TODAY'S GAME – The Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) host the Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes) in today’s President’s Day afternoon special. The two teams are wrapping up a home-and-home series that began Saturday with a 3-2 overtime win for the River Rats at Albany’s Times Union Center. The Phantoms are unbeaten in their last give games, with nine of a possible 10 points collected during the span. They are in first place in the East Division with a record of 35-17-2-2 for 74 points, which provides them with an 11-point cushion over second-place Hershey. Albany is 28-23-0-3 for 59 points, which slots them in a three-way tie with Bridgeport and Binghamton for the East Division’s final playoff spot. Tiebreakers officially put Albany in fifth place heading into today’s action. The Phantoms are wearing special jerseys today with a President’s Day theme. The jerseys will be auctioned off following the game in Bullies, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Comcast-Spectacor Foundation.
PHANTOMS/RATS LAST GAME – In the first half of this home and home series Saturday night, Stefan Ruzicka forced overtime 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 Albany the extra standings point and a 3-2 win over the Phantoms at the Times Union Center. The Phantoms jumped on the board first in the second period after a scoreless opening stanza when Triston Grant followed his own shot and beat Michael Leighton off a rebound for the 1-0 lead. Samson’s first goal tied the game at 1-1 near the game’s halfway point, a power play goal that came on a deflection of a Noah Babin shot from the left circle. Albany took a 2-1 lead with just 2:27 to play in the third. Brandon Nolan swept behind the Phantoms net and wrapped a puck around through the crease, where Jamie Johnson was on hand to knock it home and put Philadelphia’s back to the wall. It set the stage for Ruzicka’s dramatic goal which came during 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.
ALL-TIME - This is the 937th regular season game in Phantoms franchise history. Philadelphia has an all-time record of 483-331-38-19 and 65 ties. The Phantoms have 1088 points in 936 games.
THE SERIES – The Phantoms are 3-1-1-0 against the Rats this season. The Phantoms took the first game 3-0 on October 12 on the strength of a 37 save shutout from Brian Boucher. A month later the Purple took a 2-1 win to the bank. The lone regulation win for the Rats thus far in the season series came on December 29 in New York. Jesse Boulerice scored the only goal in a 3-1 final. Freddy Cabana scored twice on John Grahame in a 4-2 Philly win at Albany on January 5. The Phantoms lost in OT on Saturday night 3-2. The Phantoms all-time regular season record against the Rats is 29-18-2-0 with four ties.
PHANTOM FILES – Kyle Greentree was returned to the Phantoms yesterday after spending a week with the Flyers. He appeared in two games and was a healthy scratch for a third. In conjunction with Greentree’s return, Denis Tolpeko was recalled by the Flyers for last night’s game against Montreal. Tolpeko was injured in the game and will be unavailable for seven to 10 days. Former Phantoms enforcer Riley Cote recorded his first NHL goal in the 5-3 loss to the Canadiens---Alexandre Picard has points in three straight (0/4/4) and six out of his last seven (2/6/8). Through 50 games he has eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points (8/27/35) which ranks sixth-best among AHL defensemen---Stefan Ruzicka has points in five straight, farming three goals and four assists during that time: 5(3/4/7). With 35 points on 14 goals and 21 assists in 40 games, Ruzicka is tied with Picard for third in scoring on the team---The Phantoms power play is ranked 5th in the AHL at 20.3%. They have scored power play goals in three straight and are 4-13 during that time. Philadelphia’s penalty kill is ranked 4th at 85.3 %. Opponents are one of their last 19 on the PP against the Phantoms---The Purple have given up one first period goal in their last five games. They are outscoring their opponents by a total of 48-47 in the first period this season. Second period shows a 58-44 advantage and a 55-46 third period advantage. Overall, the Phantoms are outscoring their opponents 169-141---The Phantoms are 20-4-1-2 when scoring first this season.
RATATOUILLE – The Rats are 28-23-0-3. They are 16-11-0-2 at home and 12-12-0-1 on the road. Brandon Nolan is the leading active scorer for the club at home and on the road. At the Times Union Center he has 30 points on 16 goals and 14 assists in 25 games: 25(16/14/30). In 20 road games, he has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points: 20(7/11/18). He is also the team’s overall leader with 48 points on 23 goals and 25 assists in 45 games: 45(23/25/48)---The Albany power play is ranked 14th in the AHL at 16.2%. The penalty kill is 10th, clicking 83.9% of the time.
ON THE AIR – Thanks to the Philadelphia Area Dodge Dealers, the Phantoms are providing free audio broadcasts of all Phantoms games 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 handles the play-by-play.
NEXT GAME – The Phantoms begin another home-and-home series on Friday when they host the Hershey Bears at 7:05 at the Wachovia Spectrum. The first 5,000 kids 14 and under will receive Phantoms t-shirt jerseys courtesy of Comcast.
