BLUE MONDAY
Hot First Period Lifts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Past Phantoms

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Phantoms did their best to mirror the comeback staged by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 2, but came up one goal short and lost 3-2 in Game 3 of the East Division Finals at the Wachovia Center on Monday night. Wilkes-Barre takes a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Wednesday night’s Game 4 at the Wachovia Center.

The Penguins did all their damage in the first period. They jumped ahead with two goals in 12 seconds, with the first coming at the 10:16 mark. David Gove swooped behind the Philadelphia net and picked up a loose puck that he threw out in front to a waiting Alain Nasreddine, who one-timed it past Scott Munroe for the 1-0 advantage.

On the next rush down the ice, Luca Caputi intercepted a clearing attempt on the right wing fired a shot wide, only to see it carom off the boards and right to Connor James just behind the left post. James grabbed the puck, pulled it in front and tucked it inside the post before Munroe could get over, making it a 2-0 game.

With 2:54 remaining, Alex Goligoski took a wrist shot from the left circle that Munroe got a piece of with his glove, but it wriggled out of his grasp and just barely over the goal line. The tally gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 3-0 lead at the first intermission.

After a scoreless second stanza, the Phantoms made it a new game near the halfway point of the third period with two goals in quick succession. They broke through at the 6:58 mark, 14 seconds into their second power play. Stefan Ruzicka was hovering in the left circle as the Phantoms whacked away at the puck above the Wilkes-Barre crease. It slid out towards him, and he shoveled a backhand through traffic that found its way past John Curry to make it a 3-1 game.

The second goal came 32 seconds later. Jon Kalinski went to the end boards to get a puck that Lars Jonsson had driven deep after a keep-in on the right point. Kalinski pulled it off the wall and tucked it inside the left post to make it a 3-2 contest at the 8:30 mark. Echoes bounced around the Wachovia Center of the three-goal third-period comeback the Penguins staged on Saturday, but Curry stood strong the rest of the way and the Phantoms could not muster the equalizer.

The Phantoms were outshot 19-2 in the first period and were being outshot 24-7 after two periods, but outshot the Penguins 17-3 in the third. Munroe took the loss with 24 saves, while Curry made 22 saves in the winning effort.

The series continues Wednesday night with Game 4 at the Wachovia Center. The series goes back to Wilkes-Barre for Game 5 on Friday night, and if necessary, Game 6 will take place on Saturday night back at the Wachovia Center. All games start at 7:05. Tickets for Games 4 and 6 are available at the Wachovia Complex box office, online at ComcastTIX.com or phantomshockey.com, or by phone at 1-800-298-4200.

For more information on Phantoms tickets,
call 215-465-4522.