PHILADELPHIA PHANTOMS vs. WILKES-BARRE/ SCRANTON PENGUINS

Wachovia Spectrum
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

TONIGHT'S GAME – Today, the 13-1-1-0 Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) welcome the 6-6-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins). With 27 points, the Phantoms lead the American Hockey League. The Pens have 12 points and are slotted in fifth in the East Division.

PHANTOMS LAST GAME – Last Sunday at home, the Phantoms took a 1-0 deficit into the third period and came away with a 2-1 win over the Albany River Rats. They fired 47 shots on the Albany cage and came up with red lights on a deflection from Boyd Kane and a right wing blast from Ryan Potulny. Scott Munroe earned his fourth straight win with 19 saves.

PENGUINS LAST GAME – The Pens are coming off a 4-2 Saturday night loss to the Springfield Falcons. The home team scored the first four goals in the game before the Penguins salvaged a pair in the third.

ALL-TIME - This is the 896th regular season game in Phantoms franchise history. Philadelphia has an all-time record of 461-315-37-17 and 65 ties. The Phantoms have 1041 points in 895 games.

THE SERIES – It’s the fourth meeting between the two clubs, and the Phantoms have won all three games so far. On October 7 here at the Spectrum, the Phantoms won 4-1 on the strength of three power play goals. On October 13 the Phantoms took their show up the Northeast Extension and bagged a 3-2 win. The following night in Philly, Stefan Ruzicka and Darren Reid each scored twice in a 5-2 win. The Phantoms went 4-10 on the power play in that game. Scott Munroe won that game by making 23 saves. Brian Boucher earned the other decisions--- In 85 games all-time against the Pens, the Phantoms are 44-35-3-2-1 (W-L-T-OTL-SOL).

PHANTOM FILES – On Monday the American Hockey League announced that Phantoms center Ryan Potulny was named the Rbk/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 11, 2007. Potulny returned from injury this past weekend to carry the Phantoms to three wins, scoring three game-winning goals to help the Phantoms push their team-record start to an AHL-best 13-1-1 through 15 games. On Friday night, Potulny registered a natural hat trick that began with less than two minutes to play in regulation and ended 2:11 into overtime, turning an impending 2-0 loss to Bridgeport into a 3-2 overtime win. He scored the team’s first goal of the game with 1:43 remaining in regulation, tied the game with 18 seconds left and then posted the game-winning goal in the extra session. It’s the fastest three goals by a single player in Phantoms history at 3:54, eclipsing the three goals in 4:10 scored by Jason Zent in a 4-1 win over Albany on November 6, 1998 at the Spectrum. On Saturday night, Potulny’s power play marker 3:30 into the game was the game-winning goal in a 2-0 decision over Binghamton. Potulny figured in both Phantoms goals on Sunday, scoring the game-winner once again with 11:01 remaining in the third period to give the Phantoms a 2-1 win over Albany. Potulny had a total of five goals and an assist for six points on the weekend. He now has a personal six-game overall scoring streak and a four-game goal streak, both of which date back to mid-October and were interrupted by a one-game Flyers call-up and six games lost to injury. Also, all three of Potulny’s game-winning goals were set up by rookie Steve Downie. The two were playing on a line together for the first time this season. Potulny’s natural hat trick was the Phantoms second of the season and sixth all-time. Jared Ross scored three consecutive goals on October 27 against Springfield. Potulny’s trick was his first as a Phantom and was Philadelphia’s 34th all-time

PENS WITHOUT INK – The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned goaltender John Curry to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Tuesday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also released goaltender Karl Goehring from his professional tryout contract. Curry most recently competed for the United States National Team at the Deutschland Cup in Hannover, Germany, where he posted a 1-0-1 record, a 1.92 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. Curry led Team USA to a 3-2 win over host Germany on November 8, making 36 saves and earning player of the game accolades. He also backstopped the Americans during a 3-2 shootout loss to Switzerland in the championship game, where he made 34 saves on 36 shots during regulation and overtime. The 23-year old native of Shorewood, MN, began the season with the Penguins, but did not appear in a game with the club. He was loaned to the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL on October 18, and posted a 4-1-0 record with a 2.81 goals against average and .905 save percentage in six games with the Wranglers. Goehring, 29, appeared in two games with the Penguins, going 0-1-0 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. He was signed to a PTO on October 2.

ON THE AIR – Expanding on an already premium partnership, the Philadelphia Phantoms have partnered with the Philadelphia Area Dodge Dealers to provide free audio broadcasts of all Phantoms games home and away this season. It is the first time in the team's 12-year history that fans have the opportunity to enjoy audio broadcasts for all 80 of the Phantoms regular season games plus playoffs. The Phantoms official website, Phantomshockey.com, in conjunction with league and team partner B2 Networks, provides the home for the audio. Broadcaster Mike Thornton will handle the play-by-play. In addition to the games, Dodge will also bring the ever-popular Coaches Corner to fans on Phantomshockey.com. New editions of the weekly sit-down with Phantoms head coach Craig Berube are posted to the site every Tuesday.

NEXT GAME – The Binghamton Senators will invade the Spectrum on Friday night, the only game of the weekend for the Phantoms. The Phantoms have won nine consecutive games against Binghamton dating back to last season, including a win last Saturday when Philadelphia took a 2-0 shutout victory thanks to an 18-save effort by Scott Munroe. The Senators will head into the game having not scored a goal in three consecutive contests. Former Flyers and Phantoms winger Niko Dimitrakos has four goals and two assists for six points in eight games for the Senators.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007