December 12, 2012

This Week's Games

Friday, December 14 (7:00) - Syracuse Crunch at Adirondack Phantoms
Saturday, December 15 (7:00) - Manchester Monarchs at Adirondack Phantoms
Wednesday, December 19 (7:00) - St. John's IceCaps at Adirondack Phantoms

Last Week's Scores

Friday, December 7 - Rochester Americans 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 1
Saturday, December 8 - Adirondack Phantoms 4 - Syracuse Crunch 3 (SO)
Sunday, December 9 - Providence Bruins 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 2 (OT)


Top Scorers Goals Assists Points
Brayden Schenn 11 15 26
Sean Couturier 7 13 20
Erik Gustafsson 3 11 14
Tye McGinn 2 8 10
Jason Akeson 0 10 10

Goalies W-L-OTL GAA SVS
Scott Munroe 7-6-0 2.55 .920
Cal Heeter 3-7-0 3.26 .886

Stats Breakdown

Record - 10-12-1
Offense - 2.6 goals per game, 24th (out of 30)
Defense - 3.0, 17th
Power Play - 15.7%, 18th
Penalty Kill - 84.6%, 10th
Penalty Minutes - 21.6 per game (7th)
Shots - 32.6, 5th
Shots allowed - 30.6, 15th


Coming Up

Here come the Teddy Bears! It's the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night with the Adirondack Phantoms this Friday. When the Phantoms score their first goal of the game, fans get to throw their teddy ear and stuffed animal donations onto the ice. It will be raining hundreds of teddy bears inside the GFCC! All of the teddy bear donations will go to benefit less fortunate kids and families courtesy of the Greater Glens Falls Salvation Army.

That's just the start of a back-to-back weekend at home for the Phantoms with the Syracuse Crunch and Manchester Monarchs coming to town during "Cup Weekend." The Syracuse players won the Calder Cup operating as the Norfolk Admirals last year. And Manchester is the affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings and features four players who won the Stanley Cup.

The Friday night game is also a rematch of last week's thriller in which Adirondack notched a dramatic 4-3 shootout win over Syracuse. The Phantoms' penalty kill had to hold the top offense in the AHL to 0-for-10 on the power play in order to set up Garrett Roe's game-winner in the shootout.

Saturday against Manchester has some interesting story-lines. Terry Murray was previously the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and is well acquainted with the players and coaching staff on that team. And Brayden Schenn scored a hat trick against Manchester on the road on November 14 in his first game against the team/organization that traded him to the Flyers.

Adirondack will also be at home next Wednesday against St. John's on Pucks and Paws Night. Fans get to bring their dogs to the game! The fan pays for a ticket, but the dog gets in for free. Fans who are bringing dogs to the game can arrive via the Glen Street entrance and will have a special section just for them (and their owners). It's a Dog-Gone Good Time on Pucks and Paws Night next Wednesday, December 19.

The Phantoms are coming off a 1-1-1 record in their three-game stretch played in less than 72 hours last weekend. Terry Murray's team stands at 10-12-1 overall for 23 points,

Adirondack is 6-5-0 at home this year including 5-3-0 in their last eight.


Phantoms Leaders

Brayden Schenn leads the Phantoms with eleven goals and 26 points this season. The talented second-year pro who scored 12 goals with the Philadelphia Flyers last year is third in the AHL in points and is fifth in the Eastern Conference in goals.

Tye McGinn had a couple goals last weekend and is now second on the team with eight while Sean Couturier and Harry Zolnierczyk are tied for third with seven goals each.

Jason Akeson has rapidly moved into the team's top five in points in only three weeks. His 10 assists are fourth on the team. Akeson joined the team on November 21 after beginning the season with Trenton (ECHL). Had led the Phantoms last year with 55 points and 41 assists in his rookie campaign.


Upcoming Promos

Friday, December 14 -
Teddy Bear Toss Night. Fans throw their teddy bear donations onto the ice after Adirondack's first goal
$2 Draft Beer Specials
All-American Pregame Buffet in Heritage Hall for only $12 (grilled cheesburgers, hot dogs, french fries, etc)

Saturday, December 15 -
Pasta Night Pregame Buffet in Heritage Hall for only $12 (variety of pastas, bread, salad, etc)

Wednesday, December 19 -
Pucks and Paws! The fan buys a ticket, and your dog gets in for free. We're putting on a fantastic hockey show for Man's Best Friend. Fans with dogs should arrive via the Glen Street entrance and will sit in a special section just for them
Also, $1 Hot Dogs.


Holiday Packs

Perfect for hanging on your mantle, the Phantoms Holiday Packs come in a game-worn hockey sock and include Phantoms tickets, a program, and your choice of an autographed puck or Phantoms scarf. Prices are $49 or $59. Call the Phantoms to order the perfect gift for your favorite hockey fan at 518-480-3355.

February Game in Philadelphia

The Phantoms will play in Philadelphia at the Wells-Fargo Center on Friday, February 22 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Phantoms Season Ticket Holders can redeem their "FLEX" ticket to that game by contacting the Phantoms office. Fans will have the opportunity to sit in a great club box!

Others can purchase tickets to the game by contacting the Wells Fargo Center at 215-218-7825.

Phantoms Week in Review

Friday, December 7 - Rochester Americans 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 1

Sean Couturier scored a goal on his 20th birthday. And the Phantoms doubled-up the Americans in shots 42-21. But rookie goalie Connor Knapp pulled off an impressive win with several remarkable stops to keep the Phantoms out of the net.

Adirondack out-shot the Amerks 25-6 in a dominating second period. But a pair of goals by Kevin Porter including a shorthanded rush up the left-wing would somehow be enough for the home team as the Phantoms simply couldn't capitalize on their multitude of chances.

The game was Adirondack's last visit to Blue Cross Arena this year where they finished with a record of 1-1.

Saturday, December 8 - Adirondack Phantoms 4 - Syracuse Crunch 3 (SO)

Adirondack's hard-working penalty kill held the highest scoring team in the league to 0-for-10 on the power play. In the end, that made all the difference as the Phantoms pulled off a dramatic 4-3 shootout win over the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night.

Brayden Schenn notched a pair of goals to up his team-leading count to 11. Tye McGinn tipped a power-play slapshot from Sean Couturier. And Garrett Roe deked one way to fake out Syracuse goalie Dustin Tokarski ni the shootout allowing him to push the puck in the little space between the right-skate and the post for the game-winner.

Scott Munroe was on his game as well and made some big saves. Schenn hit the cross-bar in the third period on his bid for a hat trick. Syracuse blasted an overtime shot off the crossbar by Ondrek Palat in a wide-open stretch of 3-on-3 play and then hit the post twice in the shootout.

It was Adirondack's first shootout game of the year as they became the last team in the AHL to have one. The Phantoms improved to 2-2-0 against Syracuse with both of their wins against the Crunch coming after regulation (one in overtime, one in shootout).

Sunday, December 9 - Providence Bruins 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 2 (OT)

A road-weary Phantoms team playing three games in three cities in less than 72 hours grabbed a standings point at Providence as defenseman Jeff Dimmen scored on the power-play with 5:22 remaining in regulation.

Adirondack had a couple close-calls to winning the game as well including a wrap-around try by Zac Rinaldo that was stuffed by Bruins goalie Niklas Svedberg with less than a minute to go. But Kyle MacKinnon would score in front of Scott Munroe on a quick pass from a corner tangle-up and Providence would steal the second standings point.

Jaime Tardiff scored both regulations goals for Providence while Scott Munroe otherwise stole the show with 44 saves from every direction in a fantastic performance. On one rush late in the second period, he stones Kyle Spooner on a clean breakaway and then kicked out a quick rebound try as well.

Harry Zolnierczyk and Shane Harper had breakaway chances for Adirondack among other close calls. Tye McGinn scored his second goal of the weekend on a nice give-and-go with Erik Gustafsson during a 2-on-1 rush.

The game was Adirondack's only visit to Providence this year. A contingent of fans came down from Glens Falls on the Phantoms Fun Bus all decked out in black and orange and making noise for the visiting team.

Providence will make their lone trip to Glens Falls on Friday, December 28.



Saratoga Spine Phantoms Player of the Week - Jeff Dimmen

Jeff Dimmen is the Saratoga Spine Player of the Week.

The second-year pro out of the University of Maine returned from a month-long injury and played in all three games last weekend. With a number of nice stops and clears on Saturday night's penalty kill, he helped Adirondack hold Syracuse to 0-for-10.

Then, on Sunday, he stepped up to the left-circle and buried his first goal in a Phantoms' jersey to tie the game at the Providence Bruins with just 5:22 remaining.

Dimmen spent his rookie season with the Norfolk Admirals last year winning a Calder Cup on that team's incredible run. The Colorado Springs native has been good friends with fellow Colorado natives Ben Holmstrom and Mike Testwuide since childhood.




Iron-Man Holmstrom

25 year old captain Ben Holmstrom is racking up the games as he looks to become the all-time leader in Adirondack Phantoms history. Entering this week, Holmstrom has played in 181 career games with Adirondack which included 79 out of 80 in his rookie season.

Kevin Marshall's 185 career games with the Adirondack Phantoms is the most followed closely by Jon Kalinski with 182.

Holmstrom's 36 career goals with the Adirondack Phantoms is second all-time behind only Denis Hamel who had 48. And his 89 career points are also second all-time behind Hamel who had 96.

Last year, Holmstrom became the youngest captain in Phantoms franchise history when he was named to the position at just 24 year old. Boyd Kane (now with the Hershey Bears) had been the previous youngest captain when he was 25 with the Philadelphia Phantoms.

Munroe Milestones

Scott Munroe was a standout goalie for the Phialdelphia Phantoms from 2006-09. And now he's back with the Adirondack Phantoms in 2012-13 to add to his impressive totals. His shootout win on Saturday over Syracuse gives him 71 career wins as a Phantom which is now tied with Antero Nittymaki for second place all-time in franchise history. Neil Little holds the all-time record with 177 wins. Munroe also eclipsed the 4,000 save milestone in a Phantoms jersey and now has 4,060 which is second all-time.

On Sunday afternoon, he recorded his 6,000th career save in the AHL late in the third period against Providence.



Finally a Shootout!

The Adirondack Phantoms became the last team to play a shootout game on December 8 when they pulled out a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Syracuse Crunch. The next day, the Adirondack Phantoms went to overtime again in a 3-2 loss at Providence. The Phantoms had gone to overtime just once in their first 21 games of the season and then had two more back-to-back in games #22 and #23.

The Phantoms are 1-1 in overtime decisions and 1-0 in shootouts.


Key Team Stats

- The Phantoms are 4-0-0 when leading after two periods. They are 5-3-0 when tied after two.
- Adirondack is 9-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal. The Phantoms are 1-9-0 when they do not score a PPG.
- The Phantoms are 8-1-0 when they score 3 or more goals
- The Phantoms are 2-6-0 on Fridays but are 8-5-1 on all the other days.
- Tye McGinn has scored in two straight games and has goals in three of the last four.
- Schenn has three multi-goal games this year including Adirondack's only hat trick. Tye McGinn and Harry Zolnierczyk have the only other multi-goal games.
- Jason Akeson has points in six straight games and also nine of 10 played this season.


Upcoming Opponents


Syracuse Crunch, 14-6-3 (Tampa Bay Lightning)

This is the second of three consecutive weekends in which the intra-state rivals face-off. Adirondack won 4-3 in a shootout thriller last Saturday. And next week, the Phantoms will travel to Syracuse for a game on Friday, December 21.

The Phantoms are 2-2 against the team that operated as Norfolk as last year and won the Calder Cup. Both of Adirondack's victories against the Crunch have been come after regulation (one in overtime, one in shootout). Last Saturday, a hard-working Adirondack squad killed off 10 straight power plays by the highest scoring offense in the league to set up their exciting shootout victory.

This is game 5 out of 8 in the season series between Adirondack and Syracuse.

Following the Crunch shootout loss in Glens Falls last Saturday, they were stunned at Bridgeport in a 7-2 rout. IT was the first time the team had lost consecutive decisions in their last 70 games.

Syracuse is the second most penalized team in the league (behind Bridgeport) at 25.5 minutes per game. The Phantoms are seventh at 21.6 minutes.

Record - 14-6-3
Division - 1st Place (East Division)
Arena - Onodonga County War Memorial at Oncenter
Head Coach - Jon Cooper (3rd Season)
Offense - 3.7, 1st (out of 30)
Defense - 2.7, 7th
Power Play - 16.3%, 16th
Penalty Kill - 86.4%, 5th

Cory Conacher - 10-11-21. AHL MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2011-12 with 39-41-80. Undrafted speedster out of Canisius College. Related to Hockey Hall of Famers Charlie Conacher (1929-41 mostly with Toronto), Roy Conacher (1938-1952 Boston, Chicago), Lionel Conacher (1925-37 NY Americans, Montreal Maroons).

Tyler Johnson - 15-10-25. Leads AHL in goals. Second-year pro had a tremendous rookie season with 31 goals and 37 assists. Led WHL with 53 goals for Spokane in 2010-11.

Brett Connolly - 9-11-20. Played in 68 games with the Lightning in his rookie season scoring four goals.

Mike Angeledis- 4-1-5. Captain of the Crunch and former captain of the Albany River Rats The center played for Albany for four seasons from 2006-10. Will take many of the team's key face-offs.

Riku Helenius - 6-3-0, 3.15, .873. First round pick of TB in 2006 (#15 overall). Back in the U.S. after last three seasons in Finland and Sweden. His last season in the AHL was 2008-09 with Norfolk (9-15-0, 2.72, .918)

Dustin Tokarski - 8-4-2, 2.45, .903. Went 32-11-0, .913, 2.23 last year with Norfolk in helping lead the team to the Calder Cup. Broke Michael Leighton's Admirals record for most career wins. Leighton had 75 victories.
Led the Spokane Chiefs to the 2008 Memorial Cup and was goaltender for Team Canada's fifth consecutive gold medal at 2009 World Juniors.

Jon Cooper - Was a shoe-in for Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year honors leading Norfolk to Calder Cup championship, 28-game win streak, and 45-3 finish in regular and post-season combined from February through June.



Manchester Monarchs, 11-10-3 (Los Angeles Kings)

Brayden Schenn was especially motivated on Wednesday, November 14 in the Phantoms' game in New Hampshire. The young talent was traded by Los Angeles, Manchester's parent-club, to the Philadelphia Flyers a couple summers ago. He has been teammates with more than half that team's roster with Los Angeles and Manchester. Schenn responded with his second career hat trick and Adirondack won 4-1 in the morning-game.

Phantoms head coach Terry Murray is also well-acquainted with the Manchester players and coaches having served as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings for the past four seasons.

This is Manchester's lone visit to Glens Falls this season. Adirondack leads the season series 1-0 and won the season series last year 3-1.

Record - 11-10-3
Division - Atlantic, 3rd Place
Arena - Verizon Wireless Arena
Head Coach - Mark Morris
Offense - 2.8 goals per game, 18th (out of 30)
Defense - 2.5, 5th
Power Play - 16.7%, 14th
Penalty Kill - 84,6%, 10th

Manchester features four players who won the Stanley Cup last season with the Los Angeles Kings; Dwight King, Jordan Nolan, Andrei Loktionov, Slava Voynov.

Jordan Nolan (2-3-5) is the son of Ted Nolan who played for the Adirondack Red Wings from 1979-84 playing 297 games scoring 84 goals. Ted was also head coach of the Buffalo Sabres 1995-97 and New York Islanders 2006-08. Head coach of Latvia National Team.

Stefan Legein (1-7-8) is in his second season with the Monarchs after being traded by the Flyers organization in October, 2011. Last year with Manchester he scored 14 goals in 63 games. His top season with the Phantoms came in 2009-10 in which he scored 24 goals to finish second on the team. He was initially a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007.

Brandon Kozun (7-13-20) - Leading scorer on Manchester. Third season with the Monarchs. Had 20 goals and 26 assists last year. And had 23 goals in his rookie season 2010-11.

Andrei Loktionov (5-10-15) - Native of Russia who played in 39 games with Los Angeles last year and 59 career NHL games for the 22-year-old.

Slava Voynov (5-8-13) - 8 goals with L.A. last year and 12 assists. Also played in 20 post-season games winning the Stanley Cup. 2nd round (32 overall) in 2008 by the Kings.

Martin Jones - Third year as Manchester goalie. 7-10-1, 2.47, .918. 22-year-old who last year was 18-17-2, 2.80, .919. Played in two games on 2010 Team Canada World Juniors squad.


Phantoms Roster

The Adirondack Phantoms' 25 player roster features plenty of familiarity as well as experience. 20 out of those 25 have played for the Phantoms before including 18 last year. And 10 players on the roster have played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers including nine last season. There's a lot of talent on this team including plenty of impressive NHL credentials.

The ten players on the Phantoms roster who played for the Flyers (either last season or in previous seasons) include: Marc-Andre Bourdon, Sean Couturier, Erik Gustafsson, Ben Holmstrom, Brandon Manning, Zac Rinaldo, Danny Syvret, Brayden Schenn, Eric Wellwood and Harry Zolnierczyk.

Welcome Head Coach Terry Murray

The new head coach for the Adirondack Phantoms is NHL veteran mentor Terry Murray. No coach in the history of the AHL has ever had more experience than Murray who has been at the bench for 1,012 NHL regular season games with Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington and Florida. He has posted a career record of 499-383-89-41 for a points percentage of .557 and is 19th all-time in NHL history in regular season games coached and is 18th all-time in total wins.

Murray returns to the Flyers organization for his third tour of duty as a coach. He most recently worked in the Los Angeles Kings organization, where he was the head coach from the start of the 2008-09 season through December 2011. Prior to joining the Kings, Murray was a Flyers assistant coach for four seasons from 2003-2008, working first under Ken Hitchcock and later under John Stevens.

He was the head coach of the Flyers for three seasons from 1994 through 1997, leading the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Final. He posted a record of 118-64-30 in 212 games behind the bench in Philadelphia.

UPCOMING

Friday, December 14 (7:00) - Syracuse Crunch at Adirondack Phantoms. Annual Teddy Bear Toss Night to benefit the Salvation Army. Bring your Teddy Bear donation and throw it on the ice after the Phantoms score their first goal. It will be raining Teddy Bears inside the GFCC!

Saturday, December 15 (7:00) - Manchester Monarchs at Adirondack Phantoms. Boy Scouts Night. Pregame Pasta Buffet ($12)

Monday, December 17 (7:00) - Phantoms Power Hour LIVE on Q101.7. "Best Of" show featuring some of the weirdest questions and player responses so far. Plus, Michael Cignoli of the Saratogian and Phantoms broadcast Bob Rotruck recap the weekend's action.

Wednesday, December 19 (7:00) - St. John's IceCaps at Adirondack Phantoms. Pucks and Paws. Bring your dog to the game! Also $1 hot dogs.

Friday, December 21 (7:30) - Adirondack Phantoms at Syracuse Crunch

Saturday, December 22 (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Bridgeport Sound Tigers

December 23-26 - Holiday Break for the Team

Phantoms Have You Covered

We have all the latest interviews, game-recaps, videos and more. Make sure you're keeping up! Follow the Phantoms and join our online communities on facebook.com/adkhockey and on twitter @phantomshockey. And, of course, check in frequently at our official team website at phantomshockey.com

Phantoms Holiday Packs
Get a game-worn Phantoms hockey sock, perfect for hanging over your fireplace. It's the best Christmas gift around for your favorite hockey fan. They're stuffed with four Phantoms tickets, a game program and your choice of an autographed puck or a hockey scarf. Packages are only $49 or $59. They're a great value! Call the Phantoms to order yours at 518-480-3355 or stop by the merchandise stand at your next Phantoms home game. Supplies are limited. Get yours soon.