Leighton Leads Rats

Albany Takes 2-1 Lead In East Division Semifinals

The Philadelphia Phantoms reached the 39-shot mark for the third consecutive game in their East Division Semifinal series vs. the Albany River Rats, but much like in Game 1, Albany goaltender Michael Leighton was up to the task. He made 38 saves to anchor a 4-1 win for the River Rats, who also benefited from two Bryan Rodney goals in taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The River Rats opened the scoring on their first 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 3-0. Rodney took a puck at the top of the left circle, closed in and put a shot through traffic and past Munroe low. Rodney’s second of the night gave the Rats the three-goal advantage with 2:50 to play in the first.

There was no 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.

Over the first three games, the Phantoms have out-shot the River Rats 118-68. The Phantoms have put 39 shots on Leighton in each game of the series – although they officially had 40 shots in Game 2, the 40th was an empty net goal. Leighton has stopped all but three of the shots he’s faced for a save percentage of .974. He earned first star honors in Games 1 and 3, and was the second star in Game 2.

The series now returns to Albany for Game 4 on Tuesday night and Game 5 on Thursday night, both at 7:00. Game 6, if necessary, would be back at the Wachovia Center on Saturday night at 7:05. Tickets for Game 6 are available at the Wachovia Complex box office, online at ComcastTIX.com or phantomshockey.com, or by phone at 1-800-298-4200.

Sunday, April 20, 2008