwood, Jason Akeson and Blake Kessel all found the net. The team's most veteran defenseman, Dan Jancevski, also played a key role by recording two assists. Jancevski's pair of helpers were the 200th and 201st in his 11-year professional career and earned him #2 Star of the Game honors while Wellwood, with the game-winner in the second period, was the game's #1 Star.

"We put a lot of pucks to the net and were rewarded with five goals. It's nice to see this team get rewarded with some 5-on-5 goals after a lot of hard practice time," added Paterson.

Jason Bacashihua backstopped the win by making 25 saves on 27 shots. Since losing his Phantoms debut at Syracuse on October 15, Bacashihua has gone 3-0-1 in four starts, and now has a 2.63 goals-against average and .921 save percentage for the season.

"He (Bacashihua) played well again tonight. He played well against Toronto last week and he's been moving well side-to-side and stopping a lot of pucks for us," said Paterson.

Adirondack's win improves its record to 9-5-1 (19 pts) and pulls the Phantoms to within one point of the Springfield Falcons and Albany Devils for first place in the Northeast Division. The Phantoms also improve to 5-3-0 on the road and will play the third leg of a four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport at 3:00 p.m.

"It's another big game for us tomorrow. Our division is very close and these are all four-point games, so it's another big one for us tomorrow," said Paterson.

The Crunch fell to 7-6-3 by losing for the third time in their last four games. Syracuse is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference's very competitive East Division.

Kyle Palmieri and former Phantom Patrick Maroon were the Crunch's goal scorers. Palmieri, a former first-round draft choice of the Anaheim Ducks, now has five goals in three games against the Phantoms. Maroon, who has also scored in each game in the series, has three goals against Adirondack.

After beating the Phantoms with a 36-save performance on October 15, Jeff Deslauriers allowed five goals on 42 shots and was the losing goalie.

The Phantoms never trailed on Saturday and took a 1-0 lead on a Jon Kalinski goal at 6:31 of the opening period. Dan Jancevski started the play by carrying the puck down the left-wing boards and behind the net, and passing the puck right onto Kalinski's tape. Kalinski then faked in one direction and slid the puck in the other, fooling Deslauriers and getting his second goal of the season.

Patrick Maroon finished off a wrap-around and tied the game six minutes later, after receiving a crisp pass from Nick Bonino deep in Adirondack's defensive zone.

Ben Holmstrom restored the Phantoms one-goal advantage by beating Deslauriers with a monster slap shot from the top of the left-wing circle, just over four minutes into the second period. Assists went to Mike Testwuide and Marc-Andre Bourdon.

Kyle Palmieri erased the Phantoms' second one-goal lead of the game, just past the midway point of the second period. Defenseman Mathieu Carle got the primary assist by creeping in with the puck from the right point and sending a cross-ice pass which Palmieri slapped in from just to the left of Adirondack's cage. Two-time AHL All-Star defenseman Bryan Rodney also assisted.

The Phantoms took their third one-goal edge and got the eventual game-winning goal when Eric Wellwood scored a shorthanded goal two minutes after Palmieri tied the game. Denis Hamel got the primary assist after breaking free of a Syracuse defenseman on the left-wing boards and creating a 2-on-1, on which Wellwood received the puck just inside the right faceoff dot before scoring past Deslauriers.

Jason Akeson upped the Phantoms' lead to 4-2 by depositing a juicy rebound of a Dan Jancevski point shot with eight minutes left in the third period. For Akeson, a 21-year-old rookie who led the Ontario Hockey League in scoring as a member of the Kitchener Rangers last season, the goal gives him six points (2g, 4a) on his career-high four-game point streak.

Blake Kessel finished the night's scoring by rifling a shot past Deslauriers from the left faceoff dot, with four minutes left in the third period. For Kessel, a rookie out of the University of New Hampshire, the goal was the first of his professional career.

The Phantoms outshot the Crunch 42-27. The Phantoms were 0-of-5 on the power play, but scored a shorthanded goal. Syracuse was 0-of-4 on the power play.

Adirondack's scratches were Kevin Marshall and Luke Pither.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 20, 1:00 - Dax appears at South Glens Falls parade

Sunday, November 20, 3:00 - Phantoms at Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Monday, November 21, 7:00 - Phantoms Power Hour LIVE from McGinny's
Tavern, 193 Glen Street. Player guests, #18 Tyler Brown and #38 Jason
Akeson. Ticket and t-shirt giveaways for fans live at the show. Live
broadcast on Q101.7.

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions

Friday, November 25, 7:00 - Springfield Falcons at Phantoms. Annual Black Friday game. '80s Night. $2 draft beer specials through first intermission, Bud Light and Labatt Blue Light.

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

Adirondack Phantoms 5 at Syracuse Crunch 2 - Status: Final
Saturday, November 19, 2011 - Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter

Adirondack 1 2 2 - 5
Syracuse 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Adirondack, Kalinski 2 (Jancevski, Wellwood), 6:31. 2, Syracuse, Maroon 8 (Bonino), 12:36. Penalties-Harper Adk (interference), 1:59; Lauridsen Adk (roughing), 9:42; Walker Adk (misconduct - continuing altercation), 9:42; Bodie Syr (misconduct - continuing altercation), 9:42; Jacques Syr (roughing), 9:42; Smith Syr (roughing), 9:42; Sestito Adk (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:27; Jacques Syr (double minor - high-sticking), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Adirondack, Holmstrom 3 (Testwuide, Bourdon), 4:07. 4, Syracuse, Palmieri 10 (Clark, Rodney), 10:42. 5, Adirondack, Wellwood 5 (Hamel, Bartulis), 12:22 (SH). Penalties-Holmstrom Adk (delay of game), 11:29.

3rd Period-6, Adirondack, Akeson 3 (Sestito, Jancevski), 11:40. 7, Adirondack, Kessel 1 (Roe, Bartulis), 15:53. Penalties-Bell Syr (tripping), 5:01; Jancevski Adk (interference), 13:00; Bonino Syr (tripping), 13:52.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 12-18-12-42. Syracuse 8-10-9-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 / 5; Syracuse 0 / 4.
Goalies-Adirondack, Bacashihua 3-1-1 (27 shots-25 saves). Syracuse, Drouin-Deslauriers 3-4-0 (42 shots-37 saves).
A-5,222
Referees-Darcy Burchell (42).
Linesmen-Fraser McIntyre (94), John Murphy (71).