April 6, 2012

Upcoming Games

Friday, April 6 (7:00) - Albany Devils at Adirondack Phantoms
Saturday, April 7 (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Albany Devils
Sunday, April 8 (5:00) - Rochester Americans vs. Adirondack Phantoms

Phantoms Results

Wednesday, Mar 28 - Syracuse Crunch 2 - Adirondack Phantoms 1 (SO)
Friday, March 30 - Adirondack Phantoms 4 - Syracuse Crunch 3 (OT)
Saturday, March 31 - Connecticut Whale 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 0


Coming Up

It's playoff fever in Glens Falls! Only six games remain in the regular season including four big home games. And the Adirondack Phantoms find themselves just four points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Phantoms are ready for the challenge and know what needs to get done to grab one of those Calder Cup postseason spots. The team is returning to the GFCC where they are fresh off one of their most exciting wins in franchise history when they overcame a 3-1 deficit to Syracuse in the third period to post an amazing 4-3 overtime victory capped by Jason Akeson's big slapshot winner.

On top of everything else, it's also a pair of rivalry games this weekend to decide the Time Warner Cable Cup against the Albany Devils who are also hanging in there in the big playoff hunt.

Adirondack leads the Time Warner Cable Cup series five games to three. A win in either game vs. Albany this weekend will give Adirondack the Cup for the second consecutive season. If Albany wins both games they will win the cup back.

The Phantoms host the Devils on Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center in the ninth game of the great Northway rivalry with huge playoff implications on the line. It's going to be intense! $2 draft-beer specials through the first intermission.

Saturday night, Adirondack travels down to the Times Union Center in Albany to wrap up the Time Warner Cable Cup season series.

On Easter Sunday at 5:00, the Phantoms are back at home to wrap up the weekend against the Rochester Americans from the western conference who are in a playoff fight of their own.

Get your tickets for the big home games this Friday and Sunday by calling the Phantoms at (518) 480-3355. Be Here!

I'm In!

Support professional hockey in Glens Falls and say that you're in. The I'm In campaign is designed to show the AHL, teams, owners and everyone about the great support we can provide for a professional hockey team at the GFCC.

With a goal of 1,756 season tickets for next season, the team would be able to prove the long-term viability of this great hockey market.

Currently, we stand at 425 season tickets and the number is always growing. By putting down YOUR down payment of $50 for a season ticket or 22-pack or 12-pack plan you can be in too.

Thanks to everyone in the community for their great teamwork in showing the league that the backing and support for AHL hockey in Glens Falls is here to stay. Together we can do this. I'm in! Call the Phantoms to find out how you can help at 518-480-3355.


Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Night

Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Night will take place on Saturday, April 14. The Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction will be held at 4:30 at Heritage Hall and then the Phantoms will play the Springfield Falcons at 7:00. This year's inductees include Dave Casey, Murray Eaves, Pete Mahovlich and Dave Strader. Tickets for the Banquet and Induction are $35 or a table of 10 for $250. Reservations can be made to Anne Porreca at (518) 791-4248 or anneporreca@msn.com

April 14 is also Fan Appreciation Night. Dozens of great prizes to be given away to the fans. Plus, the first 2,500 in attendance receive a Phantoms T-Shirt courtesy of Papa John's.

Roster Moves

The Phantoms have added Matt Mangene from the University of Maine on an amateur tryout contract after he signed an entry-level deal with the Flyers earlier in the week. Mangene converted from defenseman to forward for the Black Bears and recorded a career-high 16 goals.

Mangene's sister, Meagan, is a star defenseman for the Boston College women's team. His grandfather played college football for Boston College and helped lead the team to the 1943 Orange Bowl.

Jason Bacashihua has returned to the Phantoms after a quick call-up to Philadelphia for about a week. Bacashihua served as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup while Ilya Bryzgalov was out with an injury.

Eastern Conference Playoff Focus (8th place and up qualify for post-season)
7. Syracuse Crunch (78 pts)
8. Manchester Monarchs (76 pts)
9. Portland Pirates (75 pts)
10 Adirondack Phantoms (72 pts)
11. Springfield Falcons (72 pts)
12. Albany Devils (71 pts)
13. Providence Bruins (71 pts)
14. Worcester Sharks (69 pts)

Week in Review

Wednesday, March 28 (Syracuse Crunch 2 - Adirondack Phantoms 1 / SO)

Michael Leighton made some phenomenal saves in a wild back-and-forth game in which both teams high-powered offenses were denied repeatedly. Adirondack earned a valuable standings point, but in the end dropped the decision in the shootout 2-1 as Kyle Palmieri scored the only goal after the crazy overtime session with all the spectacular stops.

Ben Holmstrom hit one off the crossbar with 16 seconds left in the overtime. That's how close the Phantoms were to taking the second standings point for themselves.

Andrew Rowe scored the lone goal in regulation for the Phantoms while Leighton turned aside 42 of the 43 he faced including seven great stops in overtime in the thriller.


Friday, March 30 (Adirondack Phantoms 4 - Syracuse Crunch 3 / OT)

Boosted by one of the noisiest crowds at the GFCC, the Adirondack Phantoms put together perhaps their best comeback of the season in the only time they have overcome a two-goal deficit in the third period.

Trailing 3-1 in the closing minutes, Andrew Rowe's goal blazing up the left-wing triggered the comeback. Ben Holmstrom tied the score with just over three minutes left. And Jason Akeson's cannon from the left circle in the overtime was the team's sixth extra-period victory of the year.

Leighton was terrific in net again and made some amazing saves as usual. Erik Gustafsson also made a goal-saving play in the overtime to rob Peter Holland right in front of an open-net.


Sunday, March 25 (Connecticut Whale 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 0)

The Phantoms couldn't get the bounces to go their way as they dropped a 3-0 decision to the Whale. Matt Ford thought he had scored a goal in the second period but the play was disallowed due to contact by Ben Holmstrom with the Connecticut goalie, Cameron Talbot.

Denis Hamel beat Talbot early in the third period but cranked it off the crossbar and it caromed away.

Adirondack trailing 2-0 with a few seconds remaining when Connecticut was able to seal the win with an empty-net goal.


Phantoms Breakdown

-- The Phantoms are 34-32-4 this year for 72 points. From December 17, 2010 to the end of last year they posted a record of 28-17-9. That is a combined record of 61-48-12 in the past season-and-a-half (121games played).

-- Adirondack is 21-12-1 on home-ice this year for one of the best advantages in the league. Their 21 home wins are tied for second in the Eastern Conference trailing only league-leading Norfolk who has 25.

-- In last four months of 2010-11, Adirondack had a home record of 18-6-5. That's a combined home-ice mark of 38-18-6 since December 17, 2010. The Phantoms are also 28-12-1 at home since March 16, 2011.

-- Jason Akeson leads the team in points with 50 including 12 goals and 38 assists. He is third among AHL rookies in helpers and is eighth in points. Matt Ford also has 50 points this season but not all of them have been with Adirondack. Ford began the season with Hershey.

-- Denis Hamel has six goals in his last 12 games. The 34-year-old veteran is 11th all-time in AHL history with 337 career goals including 22 this year.. He played his 1000th career professional game on December 31st which included 192 NHL games mostly with Buffalo and Ottawa. He has reached the 20 goal milestone in the AHL 10 different times. Hamel's 265 total shots lead the AHL.

-- Matt Ford has a total of 25 goals on the year. He began the season with 10 goals in 39 games with Hershey. With Adirondack, he has 15 goals in just 25 games. The 27-year-old from West Hills, Cal. had a career-high 26 goals last season with Lake Erie where he was teammates with Jason Bacashihua.

-- Ford now has 7 game-winning goals for Adirondack, all in just two months! His season total of 8 GWG's (one with Hershey) is tied for the league lead with Mark Mancari of Chicago.

-- Michael Leighton has 36 career shutouts to rate 6th all-time in AHL history and is tied for fourth all-time in league history with Nick Demore (1938-47) and Marcel Paile (1956-74). His next shutout will move him into a tie for third all-time at 37 with Bob Perreault (1951-69). Leighton has the most shutouts of any AHL goalie since 1975.

-- Michael Leighton is second in the league in total saves with 1,406 trailing David Leggio of Rochester by just 12. He is now third overall in total minutes played with 2,939 but is only two minutes behind Leggio for second. His 25 wins are tied for fourth in the AHL and he has gone 9-4-1 in his last 14 games.

--The Phantoms are 24-3-1 when leading after two periods and are an impressive 20-4-1 when leading after one period.

--The Phantoms are 28-11-2 when they score first. The Phantoms are 19-11-4 in one-goal decisions.

Phantoms Leaders (Goals - Assists - Points):
Jason Akeson 12-38-50
Matt Ford 25-25-50 (with ADK, 15-7-22)
Denis Hamel 22-21-43
Garrett Roe 8-30-38
Ben Holmstrom 12-25-37
Mike Testwuide 10-16-26
Shane Harper 13-13-26

Michael Leighton - 25-24-1, 2.57, .918
Jason Bacashihua - 8-10-1, 2.99, .902

Upcoming Opponents

Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils) -

Adirondack leads the Time Warner Cable Cup series over the Devils 5-3 but three of the Phantoms' wins have been in overtime in the closely contested rivalry and another was decided by a single goal.

Some of the biggest crowds of the season have jammed into the GFCC to watch the Phantoms and Devils battle and this Friday's game is their last meeting in Glens Falls and will be followed by the Times Union Center finale on Saturday.

Rick Kowalsky is in his second year as head coach of the Devils and has his team fighting for a spot in the playoffs similar to Adirondack. The Devils trail the Phantoms by one point with their record of 30-30-11 for 71 points total and find themselves five points back of the last playoff spot. Albany only has five games remaining in the regular season while Adirondack has six.

Joe Whitney's 42 points and 29 assists lead Albany. Steve Zalewski was a pickup from the Worcester Sharks before the trade deadline last season and he leads Albany in goals this year with 17 while Eric Gelinas on defense has cranked up his big slapshot to the tune of 16 goals.

New Jersey second rounder from the University of Minnesota Jeff Frazee has split goaltending duties fairly evenly with rookie Keith Kinkaid from nearby Union College. Kinkaid has played in 40 games going 17-18-3, 2.87, .908. Kinkaid has gone 11-18-2, 2.66, .907. On January 28, Kinkaid posted a 30 saves shutout against the Phantoms.

Matt Anderson., Nathan Perkovich and Eric Gelinas have three goals each in the season series against the Phantoms to lead Albany scorers.

Denis Hamel and Shane Harper have three goals each for Adirondack in the team's eight previous games against Albany. Jason Akeson has five assists and seven points.

Albany continues to struggle on special teams. They are 28th (out of 30) on the power play at 14.7% and are 27th on the penalty kill at 80.2%. Their total offense is 28th in the league at just 2.52 goals per game while their team defense is 21st allowing 2.94.


Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) -

Battling their way through injuries and callups, the Americans are trying to hang tough in the Western Conference playoff race with a record of 32-26-13 for 77 points, just two points behind Houston and Charlotte for the last spots.

The Amerks were in better shape a couple weeks ago in possession of the eighth spot but have gone on a five-game winless skid at 0-3-2 while winning only two games out of their last 10 (2-4-4) to tumble down the standings a bit. It's been a lot of close battles. Their failure to secure the extra standings point in overtimes and shootouts could be their downfall if they fall short of their playoff aspirations.

Rochester likes to get moving and they are 10th in the league in total offense at 2.9 goals per game while they are third in total shots at 33.2. But they give up a lot too surrendering 32.1 shots per contest to rate 26th in the AHL while allowing 2.97 goals per game which rates 23rd.

Their power play has not produced very well; 15.1% for 25th. And their penalty kill is only 23rd at 81%.

The last time the Phantoms faced Rochester was in late February and David Leggio stood on his head in goal to turn in a 28 save shutout in a 2-0 win.

Rochester's lone appearance to the Glens Falls Civic Center was in early December and Ben Holmstrom sealed that victory with an overtime winner.

Adirondack leads the season-series in the cross-state rivalry two games to one.


Phantoms Day-by-Day
Friday, April 6 - Practice at GFCC (10:00am). Game vs. Albany at GFCC (7:00pm)
Saturday, April 7 - Practice at GFCC (10:00am). Bus to Albany (4:00pm). Game at Albany (7:00pm)
Sunday, April 8 - Practice TBD. Coach's discretion. Game vs. Rochester (5:00pm)
Monday, April 9 - Practice TBD. Coach's discretion.
Tuesday, April 10 - Practice at GFCC (10:00am)
Wednesday, April 11 - Practice at GFCC (10:00am)

Upcoming Events

Friday, April 6, (7:00) - Albany Devils at Adirondack Phantoms. Time Warner Cable Cup game. $2 draft beer specials.

Saturday, April 7, (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Albany Devils

Sunday, April 8 (5:00) - Rochester Americans at Adirondack Phantoms . Sunday Family 3-Pack Specials.

Friday, April 13 (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Springfield Falcons

Saturday, April 14 (7:00) - Worcester Sharks at Adirondack Phantoms. Hall of Fame Ceremony at 4:30 in Heritage Hall. Fan Appreciation Night with dozens of prizes. Phantoms T-Shirts courtesy of Papa John's

Sunday, April 15 (5:00) - Norfolk Admirals at Adirondack Phantoms. Last game of the regular season! Sunday Family 3-Pack Specials.
Get great savings with the Phantoms when you bring your group of 15 friends or co-workers to a game. Group-rates available as low as $13 per person. Call the Phantoms to find out more at 518-480-3355.
The Sunday Family 3-Pack is available for ALL Sunday home games! Get 3 tickets, 3 hot dogs, 3 sodas, 1 large popcorn and 1 program all for only $39. That's a savings of $26!

Get Phantoms tickets and a Pizza! 4 tickets to a Phantoms game on April 6 or April 14 PLUS a $10 gift-certificate to Papa John's all for only $49. Call the Phantoms to order yours.