Ross Is Supreme

Centerman Scores Natural Hat Trick In 4-3 Win Over Springfield

PHILADELPHIA – Jared Ross posted the fifth natural hat trick in team history and the Philadelphia Phantoms padded their American Hockey League lead with two more power play goals in a 4-3 win over the Springfield Falcons at the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday night. The win moves the Phantoms to 7-1 on the 2007-08 season.

The Phantoms were dominant in the first period, putting 16 shots on net before allowing Springfield’s first shot. It took the Falcons more than 12 minutes to put a shot on goal, and they had only two shots through the period’s first 18 minutes before going on a late power play.

Meanwhile at the other end, the Phantoms power play, which started the evening ranked second in the AHL at 27.1 percent, continued its successful start to the season. It was Pete Zingoni putting the Phantoms on the board first while on the man advantage at 6:46 of the opening frame, knocking home the rebound of a Denis Tolpeko shot for a 1-0 advantage that survived through the first intermission. Alexandre Picard who posted three assists in Friday night’s 6-3 win in Norfolk, also assisted on the goal.

The Falcons knotted the game 1:38 into the second period. Allan Rourke penetrated into the left circle before snapping a shot that beat Scott Munroe to the short side, making it a 1-1 contest.

Springfield jumped ahead 2-1 with 6:38 remaining in the second period. Theo Peckham fired a shot on net from the left point that Munroe stopped, but the rebound squirted out of his reach. Troy Bodie was on hand on the right post to knock it home.

But it took Philadelphia just over a minute to answer. On a scrum in front that put the Phantoms over 30 shots on the night with 5:32 left in the second period, Ross shelved a loose puck high over Devan Dubnyk to tie the score again at 2-2.

The Phantoms further snatched momentum when they took a 3-2 lead with just 26.3 seconds remaining in the second on Ross’s second of the night, a blistering slapshot from the right side that beat Dubnyk high to the stick side.

Ross completed the natural hat trick just 23 seconds into the third period during a five-on-three power play advantage, firing another rocket blast from the slot through traffic and past Dubnyk. Picard recorded another assist on the play, while Tolpeko notched his third helper of the game.

The Falcons closed out the scoring with just over 49 seconds left in the third period on Rourke’s second of the game.

Philadelphia finished the night with 48 shots on goal, the most since the team posted the same number of shots in a 3-2 loss at Binghamton on March 18, 2006. Dubnyk stopped 44 of them to earn third star honors. Munroe took the win with 23 saves on 26 Springfield chances. Philadelphia’s power play went 2-for-10 on the power play, collecting the unit’s league-leading 17th and 18th goals of the season.

The Phantoms are back in action on Sunday evening at the Wachovia Spectrum when they play the Norfolk Admirals for the second time this weekend. It’s the annual Halloween Game at the Spectrum, featuring a costume contest and on ice parade for kids as well as trick-or-treating on the concourse. Tickets are available at the Wachovia Complex box office, online at ComcastTIX.com or phantomshockey.com, or by phone at 1-800-298-4200.

Phantoms season tickets and game plans are still available for the 2007-08 season. Fans can secure the same great seat at a discount for 6, 10, 20 or prorated season tickets for Phantoms home games this season while receiving an impressive list of exclusive benefits. Packages start as low as $60!

For more information or to make a deposit, call the Phantoms at 215-465-4522 during normal business hours. Single-game tickets for the entire season are available via ComcastTIX at www.phantomshockey.com, with kids tickets only $10 for any seat, any game, all season long. More information is also available at the Phantoms website, Phantomshockey.com

Saturday, October 27, 2007