POINT TAKEN

Albany Nips Phantoms 3-2 In Overtime

ALBANY, NY – Stefan Ruzicka forced overtime with a goal with 20.3 seconds remaining in regulation, but Jerome Samson trumped him 2:13 into overtime with his second goal of the night to give the Albany River Rats the extra standings point and a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms at the Times Union Center on Saturday night.

The Phantoms jumped on the board first in the second period after a scoreless opening stanza. Triston Grant fired a puck from the left circle and goaltender Michael Leighton stopped it, but Grant executed solid basketball fundamentals by alertly following his own shot. He buried his own rebound for the 1-0 lead.

Samson’s first goal tied the game at 1-1 near the game’s halfway point. It was a power play goal that came on a deflection of a Noah Babin shot from the left circle. The altered path sent the puck past Brian Boucher with 9:37 remaining in the frame.

Albany took a 2-1 lead with just 2:27 to play. Brandon Nolan swept behind the Phantoms net and wrapped a puck around through the crease. Jamie Johnson was on hand to knock it home and put Philadelphia’s back to the wall.

But it set the stage for Ruzicka’s dramatic goal. Philadelphia was enjoying a 6-on-4 advantage with Boucher on the bench and Albany’s Joey Momina in the penalty box. Jared Ross was in the right circle and slid the puck across to the left circle for Ruzicka, who beat Leighton with a one-timer.

But in the overtime session, the one and only shot went to Albany. A puck that had been chipped out of the River Rats zone hit a linesman’s skate and ended up right on the stick of Samson. He went down the ice on a two-on-one and ended up shooting himself, beating Boucher with a perfectly placed puck in the upper left corner.

Boucher absorbed the loss with 26 saves, including a penalty shot denial in the second period. Leighton took the win with 35 saves on 37 Philadelphia bids.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Phantoms, but despite that, they have picked up nine of a possible 10 points in their last five games and three of the four possible points on the weekend trip. Their record sits at 35-17-2-2 for 74 points, 11 ahead of the second-place Hershey Bears.

The Phantoms return to the Wachovia Spectrum for a President’s Day special on Monday, February 18 at 4:05 PM against the same River Rats. The Phantoms will wear special President’s Day-themed jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game. Tickets are available at the Wachovia Complex box office, online at ComcastTIX.com or phantomshockey.com, or by phone at 1-800-298-4200.

Saturday, February 16, 2008