December 18, 2012

This Week's Games

Wednesday, December 19 (7:00) - St. John's IceCaps at Adirondack Phantoms
Friday, December 21 (7:30) - Adirondack Phantoms at Syracuse Crunch
Saturday, December 22 (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Last Week's Scores

Friday, December 14 - Syracuse Crunch 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 0
Saturday, December 15 - Manchester Monarchs 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 2


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

Goalies W-L-SOL GAA SVS
Scott Munroe 7-7-0 2.58 .918
Cal Heeter 3-8-0 3.24 .890

Stats Breakdown

Record - 10-14-1
Offense - 2.4 goals per game, 25th (out of 30)
Defense - 3.0, 17th
Power Play - 15.4%, 20th
Penalty Kill - 85.7%, 7th
Shots - 32.2, 7th
Shots allowed - 30.6, 15th


Coming Up

Happy Holidays, Phantoms fans!

The Adirondack Phantoms have three more games before the holiday break including a home game on Wednesday night against St. John's on Pucks and Paws Night. Fans are allowed to bring their pets to the game and will have a specially designated section just for them. Also, $1 hot dogs on Wednesday home games.

The game concludes a three-game homestand for the Phantoms and is also the end of a busy stretch of games in Glens Falls with Adirondack having played 10 out of 12 games at home.

Friday and Saturday nights, the Phantoms travel to Syracuse and Bridgeport for a weekend road-trip.

After that, it's homeward-bound for many of the players as they enjoy a quick holiday break for a few days with family and friends as is done for all the teams in the AHL.


Upcoming Promos

Wednesday, December 19 vs. St. John's IceCaps -
Pucks and Paws! Who let the dogs out? We did! Bring your pets and enjoy a Phantoms game with your four-legged friend. Owners and their dogs should please use the Glen Street entrance. Also, $1 hot dogs.



Friday, December 28 vs. Providence Bruins -
First game back from the Holiday Break. It's the only Glens Falls visit this season for the "Baby Bruins." $2 Draft Beer Specials. Pre-game All American Buffet in Heritage Hall for only $12 (Grilled cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries, salad, etc)

Monday, December 31 (3:00) vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers -
An Adirondack Hockey Tradition: New Year's Eve Home Game. And the Phantoms will be all decked out for their last game of 2012 with special Orange Tuxedo Jerseys. The specialty jerseys will be auctioned to the fans immediately after the game. So get ready to bid and try to win yourself a game-worn Phantoms specialty jersey on the last day of the year. And Happy New Year!!!!




Ebay Jersey Auction

Running on Ebay through this Friday at noon, bid on your favorite Adirondack game-worn jerseys now! All of your favorite Phantoms players this year are included. Don't forget, the bidding ends this Friday. Good luck!




Holiday Packs

Perfect for hanging on your fireplace, 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. This is your last chance. Purchase before the weekend. Call the Phantoms to order the perfect gift for your favorite hockey fan at 518-480-3355.

Phantoms Week in Review

Friday, December 14 - Syracuse Crunch 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 0

The Teddy Bears and the punches went flying. The top team in the Eastern Conference pulled out a 3-0 victory in Glens Falls on Friday night after capitalizing on a couple opportunities in the second period. Adirondack had some of their best play in the first period and many golden opportunities but were unable to break Crunch goalie Riku Helenius who secured his second shutout of the season.

The fans all got together to shower the ice with hundreds of Teddy Bears in the annual event to benefit the Salvation Army. Once again, there was no love lost between the rivals as several fights broke out including Jason Akeson's first bout as a pro and Zac Rinaldo's first fight of the year.

Adirondack is 2-3-0 against the Syracuse team that won the Calder Cup championship last year when operating as the Norfolk Admirals. It was just the second time this year Adirondack has been shutout and their first time at home.





Saturday, December 15 - Manchester Monarchs 3 - Adirondack Phantoms 2

Adirondack built a 2-1 lead through the first two periods on goals by Mike Testwuide and Tyler Brown. And they maintained that lead with 13 minutes remaining.

But Los Angeles Kings first-rounder Tanner Pearson tied the game with a rebound in the slot and Stanley Cup winner Slava Voynov's shot from the right point somehow squirmed and bounced it's way through traffic with less than four minutes remaining for the game-winner.

Both of the comeback goals for Manchester developed from shots from way out at the point. It was the first time this season the Phantoms lost the game when leading at the second intermission.

Testwuide's goal was an absolute beauty on a big-time slapshot from the left-wing wall following a dish from defenseman Jeff Dimmen. Testwuide's blast went off the underside of the netting on the far-side past Manchester goalie Peter Mannino beating him above the glove-hand.

Testwuide almost was credited with the second goal as well on a possible chip of a Danny Syvret slapshot but the goal was eventually credited to Tyler Brown.

"Big Mike" was inserted into the lineup as a center for the first time in his career.

The highlight of the game was probably Zac Rinaldo's early fight with Manchester's Richard Clune in the opening minute of the game that sparked the team and the crowd. After Clune's big hit on Adirondack rookie defenseman Matt Konan, Rinaldo went after the Monarchs' tough-guy with a wild flurry of punches and then turned to the fans with arms raised in a request for even more noise.

Lots of kids at the game enjoyed the festivities of Boy Scout Night that included games on the ice after the game, movies on the video-board, and a ton of fun.




Saratoga Spine Phantoms Player of the Week - Mike Testwuide

Mike Testwuide is the Saratoga Spine Player of the Week.

The third-year Phantom from Colorado College burst into the lineup Saturday night to score a big goal as well as a close-call on the Phantoms' second tally. He was also surprisingly playing at center for the first time in his career.

Testwuide had 18 goals in his rookie season, 2010-11. He then had 12 more goals for Adirondack last year.

His slapshot goal on Saturday night against Manchester as well as his play away from the puck impressed head coach Terry Murray.

"That was a great play. That was a great shot" Murray raved. "He got a play from Dimmen, walks in, gets his head up, and picked the far corner. It was an NHL shot. He put a lot behind it and it was nice to see him get that kind of a look." Murray then continued, "He gets his opportunity and he came out there big-time tonight. Not only scoring but used his size, strength, moved the puck well, held onto the puck. I like what he gave us."





Iron-Man Holmstrom

25 year old captain Ben Holmstrom is currently out with injury. But he has also been racking up the games as he looks to become the all-time leader in Adirondack Phantoms history. 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 December 9, he recorded his 6,000th career save in the AHL late in the third period against Providence.

Key Team Stats

- The Phantoms are 4-1-0 when leading after two periods. They are 5-3-0 when tied after two.
- Adirondack is 9-4-1 when they score at least one power play goal. The Phantoms are 1-10-0 when they do not score a PPG.
- The Phantoms are 8-1-0 when they score 3 or more goals
- The Phantoms are 8-6-1 on all "non-Fridays."
- The Phantoms are 1-1 in overtimes and are 1-0 in shootouts for a combined 2-1 in games decided after regulation.
- 6 of the Phantoms wins have come when they have held the opponents to 0 or 1 goals.


Upcoming Opponents

St. John's IceCaps, 9-9-1 (Winnipeg Jets)

It's the last game of the regular season series between the Phantoms and IceCaps. St. John's leads the series 2 games to 1. In their last encounter on November 28, Adirondack's late comeback effort just missed. Rob Bordson had made it 3-2 with less than five minutes remaining and then Sean Couturier hit the post later on as St. John's held on. The IceCaps scored goals 10 seconds apart earlier in the period to break a 1-1 tie in what had been a fantastic goaltenders' duel up to that point.

The Phantoms' first ever trip to St. John's on October 19-20 resulted in a weekend split with a pair of exciting one-goal games on opening weekend up on "The Rock."

Coach Keith McCambridge features a lot of veteran experience on his team. St. John's won the Atlantic Division last season in their first year back in the AHL and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Norfolk Admirals.

St. John's is packed with veterans and experience and is one of the more veteran-infused teams in the AHL.

The former St. John's Maple Leafs played in the AHL from 1991-2004 before moving to Toronto to become the Marlies. The Adirondack Red Wings defeated the Maple Leafs in seven games to win the 1992 Calder Cup.

Record - 13-14-1
Division - 5th place (Atlantic Division)
Head Coach - Keith McCambridge
Offense - 2.4, 29th (out of 30)
Defense - 2.7, 11th
Power Play - 16.2%, 14th
Penalty Kill - 81.7%, 21st

Spencer Machacek - 6-9-15. Leading scorer on the IceCaps. 3rd round pick of ATL from Vancouver (WHL). 5th season with Atlanta/Winnipeg AHL club with 94 career goals playing for the Chicago Wolves and St. John's.

Jason Jaffray - 3-9-12. 31 year old who has played in AHL since 2003-04 mostly with Manitoba.

Alex Burmistrov - 2-9-11. Russia native who was the #8 overall pick in 2010 by Atlanta Thrashers. 13 goals, 15 assists last year with Winnipeg as a rookie.

Ivan Telegin - 3-5-8. 4th round, Atlanta, 2009. Rookie who played with Russia in World Juniors championship.

Dean Aresene - 0-5-5. Over 500 AHL games. Was with Hershey from 2004-09 and then Peoria and Portland last couple seasons.

Zach Redmond - 7-7-14. Tied for team-lead in goals. 8-23-31 with St. John's as rookie last year.

Max Macenaur - 6-5-11. Acquired from Anaheim in trade last Feb. Last year played with Syracuse.

Eddie Pasquale - 7-8-1, 2.42, .905. 22 years old. Round 4, 2009, ATL.

Syracuse Crunch, 17-6-3 (Tampa Bay Lightning)

This is the third of three consecutive weekends in which the intra-state rivals face-off. The rivalry this month is even at 1-1. The Phantoms won a thriller over the Crunch on December in a shootout 4-3 in Glens Falls. Then the Crunch returned to the North Country last weekend and pulled out a 3-0 win.

The Syracuse power play is 0-for-16 against the Phantoms this month.

Adirondack is 2-3-0 against the team that operated as Norfolk last year and won the Calder Cup.

This is game 6 out of 8 in the season series between Adirondack and Syracuse. There are only two more games remaining in the regular season series; February 8 at Syracuse and then February 10 in Glens Falls.

The Crunch are in first place in the Eastern Conference and are currently riding a 3-game win streak.

Syracuse is the most penalized team in the league at 26.2 minutes per game while the Phantoms are 4th (out of 30) at 22.6 minutes. The series this year has seen a number of fights and big hits.

Record - 17-6-3
Division - 1st Place (East Division)
Arena - Onodonga County War Memorial at Oncenter
Head Coach - Jon Cooper (3rd Season)
Offense - 3.65, 1st (out of 30)
Defense - 2.7, 8th
Power Play - 15.9%, 15th
Penalty Kill - 86.6%, 5th

Cory Conacher - 10-12-22. 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 - 16-11-27. 2nd AHL and 1st in Eastern Conference in goals. 4th in AHL in points 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 - 12-11-23. Played in 68 games with the Lightning in his rookie season scoring four goals.

Mike Angeledis- 4-3-7. 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 - 7-3-0, 2.83, .884. Had shutout of ADK on Dec 15. 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 - 10-4-2, 2.33, .907. Last yr 32-11-0, .913, 2.23 with Norfolk helping lead the team to Calder Cup. Broke Michael Leighton's Norfolk record for most career wins. Leighton had 75 victories, Tokarski, 81.
Led Spokane to 2008 Memorial Cup. Played on Team Canada fifth consecutive gold 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.


Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 10-4-0 (New York Islanders)

It's game number 2 out of 6 this season between the Phantoms and the Sound Tigers and it is Adirondack's first visit to Webster Bank Arena this year.

Bridgeport is only about 30 minutes away from Newtown, CT. The Sound Tigers have announced that they will be honoring Sandy Hook elementary for the rest for the season with a commemorative green ribbon on their jerseys as well as a helmet sticker. In addition, a graphic with the initials "S.H.E.S" and the date "12.14.12" will be painted into the ice behind each goal.

The Sound Tigers team have been especially streaky this season. They began with a 10-4-0 record. Then they proceeded to drop eight in a row in a streak that began in Glens Falls with a 5-1 loss on November 21. But since then, they have gone 2-0-2 in their last four including an impressive 7-2 victory over Syracuse last week.

In Adirondack's impressive win over the Sound Tigers a month ago on Thanksgiving Eve, Jason Akeson led the way with three assists as five different Phantoms lit the lamp on losing goalie Kevin Poulin.

The game is the last one for the Phantoms before the Holiday Break. But it won't be long after the break for the two teams to see each other again as Bridgeport travels to Glens Falls for the traditional New Years' Eve game at Adirondack.

Record - 12-11-3
Division - Northeast, Second Place
Head Coach - Scott Pellerin
Offense - 3.0 goals per game, 11th (out of 30)
Defense - 3.4, 29th
Power Play - 15.4%, 20th
Penalty Kill - 85.7%, 7th

Head Coach Scott Pellerin - 1992 Hobey Baker Award winner from the University of Maine might be remembered by long-time fans in the area when he played for the Albany River Rats for three seasons including on their Calder Cup Championship team in 1995. He also played in 536 career NHL games mostly with New Jersey and St. Louis. In first season as AHL head coach after serving as an assistant coach with Manchester for six years.

Kevin Poulin (6-3-0, 2.99, .905) and Anders Nilsson (4-0-0, 1.75, .935) are back between the pipes.

Nino Niederreiter - 13-14-27. 6th in AHL in goals and 4th in points. 19 year old Swiss prospect. 5th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft while Adirondack's Brayden Schenn was the fifth overall selection in the 2009 draft (by the Los Angeles Kings). 55 games with Islanders last year scoring 1 goal. 41 goals with Portland (WHL) in 2010-11.

Brock Nelson, 11-11-22. Another 2010 first-rounder (30th overall). Joined the team last season out of the University of North Dakota.

Aaron Ness, 0-12-12. In second full season with Bridgeport. Second-round pick in 2008 out of the University of Minnesota.

Kevin Poulin, 6-5-2, 3.24, .903. Round 5, 2008 (Victoriaville, QMJHL). 22 year old from Montreal who had solid numbers in first full AHL season (after sporadic time in 2010-11 with BRI and NYI. Last year, 26-18-4, 2.79, .912. Had three straight shutouts in January, 2012 with 221:54 shutout streak which is now third-longest in AHL history (Barry Brust, Abbotsford 2012 and Johnny Bower, Cleveland 1957)

Anders Nilsson, 6-6-0, 3.03, .898. Big 6'5" 22-year-old from Sweden. 2nd season in North America. Last year was 15-8-2, 2.42, .921. Posted a spectacular 37-save effort in 2-1 win at Adirondack on January 21, 2012.

UPCOMING

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

Friday, December 28 (7:00) - Providence Bruins at Adirondack Phantoms. Only Glens Falls appearance for the "Baby Bruins." $2 Draft Beer Specials.

Saturday, December 29 (7:00) - Adirondack Phantoms at Portland Pirates (at Lewiston, Maine).

Monday, December 31 (3:00) - Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Adirondack Phantoms. Traditional New Year's Eve Game in Glens Falls. Specialty Orange Tuxedo Jerseys. Post-Game Jersey Auction with the players live after the game. Happy New Year!!

Phantoms Have You Covered

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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.