TODAY’S GAME – The Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) welcome the Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes) to the Wachovia Center for Game 6 of a best of seven series in the AHL’s East Division Semifinals. The Phantoms hold a 3-2 lead in the series following Thursday night’s 3-2, five-overtime win in Game 5 at the Times Union Center in Albany, and can advance to the East Division Finals with a win today. The winner of this series will meet the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the next round. The Pens finished off the Hershey Bears last night with a 7-4 victory at Wilkes-Barre’s Wachovia Arena, winning their East Division Semifinal series 4 games to 1.
REGULAR SEASON – The Phantoms finished in second place in the East Division with a record of 46-27-4-3 and 99 points. They increased their win total from a season ago by 14 and upped the point total by 29. Both are the greatest single-season improvements in Phantoms history. The Phantoms are back in the post season for the first time since winning the Calder Cup in 2005---The Rats finished in third place in the East Division with 93 points and a 43-30-3-4 record. After missing the playoffs for six consecutive seasons as the affiliate for the New Jersey Devils, the Rats are in the playoffs for the second straight season under the Carolina Hurricanes banner. The Rats were defeated by Hershey four games to one in last year’s East Division Semifinals.
REGULAR SEASON SERIES – The Phantoms and River Rats played an eight-game series during the 2007-08 regular season. Philadelphia went 5-2-1-0 in the series, winning the first two before the teams alternated the rest of the way. One of the losses came in overtime. Philadelphia shut out Albany on two occasions – the since-departed Brian Boucher won 3-0 on October 12, and Scott Munroe won 2-0 on February 18. The Phantoms were 4-0-0-0 at home against the Rats and 1-2-1-0 in Albany---The Phantoms leading scorer in the series was Jared Ross, harvesting five points on a goal and four assists in seven games: 7(1/4/5). Munroe went 3-1 in the series and had a 1.26 goals against average and a .951 save percentage. The Phantoms went 7-41 (17.1%) on the power play in the series---Jerome Samson was the leading point-getter for the Rats in the regular season series, nabbing four points on three goals and a helper in eight contests: 8(3/1/4). Michael Leighton was 3-2 with a 1.80 GAA and a .943 save percentage. The Rats went 4-52 (7.7%)on the PP in the series. Total goals: PHI-18, ALB-13. Total Shots: PHI-236, ALB-230---The Phantoms all-time regular season record against Albany is 31-19-2-0 with four ties---The Phantoms have faced Albany just once before in the postseason, defeating the River Rats four games to two in the 1998 Western Conference Finals en route to their first Calder Cup championship.
2007-08 SEASON SERIES RESULTS
Friday, October 12: Albany 0 at Philadelphia 3
Sunday, November 11: Albany 1 at Philadelphia 2
Saturday, December 29: Philadelphia 1 at Albany 3
Saturday, January 5: Philadelphia 4 at Albany 2
Saturday, February 16: Philadelphia 2 at Albany 3, OT
Monday, February 18: Albany 0 at Philadelphia 2
Sunday, March 2: Philadelphia 1 at Albany 2
Sunday, April 13: Albany 2 at Philadelphia 3
PHANTOMS PLAYOFFS – EAST DIVISION SEMIFINALS.
Game 1: Wednesday, April 16 – Phantoms 0 at Albany 4
RECAP: Despite outshooting the Rats 18-7 in the first period, it was the Rats that came away with a 1-0 lead. Jakub Petruzalek was sprung from the penalty box on a breakaway and scored at the 7:20 mark. Jerome Samson and Bryan Rodney made good in the second, with the Samson goal coming on the power play. Former Phantom Marc Cavosie also scored with the extra skater in the third for the 4-0 final. Michael Leighton made 39 saves, while Scott Munroe was ticketed with the 21-save loss. The Phantoms were the only team in the AHL not to be shut out during the regular season, while Leighton topped all AHL backstops with seven. The game spilled over in the final minute with several fights talking place on the ice. After a review, it was noted that the Albany River Rats had three extra skaters in a skirmish. Tim Conboy was ruled to have departed the players’ bench during the altercation and was tagged with additional supplementary discipline. The AHL suspended him for eight games.
Game 2: Friday, April 18 – Albany 0 at Phantoms 3
RECAP: Jared Ross scored the Phantoms first goal of the playoffs at 13:27 of the second, ending Michael Leighton’s shutout sequence at 93:27. The goal came on the power play as Stefan Ruzicka led the Phantoms leading scorer in the regular season into the Albany zone. With just 12.9 seconds remaining in the period, Pete Zingoni made it 2-0. With a faceoff in the Albany zone, Ryan Potulny forced the puck off the draw at Leighton. Instead the puck was grabbed by his defenseman and then stolen by Zingoni. He deposited a low, off-balance 15-footer into the net. Boyd Kane added an empty-netter for the 3-0 final. Scott Munroe was steady in net for the Phantoms, making 18 saves in the shutout. Philly outgunned the Rats 40-18.
Game 3: Friday, April 18 – Albany 4 at Phantoms 1
RECAP: The Phantoms put 39 shots on Michael Leighton for the third consecutive game, but Leighton was up to the task in stopping 38 of them to anchor a 4-1 win for the River Rats. Albany benefited from two Bryan Rodney goals, one on the power play 4:56 into the game. Rodney collected a puck off a draw in the Phantoms end, carried into the high slot and fired a wrist shot through a Phantoms defenseman and past Scott Munroe’s gloved hand for the 1-0 advantage. The lead became 2-0 just over 2 ½ minutes later. Brett Carson was on the right point and sent the puck through traffic, past a screen and over Munroe’s right shoulder into the extreme upper right corner of the net. The goal came at the 7:39 mark. Late in the period, Albany jumped ahead 3-0j when Rodney took a puck at the top of the left circle, closed in and put a shot through traffic and past Munroe low with 2:50 to play in the first. There was no further scoring until the Phantoms finally jumped on the board with 4:07 to play. Philadelphia was on a power play when Pete Zingoni shoved a loose puck past Leighton, trimming the lead to 3-1. But Joe Jensen later finished up the scoring with a goal that came with 1:26 remaining. Leighton took the win and first star honors with his 38 saves, while Munroe made 21 saves in absorbing the loss.
Game 4: Tuesday, April 22 – Phantoms 2 at Albany 1
RECAP: Kyle Greentree scored the game-winning goal during a second-period power play and Scott Munroe made 30 saves to give the Phantoms a 2-1 win. The teams traded goals in the game’s early stages. After a boarding penalty to Ryan Potulny just 30 seconds into the contest, the River Rats opened the scoring with a power play marker exactly two minutes in. Jakub Petruzalek grabbed the rebound of a David Cornacchia shot and beat Munroe for the one and only time on the evening. But the Phantoms answered just 20 seconds later. Rory Fitzpatrick took a shot from the point that pinballed off bodies, the last being that of Jonathan Matsumoto, and then past Albany goaltender Michael Leighton, leveling the score at 1-1. It stayed that way until the 5:20 mark of the second period. Greentree was to the right post and put home the rebound of Denis Gauthier’s bid from the point. The Phantoms were out-shot for the first time in the series, including 15-3 in the third period, but Munroe stood strong throughout the stanza. Leighton took the loss with 24 saves on the night.
Game 5: Thursday, April 24 – Phantoms 3 at Albany 2 (5 OT)
RECAP: Ryan Potulny scored at 2:58 of the fifth overtime to give the Phantoms a 3-2 win over the River Rats in Game 5 of the East Division Semifinals at the Times Union Center. The game was the longest in the history of the American Hockey League at 142 minutes, 58 seconds. Potulny’s game-winner came at 12:39 AM on Philadelphia’s 101st shot of the game. Defenseman Michael Ratchuk carried a puck across the Albany blue line and cut into the right-wing circle before dropping a pass into the slot. Potulny snapped the puck past the stick side of Albany goaltender Michael Leighton to set off a wild celebration near the Phantoms bench. Regulation concluded at a 2-2 deadlock. The Rats scored first for the fourth consecutive game, recording a goal 2:57 into the second period after a scoreless first stanza. It was two former Phantoms hooking up to burn their former club, as Marc Cavosie put a shot on net that Scott Munroe stopped, but the rebound came to Kiel McLeod for the putback and the 1-0 lead. Ross recorded the first shorthanded marker of the series at the 7:41 mark. He carried a puck down the right side and tried to center to Boyd Kane, but it hit a defenseman and went in on Leighton. Persistence paid off for Ross, as he poked at the loose puck and pushed it over the line for the 1-1 tie. Albany struck again on the power play with 2:46 remaining in the middle period when McLeod deflected a Brett Carson shot past Munroe while stationed in the high slot. It gave the River Rats a 2-1 lead heading into the final period. But the Phantoms equalized with Ross’s second goal of the night with 4:47 left to play in the third period. Kane was on the right boards and sent a puck in front for Ross, who had one hand on the stick when he reached out and touched it past Leighton to tie things at twos. The teams then proceeded to battle for 80 scoreless minutes, playing through four overtimes without a goal. Philadelphia outshot Albany 101-67 on the game, generating 63 shots in the overtime periods alone after putting 38 shots on Leighton in regulation. Leighton, who is the reigning AHL Goaltender of the Year, made an incredible 98 saves. Munroe, meanwhile, stopped 65 of 67 shots – including all 35 he saw in the overtime sessions. The new AHL record of 142:58 eclipses the previous record of 134:56 (74:56 of overtime) set on May 30, 2003 when Hamilton beat Houston 2-1. This game featured 82:58 of extra play. On the time of day clock, the game took five hours and 38 minutes. The 101 Philadelphia shots and 98 saves for Leighton also are unofficial league records, but the 101 shots are an official Phantoms franchise record, obliterating the old mark of 64 shots.
Game 6: Saturday, April 26 – Albany at Phantoms (Wachovia Center), 1:05 PM
Game 7: Tuesday, April 29 – Albany at Phantoms (Wachovia Center), 7:05 PM*
* – if necessary
ON THE AIR – Thanks to the Philadelphia Area Dodge Dealers, the Phantoms provide free audio broadcasts of all Phantoms games. The Phantoms official website, Phantomshockey.com, in conjunction with league and team partner B2 Networks, provides the home for the audio. This free service will continue into the playoffs. Broadcaster Mike Thornton handles the play-by-play. Road games will include a pregame show featuring head coach Craig Berube.
