December 28, 2011

Fans and canines alike took in an enjoyable evening of Adirondack Phantoms hockey at the Glens Falls Civic Center but Binghamton was able to pull away late for a 5-2 victory Wednesday night. The Senators lead was only 2-1 midway through the third but they withstood several Adirondack scoring chances to grab the hard-fought victory.

The game was the first ever Pucks and Paws promotion at the arena and was a tremendous success. Dozens of dogs joined their owners at the game to put their paws together and cheer on the Phantoms.
One very well-behaved cat was in attendance as well! The fun promotion helped draw an impressive midweek turnout of 3,533 which was also boosted by many kids taking advantage of the holiday break at area schools.

As for the game itself, Jason Akeson (8th) and Ben Holmstrom (9th) scored for Adirondack. Holmstrom was playing his first game back with the Phantoms following a brief call-up to the Flyers and extended his AHL goal-scorinng streak to four games in a row.

Rob Klinkhammer for Binghamton chipped in a late empty-netter for a hat-trick as he scored all three of his goals in the third period.

The Senators scored a pair of goals in the first period to race out to a 2-0 advantage. Reigning league MVP Corey Locke and rookie Pat Cannone were able to convert past Michael Leighton. Locke rushed in with a 2-on-1 and converted on the back-door. Cannone picked one off at the Phantoms line and ripped a perfect shot on his breakaway beating Leighton glove-hand off the metal.

Adirondack excelled in the second period and generated several great chances on their new nemesis, Mike McKenna. Jason Akeson got the Phantoms on the board with a power play goal late in the second period while Denis Hamel appeared to be drawing the attention on McKenna down low. Akeson snapped it on from center-point as the 21-year-old rookie from Orleans, Ontario notched his eighth of the season.

The Phantoms outshot the B-Sens 12-8 in the second period and appeared to have the better of the play. But McKenna was tremendous yet again against Adirondack and kept the home-team from equalizing.

The St. Lawrence University product played for the Albany Devils last year. McKenna is engaged to a woman from Queensbury and typically has his own small contingent of fans when he plays in Glens Falls.

Adirondack generated several more opportunities in the third period including a couple wild scrambles in the blue paint but McKenna was able to find the handle each time.

Rob Klinhammer scored back-to-back goals with 10 and 8 minutes remaining on odd-mad rushes as Binghamton took advantage of Adirondack pinching defensemen forward and taking more chances to try to grab the tying goal.

Trailing 4-1, Adirondack would not give up the fight. Ben Holmstrom redirected a Jason Akeson slapper from center-point with less than two minutes remaining for the Phantoms' second power play goal of the evening to cut the gap down to two again.

The Phantoms pulled Leighton with 1:40 remaining and again had several close-calls at the Binghamton net. Finally with 13 seconds remaining, Klinkhammer would get just enough on a clear to seal the victory with an empty-net tally.

Adirondack now stands at 15-13-2 for 32 points and are 8-5-1 on home ice. Binghamton improved to 13-19-2. The Phantoms won't have to wait long for a revenge opportunity against their in-state rivals from the south. Binghamton returns to the Glens Falls Civic Center next Wednesday, January 4 in the first Phantoms game of 2012.

The Phantoms outshot the Senators 33-30. Adirondack went 2-for-6 on the power play while holding Binghamton to 0-for-4.

The game was the 998th in the professional career of Denis Hamel. He is scheduled to reach the historic 1,000 game milestone on New Year's Eve against Albany. It was also the 798th AHL game for Dan Jancevski who will play in his 800th all-time AHL game that same night.

Eric Wellwood returned from injury for his first game since November. Ben Holmstrom and Tom Sestito were also back after their stays with Philadelphia. And Kevin Marshall played in his second game back with the Phantoms and his first at home following a 10-game stretch with the Flyers.

Scratches for the Phantoms included Andrew Rowe, Luke Pither, Garrett Klotz and Oskars Bartulis

The game was the opener of the team's longest homestand of the season. The Phantoms host the Portland Pirates Friday night with draft-beer specials through the first intermission. Adirondack's traditional New Year's Eve game is Saturday at 7:00pm against the Albany Devils. And the homestand concludes next Wednesday against Binghamton again.


Upcoming Events

Friday, December 30, 7:00 - Portland Pirates at Phantoms. $2 draft beer specials through first intermission

Saturday, December 31, 7:00 - Albany Devils at Phantoms. Big New Year's Eve game! Time Warner Cable Cup Rivalry game.

Wednesday, January 4, 7:00 - Binghamton Senators at Phantoms. $1 hot dogs.

Friday, January 6, 7:00 - Outdoor Classic! Hershey Bears vs. Adirondack Phantoms at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

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.. Be sure to follow the Phantoms on twitter @phantomshockey and on facebook.com/adkhockey

Binghamton Senators 5 at Adirondack Phantoms 2 - Status: Final
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - Glens Falls Civic Center

Binghamton 2 0 3 - 5
Adirondack 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Binghamton, Locke 2 (Klinkhammer), 7:39. 2, Binghamton, Cannone 8 15:06. Penalties-Manning Adk (high-sticking), 5:36; served by Akeson Adk (bench minor - unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:06; Borowiecki Bng (holding), 15:26; Klinkhammer Bng (high-sticking), 19:47.

2nd Period-3, Adirondack, Akeson 8 (Kessel), 15:04 (PP). Penalties-Leighton Adk (delay of game), 8:11; Da Costa Bng (double minor - high-sticking), 13:46.

3rd Period-4, Binghamton, Klinkhammer 6 (Locke, Borowiecki), 9:58. 5, Binghamton, Klinkhammer 7 (Parrish, Da Costa), 11:50. 6, Adirondack, Holmstrom 9 (Akeson, Kessel), 18:05 (PP). 7, Binghamton, Klinkhammer 8 (Locke), 19:46 (EN). Penalties-Gryba Bng (high-sticking), 6:11; Kalinski Adk (tripping), 14:33; Ratchuk Bng (cross-checking), 17:13.

Shots on Goal-Binghamton 13-7-10-30. Adirondack 11-12-10-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Binghamton 0 / 4; Adirondack 2 / 6.
Goalies-Binghamton, McKenna 7-9-0 (33 shots-31 saves). Adirondack, Leighton 11-11-0 (29 shots-25 saves).
A-3,536
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Chris Ciamaga (24).
Linesmen-Mike Emanatian (69), Justin Prusak (70).