The Final Countdown

Demolition of Spectrum set for November 2010

2010-09-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

This article was in today's Delco Times:

Exclusive: Spectrum demolition set for November
Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010

By ANTHONY J. SANFILIPPO
anthonysan37@gmail.com

Click to enlarge

After sitting dormant for an entire year, the Spectrum is now walking the Green Mile en route to its day of reckoning … or rather … wreckoning.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Times Comcast-Spectacor President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Luukko announced that the demolition of the Spectrum will begin in a little more than a month.

“The paperwork should be finished this week,” Luukko said. “We will begin the demolition during the first week of November.”

Luukko added that the process will take a little more time than it took for Veterans Stadium to become a pile of rubble and a memory.

The Vet took 62 seconds, the Spectrum will take a little more than a month.

“You can’t just implode it like you did the Vet because of the way it’s built,” Luukko said.

“The Vet had all those columns, so all you had to do for that was strap some dynamite to each column and watch it collapse on itself.

“The Spectrum would have to be blown up in pieces, and that doesn’t make any sense, so we’re going to just take a wrecking ball to it.”

That’s not to say there won’t be anything ceremonial.

“We’ll start by gutting it from the inside,” Luukko said. “Then, sometime in December, when it’s just a shell, we’ll have a little ceremony and we’ll take down the exterior with the wrecking ball.”

The Spectrum was first committed to sports arena death row in January, 2008 when it was first reported in the Times that it was going to be razed in favor of a new hotel and entertainment complex in South Philadelphia known as “Philly Live!”

The project, which will be constructed by the Cordish Co. of Baltimore, Md., will bring a series of shops, restaurants, bars and night clubs to the South Philadelphia sports complex area and will take up a significant piece of land on the property where the Spectrum and its parking lots sit.

Luukko added that the plans are in place for the beginning of the construction of that project as well and that groundbreaking will occur soon after the Spectrum is a memory.

The Spectrum hasn’t housed an event since last October, when a Pearl Jam concert closed the building.

"Final Stroll" at the Spectrum on October 24: open to the public and free of charge

2009-10-19T18:58:00.001-04:00

There will be a Last Stroll at the Spectrum, open to the public and free of charge, on October 24 from 10 AM to 1 PM.

They'll be selling memorabilia there. No suprise.

They'll also be taking orders for Spectrum chairs. I have to see how to go about getting my season ticket seat. I sat there for over 10 years, so IMO they owe me and other former STHs first crack at our seats.

Starting a new Phantoms Blog

2009-09-10T17:36:00.001-04:00

The Final Countdown was always intended to be a diary of the Phantoms' last season in Philadelphia. However, I enjoyed keeping a blog, and I wanted to continue doing so. Therefore, I have created a new Phantoms blog for the seasons that will follow our final year in the Spectrum.

Visit the Flyers Farm Team Chronicles for the new blog. It will follow the Phantoms during their time in Glens Falls, NY, as well as any locations where they may play when their tenure in the Adirondacks comes to an end.

Thanks for being faithful readers of this blog. I hope to see you all on the new site!

Donna M.

Phantoms Home Opener will be Saturday, October 3

2009-06-03T20:13:00.002-04:00

Philly-based Phantoms Phans, get your calendars out. The home opener in Glens Falls will take place on Saturday, October 3.

From this article in the Times Union:

Phantoms to play home opener Saturday, Oct. 3

June 3, 2009 at 11:21 am by Pete Dougherty, Staff writer

The Adirondack Phantoms will make their Glens Falls Civic Center debut Saturday, Oct. 3, one of five home dates announced today by the team.

The opponent won’t be known until the schedule is released later this summer, although the Albany River Rats have said that they are trying to arrange a home-and-home series with the Phantoms for that opening weekend. (The uncertainty of the Hamilton franchise, which may have to be moved if the NHL puts a team into the Ontario city, could delay the schedule announcement until late in the summer.)

The Phantoms announced “guaranteed” home dates for Oct. 3, Oct. 17, Nov. 13, Jan. 2 and Jan. 9. All are Saturdays except Nov. 13, which is a Friday.

Mike Thompson named VP of Business Operations for the Adirondack Phantoms

2009-05-21T23:27:00.003-04:00

I'm still getting used to the sight of the phrase, "Adirondack Phantoms". :(

In the meantime, we are still seeing occasional news items regarding the team. For example, there's this item from Oursportscentral.com:

Mike Thompson named VP of Business Operations for the Adirondack Phantoms
May 20, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL) Springfield Falcons

Springfield, MA - The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today that Mike Thompson has been named the new Vice President of Business Operations for the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms. Thompson served as the Falcons Vice President of Corporate Partnerships during the 2008-09 campaign.

"I am very happy for Mike and his family," said Falcons President and General Manager Bruce Landon. "This is a wonderful opportunity for him at this stage in his career. He has done a great job with the Falcons over the past 4 1/2 years and has helped us grow our sponsorship revenues."

Thompson joined the Falcons during the 2004-05 season with a strong background in ticket sales and servicing. Prior to arriving in Springfield, Thompson created Vertix Sports Marketing. Vertix Sports Marketing's notable clients included twenty hockey franchises in the ECHL, CHL and the OHL, Penn State University, Western Kentucky University, Texas Christian University, Bowling Green State University, and Cleveland State University. Thompson has also worked in baseball at both the major league and minor league levels.

"The Phantoms ownership group offered me an incredible opportunity and I am very excited to move on to the next stage in my career," said Thompson. "I cannot overstate how important and valuable it has been to have Bruce Landon as a mentor and friend, and I will miss the entire Falcons organization tremendously. Fortunately, I won't be too far away and I'll definitely be visiting the MassMutual Center to see the Falcons and Phantoms play next season."

The Phantoms will be based in Glens Falls, NY starting in 2009-10 and their National Hockey League affiliate will remain the Philadelphia Flyers. The Phantoms will play their home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

"We are excited to be adding Mike to our staff," said Adirondack Phantoms President Jim Brooks. "His excitement and passion are unmatched and his success and skills speak for themselves. Mike has a tremendous amount of experience in sports and specifically hockey to draw from, including working with us several years ago, and we look forward to working with Mike again for a long time to come."

There's coverage at poststar.com, also.

Phantoms choose front-office leader
By MAURY THOMPSON
thompson@poststar.com
Updated: Thursday, May 21, 2009 1:20 AM EDT

GLENS FALLS - The Adirondack Phantoms are beginning to assemble their front-office staff as they gear up for the American Hockey League team's inaugural season at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The team, on Wednesday, announced the hiring of Mike Thompson as vice president of operations.

Thompson, who most recently worked in the front office of the Springfield Falcons, will start full time on June 1, heading the team's local front office staff.

Team co-owners and co-presidents Rob and Jim Brooks will be splitting their time between Glens Falls and other cities where they operate sports franchises.

Thompson said in a telephone interview he has already visited Glens Falls a few times and is excited about being part of returning professional hockey to Glens Falls, which has been without a permanent hockey team for three seasons.

"It's a great hockey barn, and I cannot wait," he said.

The Phantoms, the top farm club of the Philadelphia Flyers, is relocating to Glens Falls and will begin playing at the Civic Center in October.

Thompson, a native of Oakville, Ontario, has worked in a variety of sports management and consulting roles in hockey and baseball, including a stint with the Florida Marlins.

"Last count, I've been in about 40 states," he said.

He previously operated Vertix Sports Marketing, a ticket sales consulting firm whose clients included hockey teams and college sports programs.

His clients included the Wheeling Nailers, an ECHL team that the Brooks Group also owns.

"He has great enthusiasm, and he really knows how to sell tickets," said Rob Brooks, the team's co-owner.

The owners have set a goal of selling 2,500 season tickets.

As of Wednesday, the team had commitments for the equivalent of 1,772 full-season tickets.

The number is prorated to include the equivalent commitments for 20-game and 10-game partial season ticket packages.

Thompson said the team will be hiring six to eight people, in addition to himself, to run the front office.

"We'll have the core staff, I would say, ready to go within the next three to four weeks," he said.

Brooks said the team will be announcing the hiring of a ticket sales director later this week.

Glens Falls newspaper has a dedicated Phantoms area on its website

2009-05-08T18:24:00.003-04:00

CLICK HERE: Adironack Phantoms Hockey: PostStar.com

The Post-Star has established an area on their newspaper's website for Phantoms-related coverage. This will make it that much easier to keep track of the team's local coverage. Hit the link above for details.

For example, here is an interesting article on the prospective roster of next year's Phantoms team. (Even if its headline is apparently unproofread: "Phantoms expects young, fast team".) Contained in it are the following quotes:

The plan is for veteran coach John Paddock to return, Holmgren said. Paddock coached parts of five seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets and the Ottawa Senators. In his most recent NHL stint, he coached 64 games with Ottawa in 2007-08 before being fired. Last season was his first with the Phantoms.

At the AHL level, Paddock has coached in Maine, Hershey, Binghamton, and Hartford, winning a Calder Cup with Hershey.

Paddock will be guiding some familiar faces. Asked to identify a potential returning core, Holmgren mentioned four young forwards: Jonathan Matsumoto, David Laliberte, Patrick Maroon and Jared Ross.

Mastsumoto and Ross were the team's leading scorers with 29 goals each; Laliberte had 28. Ross played 16 games with the Flyers last season.

...

Defensively, Holmgren pegged Michael Ratchuk, Oskars Bartulis and Danny Syvret as potential returners. Syvret led the AHL in scoring for defensemen with 57 points.

Here is an interesting quote from this article on Wednesday's press conference:

But a bit of their Philadelphia home ice will be making its way with the team to Glens Falls.

Ike Richman, vice president of Comcast-Spectacor, said he saved some of the ice when it was taken up after the last game in Philadelphia.

That ice has since melted, but the water is stored in a jar that will be emptied at the Civic Center when the first ice surface is laid down for the hockey season this fall, he said.

New Adirondack Phantoms jersey design unveiled

2009-05-07T14:49:00.002-04:00

Purple appears to have been supplanted by orange on the home jersey, and black on the road jersey. The shoulder patches are now Flyers logos, rather than images of Phlex.

Thanks to philabright.com for the image below:

Adirondack Phantoms take up new haunts in Glens Falls

2009-05-07T06:29:00.011-04:00

CLICK HERE: Adirondack Phantoms take up new haunts in Glens Falls

Before I post the text of the actual article, I can't help but highlight the EXTREME IRONY of the content of the photo that accompanies the report.

First of all, that's an old-style Phantoms jersey, not the one that we have worn for the past couple of seasons. They couldn't find a current version of the jersey to use for this press conference?

Second of all, take a close look at the shoulder patch. IT'S THE LOGO OF PHLEX WITH THE SPECTRUM.

This is the sort of thing that makes my head go . If anyone connected with the Philly incarnation of the team had had a lick of sense, they would have used last season's Phantoms third jersey, which has a FLYERS LOGO for the shoulder patch. Then again, IMO if the Comcast-side people connected with the Philly incarnation of the team had a lick of sense, or gave a hoot about anything besides the bottom line, the team would still BE in the Philadelphia area.

OK, anyway... rant over. On to the actual article.

Adirondack Phantoms take up new haunts in Glens Falls
Updated: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 3:14 PM EDT

GLENS FALLS -- Ladies and gentlemen, youuuuurrrrr Adirondack Phantoms!

With a new moniker, a new jersey and a new city, the American Hockey League's newest entry in New York was formally introduced this morning during a press conference at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The team, which co-owner Rob Brooks announced would be called the Adirondack Phantoms, will begin play at the Glens Falls Civic Center this fall, with team officials promising a high-energy, hard-hitting team on the ice and a community-minded team off it.

Glens Falls Mayor Jack Diamond, members of the Common Council, team owners and representatives from the parent club Philadelphia Flyers and GlobalSpectrum were all on hand to make the announcement in Heritage Hall.

City and team officials announced late last month that the Flyers farm team would be moving from Philadelphia to Glens Falls, returning AHL hockey to the region for the first time in a decade, since the Adirondack Red Wings left town after more than 20 seasons here.

For more on the announcement, please continue to visit poststar.com and read more in tomorrow's Post-Star.

Adirondack Phantoms introduced in Glens Falls

2009-05-06T14:59:00.001-04:00

From the AHL's official site:

CLICK HERE: Adirondack Phantoms introduced in Glens Falls

Adirondack Phantoms introduced in Glens Falls

05/06/2009 9:59 AM

The Brooks Group, new owners of the Philadelphia Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, today formally introduced the Adirondack Phantoms to Glens Falls, N.Y.

"Having the Phantoms playing here in Glens Falls creates some great rivalries. So, to all the New York teams in the AHL, beware of the Phantoms," said Glens Falls mayor Jack Diamond.

"Glens Falls is a terrific hockey town and the players are going to enjoy playing here," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko.

"We're gonna have a young, hard-working team. All of our players will be very active in the community," said Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren. "We're looking forward to writing a new history for hockey in Glens Falls."

The Adirondack Phantoms will begin play at the Glens Falls Civic Center in 2009-10. The Civic Center is managed by Global Spectrum a subsidiary of Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor.

PA state funding for the Allentown/Lehigh Valley arena has fallen through

2009-05-01T15:49:00.003-04:00

CLICK HERE: State support for hockey arena evaporates, according to Gov. Rendell

CLICK HERE: Governor Rendell nixes state funding for Lehigh Valley hockey arena

It appears that the plans to build a new arena in Allentown are in jeopardy. The state, which had originally written $30M into its budget for the purpose of funding the arena's construction, has taken that money off the table.

My personal suggestion is that the Brooks Group should seriously consider becoming a tenant of an already-existing arena in the Philly region, if funding a new venue turns out to be impossible to come by. I wonder when the ECHL Trenton Devils'lease expires at the Sovreign Bank Arena? Maybe Brooks Group needs to become Extremely Aggressive about landing the next lease in that arena after the Devils' time there is done. But at this point, I''m- just thinking ~~aloud~~ in print.

AHL Board of Governors approves sale and relocation of Phantoms

2009-04-28T18:48:00.003-04:00

Not that this should come as a surprise, but the AHL Board of Governors has voted to allow the sale of the Phantoms franchise. They have also approved the team's transfer to Glens Falls, NY.

AHL hockey team moving to Glens Falls

AHL hockey team moving to Glens Falls

By PETE DOUGHERTY, Staff writer

After a 10-year absences, the city of Glens Falls once again has an American Hockey League franchise.

The league's board of governors, meeting today in Chicago, approved the transfer of ownership of the Philadelphia Phantoms to a newly formed entity known as Phantoms Hockey LLC, owned by the Brooks Group.

In addition, the new owners were given approval to move the franchise from Philadelphia to Glens Falls, beginning with the 2009-10 season.

The move is seen as a boost to the Albany River Rats, who supported the city's efforts to gain a franchise since the Adirondack Red Wings departed after the 1998-99 season.

The Rats' average attendance has fallen 26 percent in the past decade, and Albany team officials attribute much of that to the lack of a geographic rival.

The AHL also approved the relocation of the Quad Cities franchise to Abbotsford, British Columbia, and the addition of a franchise in Austin, Texas.

The Phantoms were looking to move because their Philadelphia home, the Wachovia Spectrum, is being demolished to make room for an entertainment development.

"On behalf of our board, it's my privilege to welcome these three cities to the AHL family," AHL president Dave Andrews said in a statement. "We are looking forward to these new opportunities in Austin and Abbotsford, and we're excited to be returning to the rich AHL tradition and history in Glens Falls."

Last Spectrum Ice melts away :(

2009-04-27T18:14:00.003-04:00

SIIIIIGH... I profoundly regret having to be the bearer of these sad tidings.

Global Spectrum’s Chris Jennings uses the zamboni to remove the last ice ever at the Spectrum. After 42 years, the former home of the Philadelphia Flyers (1967-96) and Philadelphia Phantoms (1996-2009) will close at the end of 2009 to make way for Philly Live, a retail, restaurant and entertainment district.

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 4, East Division Semifinals, 4-24-09: Recap and Box Score

2009-04-25T00:06:00.003-04:00

While I still have the energy to post...

CLICK HERE for the game recap from the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL's site.

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 4, East Division Semifinals, 4-24-09: Third Period

2009-04-24T20:48:00.003-04:00

OK, Boys, it's all or nothing! Come out playing for BLOOD! I mean it!

HAHAHA, they were showing some Bears fan waving a faux broom with a cardboard tube for a handle. The cardboard tube broke and the broom wilted away. Here's to seeing Hershey's attempt to sweep the Phantoms be broken just as utterly.

The Bears start off by buzzing in our zone, including the first "pinball off the back boards" attempt that I've specifically noticed in this game. We had some congestion around the net and Aubin was in position to prevent trouble.

Hershey has iced the puck a couple times so far. We get a little something-something going in the Bears end, and though they clear it, we get it back and start Buzzing: The Sequel. Ah, there we go, we draw a penalty and go on the PP. Matsumoto's line is with Syvret and Kukkonen. Maroon stations himself at the net for rebounds. Bears block a shot. Two Bears and two Phantoms battle in the corner and we get the disk back. But the Bears clear it.

Curry and Ratchuk with JVR and I can't see who the other two forwards are. The penalty ends, and the Bears get called for icing even though technically they were still shorthanded when the puck was cleared. Kane, Kalinski, and Szwez are out. Kalinski brings it in and Neuvirth freezes it.

Raduns, Kempe, and Clackson are out with Curry and Ratchuk. Ratchuk and Pinnizotto, he who caused a ten-skater scrum by taking a slapshot into an empty Phantoms net, battle all the way up the boards into our zone for the puck.

Kempe is getting sent off for hooking, when his stick never touched the freaking Bear on the replay. Expletive Omitted. Strings of Expletives Omitted, actually. Kane/Kalinski are out with Kukkonen and Bartulis. Kalinski rushes up and gets a shorthanded shot on goal. Syvret blocks a shot back in our end. There goes the Zebra's arm up once again. Kempe's penalty ends, so Guenin goes into the box to replace him. Too bad the dive on Perrault wasn't called. It must be nice.

Good freeze by Aubin. Next shift, Hershey gets a shot through a screen but the post helps us out on that one. Kane prevents The Wrong Giroux from getting a shot off. HOLY COW at least three consecutive saves by Aubin. He is busting his rump keeping us in this game. We absolutely HAVE to reward him with some activity at the other end. Period. End of sentence.

Nodl, Sirianni, and JVR are out with Bartulis and Kukkonen. AAH Scramble in front of Neuvirth and he had to get very creative to avoid giving up a rebound to Nodl. Tbat was the most dangerous play we have had all game, really. Six minutes and change remain in the period.

Matsumoto's line is out and we are starting to buzz somewhat in the Bears end again. Kalinski/Nodl/Szwez with Cury/Ratchuk. Out they go to the Phabtoms end. Five minutes and change left in the frame. Back to the Hershey end and we try to get into position. So far the SOG in this period are Phanbtoms 7, Bears 4. AAH Laliberte blasts one on goal. Neuvirth stops it and we get a faceoff.

Nice hip check to eliminate Mink at the Phantoms half-boards. AUBIN nice work to keep us within one. Now we are getting a lot of end-to-end play. Kempe is out with Sirianni and JVR.

Holy moley, a late penalty vs. Hershey after Aucoin trips Maroon. Hershey tries to kill time by not touching the puck. Eventually we get it, even tho9ugh we go offside. Sirianni, Syvret, Kukkonen, Kane, JVR are out. Aubin is actually pulled for a 6 on 4 with under 2 minutes left in the period. Timeout, Phantoms.

One minute left: we have Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, JVR, Syvret, and Kukkonen out. DAGNAB IT Laliberte actually fell on top of the freaking puck which was loose in the crease. ARGH ARGH ARGH. 50.5 seconds left in the period. Faceoff. JVR is the extra forw1ard with Matsumoto's line, apparemtnly. Syvret is one of the D LONG pass to Maroon from our end. Hershey gets called for a hand pass. Ten seconds left in the PP, 24 left in the period.; Faceoff in the Bears end. Same guys on the ice. Hershey clears it to the far end Syvret retrieves it. 32 seconds left. Long pass. Hershey clears again.

Game over and series over.

And there's the end of the Phantoms' 13-year stint in Philadelphia.

Handshake line forthcoming.

Aubin had BETTER BE one of the game's stars. We shall see.

It's astounding that the Phantoms went 0-for-21 on the PP, but as our announcer is pointing out, the absence of Jared Ross from our lineup surely made a difference there.

Yes, Aubin is, in fact, the second star. Mink (goal-scorer) was the third star, and Neuvirth (shutout) was the first star.

Hershey will face the Penguins in the next round. I will most definitely root for the Bears over the Penguins.

I will keep updating this blog with info about where the Phantoms' franchise will be playing nezt season. However, when the new season begins, I will start a separate blog for the reincarnated version of the Flyers' farm team.

This blog is for the Phantoms, which have accounted for my absolute favorite pastime for the past 13 years. Because of my time supporting this team, I will never be the same.

With them consigned to history, nothing will ever be the same. It is NOT an adjustment I look forward to making in the least.

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 4, East Division Semifinals, 4-24-09: Second Period

2009-04-24T19:53:00.003-04:00

LOL. We actually had four PKs in the first period, not three. Being |shorthanded for nearly half the period is part of the reason for the disparity in the shot count.

Interesting stat: Sirianni has two of our four shots, with Kempe and Guenin accounting for the other two.

OK, guys, we are at even strength, time to get out of our zone... oh, wait. Did I say we were at even strength? Silly me. There goes a whistle and another penalty against the Phantoms. Matsumoto goes.

Mink scores for Hershey. So the score is Ciamaga 1, Phantoms 0.

GREAT SAVE, AUBIN, and about ten seconds later, what do you know? Another freaking whistle. At this rate, we will get called with too many men on the ice when we have five guys out there. CHEESE AND RICE with these penalties.

AAAH, shorthanded breakaway by Mastumto, GO GO GO aaack HAULED DOWN and we are getting a Penalty Shot! GO MATSY, GO MATSY! Nuts, Neuvirth made the save.

Nice blocked shot by a Phantom, but I can't see who it was. I think Guenin was on the ice, though, so it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one.

We are (whispering) even strength (/whispering) and Aubin just made a fantastic stop on a point-blank deflection. ANOTHER great save on the following shift. NICE job!

Now it's Hershey's turn to go shorthanded for a spell, as Amadio heads off. Kukkkonen and Syvret are out with what I believe is the Matsumoto line... here comes a long 5-on-3 advantage for the Phantoms, as Hershey just got a tripping call. Samd guys out, and yes, that's the Matsumoto line. We are cycling but mixing in some good shots and shot attempts on goal. BLAH, the net goes off its moorings and Neuvirth has been doing acrobatics to keep the net puck-free. Now Ratchuk and Curry are out with Kane, Sirianni, and someone I can't see as the first penalty ends. Not overly long after that, the second penalty ended as well. The Phantoms have yet to score on the PP in this series, which is a pity as our special teams were absolutely great toward the end of the regular season.

Gee, how astounding. A penalty on the Phantoms. Who'd've thought it? Maroon goes. AUBIN, YAY, consecutive point-blank stops, NICE JOB! Maroon is out but we are having fits trying to clear the flipping puck. NICE save again by Aubin. Finally we get the heck out of our freaking zone. Eventually there is a stoppage in play as the Bears have a hand pass.

Per our announcer, we have not ad a shot since our two-man advantage, about eight minutes ago. Now it looks like we are giving Neuvirth something to do, however. Boy, we have been at (whispering) 5-on-5 (/whispering) for a while now. SOG are now Hershey 21, Phantoms 12.

Drat, I can't even whisper about being at even strength. There goes Sirianni to the sin bin after hitting a Bear who stopped a bit too far short of the boards to be safe. Boarding is the call. The Bears have their 8th man advantage. Guenin/Syvret iwth Matsumoto/Laliberte. Matsumoto clears and the Phantoms change, Kalinski/Kane with Bartulis/Kukkonen. We clear again, and the Bears go offside carrying it back in. NICE "Statue of Liberty" save by Aubin through a whole lot of traffic. :D

53.7 seconds left in the period; the Phantoms ice the puck and we have the faceoff in our end. We get out, but the Bears come back on a 2-on-1; Aubin makes the stop.

Nice pick-off by Maroon. The Bears net gets pushed well askew, but Ciamaga chose to let the play continue until the time ran out. We SHOULD have had an offensive-zon draw, instead we got bupkis.

At the end of the period, the Bears lead 1-0. SOG: Bears 25, Phantoms 13. (The *EIGHT* Hershey PPs have something to do with the skewed stats.)

Time for the Phantoms to regroup and come out borderline homicidal in the third period. Lose the game, lose the series and lose the team, so it's now or never for a comeback. GO PHANTOMS!

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 4, East Division Semifinals, 4-24-09: First Period

2009-04-24T19:13:00.003-04:00

I had a few connectivity issues tuning into the cybercast. I got online just in time to hear that both teams have had one powerplay. Hershey has had two SOG and the Phantoms have had none, and there is no score yet. We are about seven minutes into the game.

BOMBSHELL: J-S Aubin started in goal in place of Scott Munroe, and I have no idea why. Stay on your feet as long as possible, JS; be patient, make the shooter commit first, and make yourself big in net.

Former Phantom Triston Grant's team, the Milwaukee Admirals, have swept their first-round opponent. I'm glad for him. I don't particularly follow Western teams this year, but since T-Bird's on the MilAds, I would like to see them have a long run.

JVR is going off for hooking. It'll be Hershey's second PP of the game, and we have 9:59 left in the period. Both teams have three shots on goal.

I just checked the box score. Munroe is the backup tonight, so I'm not thinking he's injured. (If he is, it's not bad enough to keep him from dressing for the game.) I'm not sure what the rationale is behind having a goalie change at this point in the series, but here we are.

7:40 left in the frame; we gave up three shots on the PP. Here we go with another penalty vs. the Phantoms. Time to glance over at the box score and see who our whistle-happy ref is. Ciamaga. Aaah... never mind. No comment. Let's leave it at that.

I realize that I grew up watching standup goaltending, so seeing a netminder leave his feet still strikes me as something my childhood idols would have avoided whenever possible. In the past, oh, decade and a half, I have seen lots of butterfly goaltending, and therefore the sight of a goalie in a split is not foreign to my eyes anymore. HOWEVER... Munroe and Aubin have a very different style when it comes to how they respond to an incoming puck, or even a potentially incoming disk. Aubin tends to drop into the split more readily, and I'm not as accustomed to seeing that because Munroe had a lot of the home games down the stretch during the season. Seeing JS drop into the split, sometimes before the puck has actually been shot, is giving me anxiety.

OK, Ciamaga, you ignored the hook Osala had against Clackson, and moments later you call a borderline infraction against Clackson? For making some CONTACT behind the NET? GRRRRR... Onto the PK we go, once again.

In the past six and a half minutes, the Bears have had seven shots on goal. We haven't had any in that time. Here we go on the farging PK again. Matsumoto/Laliberte with Syvret and most likely Guenin (he's not on screen). NICE stop by Aubin!

50 seconds left in the PK, Hershey is outshooting the Phantoms 11-3. Nice clear, Bartulis. Kalinski/Kane are the forward pair, and Kane cleared the puck as soon as the Bears brought it back in.

We're at even strength again, with very little time left in the period. JVR, Sirianni, and Nodl are out together with Bartulis and presumably Kukkonen. Finally, we get a shot on goal. Neuvirth hangs on for the faceoff.

Maroon, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Syvret, and Guenin are out. We buzz a bit around the Bears net, but the horn sounds to end the period. Hershey outshot the Phantoms 11-4. It appears that we will be at even strength to start the second period. (There was some extracurricular grouchiness after the horn, so we'll see if anyone is in the sin bin for either team when the wecond frame begins.)

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 3, Round 1, East Division Semi-Finals: recap and box score

2009-04-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

The Phantoms have gotten into a bit of a hole, as of the end of this game.

I got home from class and tuned in JUST in time to hear the Phantoms' tying goal disallowed, and a penalty assessed to Nate Raduns, in the final few minutes of the third period.

I am unhappy to report that the Phantoms lost the cotest 3-2, and currently trail the Hershey Bears 3 games to 0 in this series.

CLICK HERE for the game recap from the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL's site.

As they say, the fourth game is the hardest one for a team to win. Here's to seeing the Phantoms take tonight's game in Hershey. Then, not only will we stay alive in the series, but it will allow the Phantoms fans who can't get to Hershey tonight, but CAN be there on Saturday night, to attend Game 5.

Tomorrow, the extra inspiration to win could come from the desire to play in the Spectrum at least once more; on Sunday, it'll be that we want to take the series and advance to the next round. But all in due time. First, the Phantoms need to focus on going Bear Hunting with the heavy artillery in tonight's game. Series are played, and ultimately won, ONE game at a time. So the best bet is to concentrate on the task at hand: the current game, the current period, and even the current shift.

GO PHANTOMS!

Phantoms' new owners ink a lease with Glens Falls

2009-04-22T23:31:00.002-04:00

We interrupt this playoff coverage to report something semi-concrete about the future of the Phantoms franchise.

Glens Falls Lands AHL Team

The salient points:

- If Glens Falls has 2500 subscriptions by the end of this month, they are guaranteed to have the franchise

- They have less than half that number of subscriptions as of tonight

- The contract includes an "out" clause for the Brooks Group to back out if the number of subscribers falls short

Hence, I say "semi-concrete". Heck, the AHL's Board of Governors has yet to finalize their approval of the sale of the team, and as Brooks Group owns part of the Penguins franchise, that could translate into a conflict of interest. In that case, the league could vote down the sale.

Anyway... here is the actual article.

Glens Falls Lands AHL Team
Comments 0 | Recommend 5

3-Year Lease Has Ticket Stipulation

April 22, 2009 - 3:52 PM

GLENS FALLS -- For the first time since the Adirondack Red Wings left town in 1999, the city of Glens Falls is back in the American Hockey League. The Philadelphia Phantoms signed a three year lease Wednesday evening to move their AHL franchise to the Glens Falls Civic Center. But the fine print on the contract says that if 2,500 season tickets are not sold by Tuesday, then the Phantoms can back out of the deal.

As of Wednesday night, the GFCC wasn't quite halfway to that lofty threshold. But the number of tickets sold seems to be quite pliable, "If we get 25-hundred we're guaranteed to bring the team (to Glens Falls). If we get a little under that we'll make a decision whether we do it this year or not", says Phantoms owner Rob Brooks. He also added that there is still a chance the franchise would be dormant this coming season.

Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been an advocate of the move for months, says, "This is great news, not only for the Glens Falls area where it will be an economic boost to the city, but to a great hockey rivalry that will occur along the Hudson River between the River Rats and the new Glens Falls team".

During its heyday in the 1990's, the Glens Falls-Albany AHL rivalry regularly played to large crowds, both at the Civic Center and at the then named Knickerbocker Arena. Since the Red Wings left town a decade ago the River Rats have badly missed their "Northway Rival" in terms of ticket sales.

Glens Falls was home to the Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 until 1999, during which time the franchise won four Calder Cups and typically enjoyed tremendous community support.

The Phantoms need a new home since their facility in Philadelphia, The Spectrum, is destined for the wrecking ball. There's no word yet whether the franchise would keep the name Phantoms, or come up with a new nickname.

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, Game 3, East Division Semi-Final, 4-22-09

2009-04-22T14:16:00.002-04:00

I have an Italian class tonight, so I am not going to be able to listen to/watch the game online until after the fact. (If I get home in time, I might catch the end of the game.)

However, here is a Playoffs Update recapping the first two games, and analyzing some key stats, from the Phantoms' site.

I hope to be posting about good news after this game. I know our guys can do it. LET'S GO, PHANTOMS! GO BEAR HUNTING!

Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears, Game 2 East Division Semi-Finals, 4-18-09

2009-04-18T22:37:00.001-04:00

Forward groupings during the pregame skate are Matsumoto's/Laliberte/Maroon, Kane/JVR/Sirianni, Nodl/Kalinski/Szwez, Raduns/Clackson... Kempe? Shoot, everyone started skating at once. I guess we'll see who's in the lineup at the start of the game. Both Kempe and Gratton are on the ice, but in the previous game, only Gratton played. Pregame D pairs are the usual duos: Syvret/Guenin, Bartulis/Kukkonen, Curry/Ratchuk.;

It's legal to send out an extra player or so during warmups, so our team's not doing anything out of the ordinary by having an extra forward on the ice.

Ryan Fraser will be the ref for tonight. Hooray – I honestly think he's as good as it gets in this league. As long as he doesn't have a flareup of Whistle-Itis, the "call it it faintly resembles an infraction if you're watching it via a funhouse mirror", the PLAYERS will be the ones deciding this contest. That's what I want to see: the teams, not the zebras, being the primary determinants of the outcome of this game.

Holy cow, someone's in the stands with a referee's jersey on. That's uncommon. We used to have someone in my section with a ref's jersey and "BLIND 1" on the back,- but the man and his wife shifted to a suite last season. I originally thought it was the same guy, until I took a second look via the camera zoom. This is someone else. My husband went around to the opposite side of the rink to see what, if anything, this jersey says on the back.

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Sloane, DeSantis, RADUNS (Surprise! And drat!), Klotz, Beaulieu, Bellamy.

Starting Lineup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon

Well, THAT was unexpected... Nate Raduns was definitely not someone I expected to sit out this contest. If he's banged up, I hope it's nothing serious. He did warm up, which I hope means there's nothing major amiss.

SCOOOOOORE!!! First shot of the game, and Kane buries it! Assists from Kalinski and Szwez.;

About a half-minute later, we get our first PECOOOO POWER PLAY,, with the Matsumoto line and Syvret/Kukkonen.

The fans have not stopped chanting since the game started, with lots of "Let's Go, Phantoms!" mixed in with some old-time "Hershey S*cks!" thrown in for good measure.

BTW, on the first shift of the game, a Bear skated over a Phantom's stickblade. Unlike the ref on Thursday, THIS official knows the difference between a trip and a misstep, so there was no call.

'How tall is Aucoin, anyway? MAN. I didn't realize that he was quite so Vertically Challenged. ;) (Hey, I'm Stature-Impaired myself, so this is just an observation rather than an insult.)

I'm seeing Clackson/Gratton/Sirianni out there at the moment. OMG, a Bear got loose in front and fanned on a shot. Its trajectory would possibly have taken the puck to Munroe anyway, but he had no difficulty sweeping the half-speed puck out of harm's way.

UGH Kukkonen got nailed y a shot. I mean NAILED, as in came up very lame and made his way back to the bench. Tellingly, he stopped at the bench itself instead of heading up the tunnel. But there was no mistaking the fact that he was hurtin' for certain... ouch.

The good news is, while I was looking at Kukkonen on the bench, to see if he was just stung or damage had been done, the Phantoms scored on our THIRD shot on goal!W YEAH! Way to come out firing on all cylinders! SOG are 3-1, Phantoms, and the score is 2-0... and we are less than 8 minutes into the period.

Kukkonen just tested that leg with a circle on the ice during a stoppage in play. He's staying on the bench, so apparently he plans to gut it out.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: the goal was Maroon from Matsumoto/Laliberte. :)

Aaaah,l with 11:11 left, we get to put our PK skills on display. Kukkonen is called for... boarding? Sign.

Kalinski./Kane are out with Guenin/Syvret.

OH MY GOSH the save!!!! A Bear was about to try the same play that burned us several times on Thursday[, the sweep-in after the goalie was down from making a stop. But somehow, Munroe kept it out. Followed by some apparent attempts to dig a puck out from under the goalie, which caused an instant war in the creas e between Phantoms and Bears skaters.,

Ha, Nasty Nate Guenin just STEAMROLLED a guy behind the net. That's one way to keep them from pinballing the puck off the back boards.

Ah, nuts, we couldn't clear the puck for about an eon, and it eventually cost us. Just after the penalty ended, the Bears cut their deficit to one goal. 2-1 Phantoms. SOG are Phantoms 43, Hershey 5. (Prior to the PK, Hershey had 2 shots.)

Nice hit, Sirianni, behind the Hershey net.; We seem to still have our steam, even if the fans are less loud than before.

Nice shift so far... with about six minutes to go in the frame, both Laliberte and Maroon got a takeaway and we managed to make our way to Hershey's end for a spell. About a minute later, after some activity down here, we headed back to the Bears' and and this time we earned ourselves a PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Cash it in, guys! Matsumoto's line is out with Syvret and Kukkonen.

Somehow we let a shorthanded rush happen, and Kukkonen looked fine skating both forward and backward, so I hope that means that h was just stung on that shot-block.

Aack. Offside on our way back to the Hershey end. DANG we have to do a better job of avoiding that. It's really robed us of some nice attack opportunities in the past few games.

OHHH Laliberte came so close to potting a rebound. Dang. Nice save. The PP is over now and the SOT are even at 6-6 with just under two minutes left in the period.

At the end of the first period, the Phantoms lead 2-1, and the shots on goal are Phantoms 7, Bears 8.

- - - -

Hee hee, gotta love playoff mind games! Gratton came out and, prior to the second period, skated a biiiiiig circle in the vicinity of the Phantoms bench. Except that, as the Bears are defending this half of the ice in this period, he basically did his giant slow circle and touch-the-toes stretch in the Bears' defensive zone. :D Heh heh heh.

We promptly spent most of the first two minutes in front of Neuvirth, so score one for psychological;l warfare. During that span , Matsumoto had a NICE tip early that nearly went in, followed by a nice rush from JVR that went just wide.

Guenin is going off fr interference –he was framed, I tell you! – so we are on the PK.; First up, Kalinski/Kane with Syvret/Kukkonen. Though Hershey looked like they were getting some chances, in reality they didn't register a PP shot until 59 seconds into this man advantage.

Curry just buried a guy in the far-end, bench-side corner I can't see from my seat, to great cheering.

Matsumoto/Laliberte broke out for a SH 2-on-2, but Matsumoto's shot found a Bear's skates. Drat. But now the PK is over, so we did accomplish that. OOD.

The fans are in Chant Mode again. Oh, and he Bears' #13 wanted to fight with our Kane, after Kane hit him, but the linesman intervened immediately. No penalties were called on either side. But the next shift saw Amadio, who had dropped the gloves in here several times this season, on the ice for Hershey.

Kukkonen got dropped by a Bear and was on the ice covering his face. Fraser's arm was up for a delayed penalty. Once pl ay got stopped, it took Kukkonen a few more moments to get up, at which point he went after the Bear that injured him. The end result: Kukkonen gets two for roughing, and The Wrong Giroux gets two for hooking and two for roughing. Kukkonen went up the tunnel for repairs, along with the trainer, and we get a PECOOOO POWSER PLAY.

Matsumoto's line is out with Curry and Syvret,m our original PP D pair early in the season.

Again, the difference between a good ref and an inferior one: a Phantom trying to stop a Bear's breakaway fell. The Bear fell over him. No call. Thursday's zebra would have thought that was a trip instead of a player falling over another player.

Gratton goes for hooking with 8:59 left. NICE SAVE!!! as we embark on the PK. Kalinski/Kane appears to be h primary PK pair of forwards while Ross is called up.

I want a solid penalty kill, hopefully with enough clears to prevent the mishap we had in the first period.

Here come Matsumoto and Laliberte. Our D remain as Guenin and Syvret. Syvret, Matsumoto, and Laliberte break out with a 3 on 3, with Syvret=2 0rushing the puck. We don't get a shot, but we get seconds off the clock.

Now we get a wholesale change, with Bartulis and Kukkonen on D, and Kane/Kalinski. They clear it all the way to the back boards. Then they do it again for good measure. At the end of the PK, we get JVR out with Kane. Gratton joins the play and tries to skate right through a Bears dman. That, unfortunately, doesn't work and we turn it over. Nodl and Sirianni come out to join JVR and we rush the puck. Boy, Ratchuk has some nice wheels. We had a Bear trying to escape from his end with the puck, and Nodl lost him. Ratchuk, who had shifted away from the point and toward the center, came speeding back to catch up with the guy in our half of the neutral zone.

The shot attempt and scoring attempt sequence that Hershey followed with led to Munroe getting up after the whistle blew and going after someone. A multi-skater convention ensued. No penalties were assessed.

Sloan of the Bears hit Maroon so hard, behind the Hershey net, that Maroon's helmet went sailing nearly to the faceoff dot. Maroon got up breathing flames and went after him. Another conference convened. This time, Maroon got the extra two for slashing in with the two minutes each guy received for=2 0roughing, so onto the PK we go.

Crumbs. The Bears tie the score with 5:02 left. Next time we have to remember to just beat the crud out of the guy and not slash.

Whoa, I'm not sure what transpired in sections 24/2, but a Bears fan is ge2tting escorted out while the Phantoms Phaithful stand and applaud.

Matsumoto and Laliberte are out with Nodl. Maroon remains in the sin bin for his roughing minor.

JVR, Sirianni, and Kemoe are the next forward group out.

With 3:10 left, another scrum ensued next to the Phantoms net. Jay Beagle goes for roughing, so we get the PECOOOO POWER PLAY.

OH, the chance Szwez had late in the period! OMG! He got driven wide by a Bears defender, but not before carrying it all he way in and lining up for a point-blank shot. Then the Bear railroaded him off to the side. The Phantoms were in the midst of a mad scramble in front of Neuvirth when the horn sounded to end the frame. Amadio took a slash at the stick of the Phantom in front of the net.20But somehow GUENIN gets two for slashing. WTH? :banghead:

The score at the end of the second period is Phantoms 2, Hershey 2. SOG are Phantoms 19, Bears 23. The Phantoms will have a 2:00 PK at the beginning of the third period.

- - - -

HA HA!!! The penalty is actually on Amadio, so we get a PECOOOO POWER PLAY and not a penalty kill to start the period! HA!

The main difference between this starting lineup and our regular one is that Kukkonen is on the D pair with Syvret. Unfortunately, as we started the period at center ice instead of an offensive zone draw, it took us a little while to actually get into the Bears' end. And in the first half of the penalty, the Bears kept clearing the puck. Finally, with 17 seconds left in the PP, Kukkonen goes to the sin bin. So after a brief 4-on-4, the Bears went on a PP and The Wrong Giroux scored on a screened shot. 3-2, Evil Bears with ab out 17 minutes left in the frame.

LOL... the Chicken Dance, with its additional lyrics of "Hey Ref, You S*ck! , go played during the stoppage in play.

SON OF A... um, GUN! How did that puck stay out of Hershey's net?! SHOOT. The entire place was screaming, as the puck was rolling behind Neuvirth toward the open net, and then when the scramble in front cleared, play was coming back the other way. SWEAR WORDS!!! That should have tied the freaking game. Hershey dodged a cannonball with that play.

JVR, Kempe, and Kalinski go on the attack, earning us an offensive-zone faceoff when Neuvirth freezes the puck. With 11:30 left, the SOG are Phantoms 23, Bears 25.

NICE. Kalinski steals the puck in the slot in front of our net. The Bear was winding up for a slapshot, and Kalinski came in and swiped the puck,

Both teams are playing for blood now. The Bears want to get insurance goals, and the Phantoms want to tie it. NOBODY is letting up.

8:02 left in the period. SOG Phantoms 25 (been a few minutes since Neuvirth stopped one), Bears 28.

We have some line shuffling going on, as JVR is out with=2 0Nodl and Sirianni. And BLAST. Freaking Hershey blasts one in with 6:08 left in the period. 4-2 Evil Bears.

Kalinski, Kane, Szwez is another grouping that has been changed since the start of the game. Matsumoto, Laliberte, and Maroon are a regular unit. NUTS we nearly got one in, but a Bears defender in the crease snared the puck first. And I suspect we won't see a lot of the fourth line in the last few minutes of this game, as we seem to be rotating our scoring lines.

2:58 left. SG Phantoms 27, Bears 31. I would have liked to see more than 27 for the amount of time we were in their end, but then again it only takes a moment to bury a puck. So LET'S DO IT.

Just about two minutes left, and I am wondering when we will see Munroe go... there. 1:55 left and our extra skater is JVR. Empty net goal with 1:41 left, and a giant fight ensues in the corner as the Bear took a slapshot instead of just shooting the puck. Inti the unguarded goal All eleven skaters had at each other.

By the time everyone got pried apart, there was a Bear in the box and I am still waiting to see which Phantom will go. Maroon is the guy. The goal-scorer and Patrick Maroon both went off for unsportsmanlike conduct, and we are at 4 on 4 for the remainder of the period. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Guenin (who buried Beagle at our half-boards) and Syvret are out. Last minute of play in the period... and Fraser's arm is up. Guenin goes with 50.6 seconds left in the period. They say it's elbowing, so we're at 4-on-3.

But not for long. Hershey puts in a PP goal to make it 6-2. |

There may be a bit of extracurricularity at the Hershey end at the final horn, but it cleared up relatively soon.

SOG at the end, Phantoms 27. Bears 33. Boyd Kane was the second star.

It didn't really hit me until Phlex stood in the tunnel with the "Thanks for the Memories" sign, but this could have been the final pro hockey game in the Spectrum. We will have to win at least two in Hershey in order to bring it back to the Spectrum for a Game 6. But after this series, even if we advance, chances are we'll be at the Center. So the Spectrum's stint as a pro hockey arena might have come to an end with this game.

After con ferring with Mike Thornton on the bench, Phlex did not come out with the sign. He did skate around the rink and salute the fans, though.

And I didn't want to leave. I got to shake hands with Keith Jones as he was going up the Phantoms tunnel.

When I saw some longtime season ticketholders whom I know, including grown men who were stone-cold sober, having a bout of grief on the concourse, it REALLY hit me that we might be bidding our home goodbye. And that at the end of this season, we'll be bidding goodbye to our team as well. I knew these things, of course, and I've posted about them already. But the denial is continuing to wear off and as it goes, sadness comes in to take its place.

So pardon me if I do a substandard job of proofreading. I kind of have something in my eye right about now.

Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears, Game 2, East Division Semi-Finals, 4-18-09, Pregame Musings

2009-04-18T16:41:00.002-04:00

Side note -- boy, did it age me this morning when I saw the blurb in today's [I]Daily News[/I] about John Steven's son John turning 15.

15? Say what? Has THAT much time passed since 1996, when the Phantoms' first captain came here with his wife and two little boys? Eeee. It ages me. ;)

Anyway, tonight's game is at 7 PM in The Spectrum. There are two different scenarios, one happy and one not-so-happy, by which this actually COULD be the final hockey game in the Spectrum, so come on down!

The Phantoms actually don't have home ice advantage in this series. We got Games 1 and 2, rather than the traditional 3 and 4, because Disney on Ice is at the GIANT Center. So after tonight, we won't have a home game in this series until the proverbial "Game 6 If Necessary".

Therefore, if this series ends in under 6 games, either happily with a Phantoms win, or not-so-happily with the Bears advancing, we won't see Game 6 at the Spectrum. Since we don't know where the Phantoms will be playing Round 2 of the playoffs, even if we win the series we might not see the Spectrum again once this round is over.

So come on down to one of the last surviving ARENAS, an experience which we'll appreciate all the more once we only have Entertainment Venues to watch our pro hockey games in.

GO PHANTOMS!!!

Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears, Game 1, East Division Semi-Finals, 4-16-09

2009-04-16T22:41:00.000-04:00

Scott Munroe will start the game, as he led the team out of the tunnel for the pregame warmup. Nate Guenin is wearing an A, in place of the called-up Jared Ross.

Nodl was among the last guys off the ice. The fonal three were Kempe, Sirianni, and waaaaaay last, Matsumoto. He kept taking shots on goal after the horn sounded.

KEITH JONES made his walk from the tunnel to the announcer's booth to great applause from the fans who arrived for pregame skate. He was slated to get the wires off his jaw yesterday, so we have one more reason to celebrate the Phantoms' postseason berth. We can have our own announcer back for the rest of our existence as a team.

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Sloane, DeSantis, Klotz, Beaulieu, Kempe, Bellamy

Starting Lineup: .Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Sirianni, JVR, Kane

So Kempe is scratched, but JVR has moved up to take Ross's place on the top line.

Sirianni took the draw for us, with Ross called up. The ears got three quick shots off in the first few seconds.

Next up, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Bartulis, Kukkonen. And though they buzzed in the Bears end, we didnt get a shot on goal. Then on the way back, Nygel called Matsumoto for hooking.

First PK unit: Kalinski, Kane, Syvret, Guenin.

We had one tot point out a missed Bears infraction during our PK. No call. Another young fan yelled, "Hey REF, how's it feel to be called out by a four-year-old?" to the general mirth of everyone in our section.

Nodl/Raduns are the next PK forward pairing.

The penalty is killed. We gave up two SOG while shorthanded.. So of course we get another call, this time to Laliberte, immediately thereafter.] Not fivce minutes into the game and we are on our second PK.

Kane/Kalinski and Bartulis/Kukkonen are out.. BOOOOO a Bear skates over Kalinski's stick and the ref's arm goes up. Interestingly, we are seeing one guy from each team enter the penalty boxes. Kalinski goes for tripping, and Aucoin goes for diving. This is a case where it really, really ought to have been only the diving call. There are times when both parties are guilty of their respective infractions, but on this play Kalinski did nothing whatsoever to earn a stint in the sin bin.

SECONDS LATER here we go again with the ref blowing play dead. Another pair of players, one from each team, goes off. Guenin sits for cross-checking, Mink gets two for tripping.

Nygel Pelletier is a whistle-happy zebra. No question. Now there are two Bears and three Phantoms in the penalty box. On the ice, however, we are still 5 on 4, as the rest of the players had coincidental minors. 13:28 an d we are finally at even strength. The Bears have 6 SOG to our none. Clackson, Gratton, Ratchuk, Curry, and Sirianni are out and there goes Nygel's arm up for a Bears infraction.

In the short interval before our PECOOOO POWER PLAY, we got two SOG. Nice rush with the Matsumoto line and Syvret and Kukkonen. But someone poke-checked Kukkonen before he could get the shot off.

Sirianni, Kane, and JVR are out with Kukkonen and Svret – now make that Ratchk/Curry as we swap our D pair for fresh legs.. Sirianni makes a nice move in the neutral zone to get past a defender, but Hershey clears the puck as their penalty expires. Szwez manages one solid shot on goal, which results in an offensive zone draw when Neuvirth freezes the puck.

Szwez, Nodl, and Kalinski are reunited as a line, thanks to the various call-ups and send-downs.

With 9:45 left in the period, the Bears have 11 SOG to the Phantoms' 3. The disparity in PK time helps explain some of the gap. Maroon rushes the puck up the left side, and double-teams a Bear with20Laliberte behind the Hershey net to applause from the fans. The puck winds up in the section adjacent to mine, however, when the Bears try to bring it back out and fire it into our zone.

GREAT SAVE Munroe, with a D-man skating behind him, stopped a puck from going in from point blank range. I think it hit Munroe, which would have made it a circus save. Had it hit the defenseman, I think he would have been limping back to the bench, and that didn't happen. DOGGONE but Da Bears got robbed of a goal.. GOOD!

Matsumoto's line seems to be edging out the Kane/JVR/Sirianni trip for ice time in this period. They're earning it by generating some good scoring opportunities.

Raduns, Clackson, and Gratton are our fourth line today.

With 4:58 left in the frame, SOG are Phantoms 7, Bears 12.

Oh, BLEEP!. We scored what appears to be an own-goal. One of our D went to get a rebound, and deflected it in. Only the f irst shot on goal, not the rebound that went in, got listed on the shot clock. Curry will be seeing that sequence of events in his sleep, poor guy.

With 1:17 left, we get a PECOOOO POWER PLAY, with the SOG Phantoms 7, Bears 13.

Final minute of play in the frame: no call when a Phantom gets tackled in the Hershey zone.; The fans helpfully pointed this out to the referee.

At the end of the period, we have 43 seconds of PP time remaining. The score is 1-0, Bears, and the SOG are Phantoms 10, Bears 13.

Aaaa, holy COW how did the Bears keep that the heck out?! With the SOG even at 3-3, the Bears kill off the remainder of their infraction and get called for another one almost right away. This time, The Wrong Giroux goes for tripping. We proceed to give up two SH SOG during the opening shift of our PECOOOOO POWER PLAY.

Ten secon ds left in the PP, and we are still waiting to shoot on net during this man advantage. However, Matsumoto breaks in with a 2-on-1 just as the PP expires and SCORES with a bomb from the top of the circle! 1-1! Assist from Patrick Maroon and Danny Syvret. I believe it was scored as an even-strength goal.

Here comes another PECOOOOO POWER PLAY, with 14:09 left in the period and SOG 16-16. Did I mention that Nygel calls a lot of infractions?

No SOG were registered by either team for the first 1:56 of the PP. But the Bears took another penalty just as the first one was ending, so we get two more minutes of man advantage. (Presuming no other calls, which the way this game is going, could be presuming a lot. The Bears' #7 blocked a shot... must be something about wearing the number 7. Our #7, Nate Guenin, is a lock to deflect multiple pucks during the course of a game. Matsumoto tries to stuff it in at the post, but Neuvirth plants himself there and doesn't allow the disk through.

Nice keep-in by Ratchuk at the far point. Curry receives the pass and fires on goal. Neuvirth freezes it for a draw. Sirianni/Kane/JVR are out. Not for long, though, as Pelletier decides Kane has committed holding. Remember what I said about presuming no other calls during this PP could be a stretch? So we will have 30 seconds of 4-on-4, followed by a PK. Kalinski and Nodl are out with Guenin and Syvret.

Here we go with a rush at 4-on-4, only to be called offside for the 9,042nd time in this period. GEESH with these offsides calls! The Phantoms Phaithful has not agreed with every call,l to be sure. But for our own sakes, we are going to have to do a better job of avoiding going offside. Matsumoto/Laliberte are next, followed by a wholesale change of Raduns/Kalinski-and Bartulis/Kukkonen.

The PK is over and Sirianni gets himself into the Bears end with the puck.; He is surrounded by three Bears at the far half-boards, and gets the puck toward the net but the shot goes high. Next up, Gratton and Clackson are out with a third forward I didn't see. Gratton dumps a Bear flat in the neutral zone, to the appreciation of the crowd.

With 3:12 left in the period, there is a ten-skater scrum in the corner to Munroe's left. I see two Bears heading into the sin bin, compared to one Phantom. Osala goes for Boarding, while another Bear and our Curry go off for roughing. So it's a PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto's line goes out with Syvret and Kukkonen. Aah, nuts, and we just barely fail to keep the flipping thing in. Back we go, and we get ourselves set up after a couple more cleared pucks GO MATSY GO GO aah shoot, Neuvirth froze it. OK, faceoff. The same five guys are out, this time with Maroon stationed at the crease for rebounds. Another couple of attempts for our side come to naught, and we get a line change. Well, the forwards change to the Kane line. The same two D stay out till the very end of the PP. At the final minute of play in -the period, we have Guenin/Bartulis and Nodl, Szwez, Kalinski. And we don't get set up in time to prevent the Bears from a rush. OH OH OH OH Kalinski takes it and rushes up ice, puts the puck through the defender's legs, gets the puck on net... and freaking Pelletier calls him for ROUGHING. Say WHAT?! Is there a way to rough an opponent when your hands are ON YOUR STICK and you are taking a SHOT ON GOAL?

Geesh, where is that fan with the giant eye chart from the last game? We need it now.

ANYway, as the period comes to an end, the score is 1-1, SOG are Phantoms 24, Bears 20, and we=2 0have 1:54 of PK remaining at the start of the third period.

With 24 seconds left in the PK, the Bears score on the same kind of play that they were robbed from scoring on earlier in the game. Munroe was down, and the open guy in front held on to the puck and went around him He just barely tucked it in at the glove-side post. Bears fans in the next section start their Bears goal chant, responded to by a rousing chorus of the old Philly standby, "Hershey S*CKS", by everyone within earshot.

Nygel now calls Clackson for roughing, but we get our first SOG of the period while shorthanded. Back into our end we come, with Kalinski and Kane out with Syvret and Guenin. Hershey is trying to bounce the puck off the back boards again, like they were in the previous game here. They didn't do this in Hershey, so it seems they think our boards must be better suited for the pinball kind of shot/pass they are trying here.

We chew some more time off the clock with a draw in the Bears' end. At the end of the PK, we had two SOG to Hershey's none. However, th e Bears do exactly the same thing AGAIN – go around Munroe once he's down after making a save. 3-1 Bears and the freaking Bears fans are doing their freaking chant again. Many boos ensue.

Seconds later, the PECOOOO POWER PLAY is in effect again. KANE aaah he nearly cashed one in from point-blank, but no dice. Later on the shift, Nygel decided Kane was holding the stick, so we went to 4 on 4 with 27 seconds left in Hershey's penalty.

Matsumoto and Laliberte break out with a SH 2-on-2, but the puck goes off a defender's skate and the Bears bring it back to our end.

The penalty is over, and SOG are Phantoms 28, Bears 26.

Hershey tried their pinball thing again, but it went hard off the glass instead of the back boards. And I do mean HARD. It made a huge asterisk-shaped set of cracks in the glass behind Munroe, to the goal judge's right, so we all get an unscheduled timeout while the ice crew is summoned to replace the damaged pane. Boy, I don't know who fired that puck, but he obviously ate his Wheaties thi s morning. Either that, or he got into Popeye's spinach stash.

SCOOOOOORE! Kukkonen from Matsumoto and Maroon, both of whom have had two-point nights, and we are within one goal! 3-2 Bears, and LOL some Pbantoms Phans in front of me did a Phantoms chant to mimic the one the Bears fans were doing earlier. (P-H-A-N-T-O-M-S, PHANTOMS! WOO!")

Just under five minutes left and it looks like we are going to short shifts.

2:32 left, SOG are 30-30, and we are pressing for that tying goal Matsumoto's line is out, which bodes well as they're the line responsible for our two goals, However, the Bears break out and with an odd-man rush, feed the puck to the trailer who scores. 4-2 Bears. More "B-E-A-R-S BEARS BEARS BEARS" and more booing takes place in the aftermath.

By the time the final horn sounded, the Phantoms had taken 18 third-period shots, but it wasn't enough. The SOG at the end of the game were Phantoms 32, Bears 31. Final score was 4-2, Bears. Matsumoto was the third star of the game.

We're back at the Spectrum on Saturday, for a 7:05 game. Here's to seeing us TERMINATE WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE anything in a Bears uni.

GO PHANTOMS!!!

Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears, Game 1, East Division Semi-Finals: 4-16-09 Pregame Notes

2009-04-16T18:34:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to report that we are playing the first playoff round in the Spectrum. The circus will be here in mid-May, so I hope we are playing here at least that long. THIS is our home rink.

The Bears have home ice advantage, but they also have Disney On Ice at the GIANT Center. Therefore, the Phantoms are going to host Games 1 and 2 of the series, as well as Game 6 if necessary.

Jared Ross and Luca Sbisa are called up to the Flyers. Andreas Nodl is sent back to the Phantoms.

We still have JVR, and I hope the presence of him, Nodl, and Kempe will help fill the hole in the lineup left by Ross's clallup.

THe complete game blog will be posted after the game.

GO( PHANTOMS!!!

Phantoms at Hershey Bears, 4-11-09; Final Regular Season Game

2009-04-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

Scratches Lehtivuori, Kukkonen, Guenin, DeSantis, Gratton, Ross, Kane.

Starting lineup Aubin, Laliberte, Matsumoto, Maroon, Syvret, Sbisa.

What did Bears fans all holler when the anthem singer reached "...Land of the free"?

Next up Kempe Sirianni JVR with Ratchuk and Curry.

Then Klotz, Raduns, Clackson, Ratchuk, and Curry (the only regular D pair we have today).

Phooey, we get a penalty about five minutes into the game. Sirianni goes. Raduns with Kalinski were out with Bartulis and I couldn't see who else . Now it's Laliberte/Matsumoto with Sbisa and Syvret.

Oh, for crying sakes. No sooner do we get out, then back we go back to the sin bin. Sloane takes two for interference. Bears lead in SOG 7-0.

OMG Kalinski and Raduns on a SH 2 on 1... Neuvirth makes the stop but in the meantime, we are about to go to 4 on 4 for the next 51 seconds.

JVR and Sirianni are out with Ratchuk and Curry.

Or not – we can also go on a 4-onp3 PP for 31 seconds, which will graduate to a 5 on e advantage AAH a Bear's stick broke and we couldn't take advantage. The Bears are getting to loose pucks first. Matsumoto's line are out with Sbisa and Syvret. OH shoot, Neuvirth made a circus save to keep the second shot out... Maroon shot point blank and the rebound went to Laliberte, who had a wide open cage to fire at until Neuvirth did a Jack-in-the-box impersonation and sprang up between the puck and the twine.

The PP is over. SOG are now Bears 10, Phantoms 6. And another Hershey PP ensues. This time it's Curry, but the PA sounds garbled from this angle so who knows what the penalty was for?

BLAST. A shot from the point hits the crossbar and goes in with 15 seconds left in the PK.

Fight: Klotz vs. Brennan. Brennan pinned Klotz's arms but they did both manage to get in several shots.=0 AI would give them a draw and tip my cap to Garrett for fighting again for the first time in a while.

JVR with the breakaway, but Neuvirth makes the save.

ANOTHER breakaway, couldn't see if it was JVR (22) or Kempe (23) but again, Neuvirth was equal to the challenge.

Raduns Clackson Beaulieu are out.

Bellamy Kalinski JVR..

At the end of the first period, the Bears lead 1-0, and SOG are Bears 14, Phantoms 8.

I had to put the computer aside briefly to let the lady with a mop clean up a nearby soda issue. During that time, here's a recap of the salient points of the period.

The Bears managed to pot another goal early on. Not long afterward, the Phantoms got a full two-minute two-man advantage when two Bears were called for hooking.

Luca Sbisa cashed in 55 seconds into the PP, with assists from Syvret and Matsumoto. It was his first pro goal, as far as we can tell. I thought he had scored for the Flyers, but I'm told otherwise.

I am-not liking the amount of time that we are spending in our end, overall during this period.

However, having said that, we have spent enough time in the Bears' end that e have nearly caught up in shots on goal. With 6:41 left in the period, the Bears have 21 SOG compared to our 19.

Here was a ten-skater scrum at our bench-side half-boards, during which the two smallest guys on the ice, Matsumoto a0nd Chris Bourque, got into a jersey-hauling contest. LOL. Battle of the featherweights. :) When he dust cleared, the Phantoms somehow wound up with the PK, as we had two guys in the box to the Bears' one. Fortunately, the Bear was Giroux, so that's one threat removed.

Oh, WHAT game is this ref watching? Another ten-skater scrum, this time behind our net, leads to ONLY Bellamy going off. GRRRRRR...

But the period ends before anything much can happen.

At the end of the second period, the score is Bears 2, Phantoms 1, and the SOG (thanks to the two recent Bears Pps) are now Bears 27, Phantoms 20.

The Phantoms will have 1:45 of PK time remaining at the beginning of the third period.

Heh heh heh... a Bear just boarded himself trying to hit Kempe. :D

We are nearly 5 minutes into the period, and we have not had a shot on goal yet. The Bears, meanwhile, have a total of 31 shots in the game. Ah, there we go, we get a puck on net even as I type.

Ah, here comes a PP. Let's see if we can cash in on the team with the AHL's worst PK. No dice that time,but three minutes later, here we go again with another PP. GO PHANTOMS, tie the game, guys!

No dice there, either, BUT Maroon has a BREAKAWAY.... drat, he missed the net.

With 6:20 left in=2 0the third period, SOG are Bears 34, Phantoms 25. The score remains 2-, Bears.

Kempe tries a drop pass to JVR, but it gets picked off. Oops.

NUTS. A few shifts later, a Bear scores from the top of the slot to make it 3-1. Drat times ten. We have about 5 minutes left, and SOG are Bears 37, Phantoms 25.

They tried it again but Aubin stopped a shot through a multi-player screen.

Whoa, The Wrong Giroux gets a four-minute infraction with 1:58 left. Two for interference and two for unsportsmanlike conduct... GO PHANTOMS! Tie it!

Matsumoto's line with Syvret and Sbisa SCOOOORE! #-2 with under two minutes left and we are still on the PP!

One minute left in the period,and Sirianni, Kempe, JVR, Maroon (four forwards) and Syvret AAAAAAH how did that puck stay out? Arrgh/ Ten-skater scrum behind the net now with 16.2 seconds left. Timeout Phantoms. 50 seconds remain in the PP. GO GO GO!

The goalie is pulled now=2 0and we have Sbisa, Syvret, Maroon, Sirianni, Kempe, and JVR out. But time runs out on us-before we can tie the game.

BTW, as our captain and one of our assistant captains were scratched tonight (Kane and Ross), we went with three As. Syvret is an assistant captain for us normally, and tonight he was joined by Matsumoto and Curry.

We're at Hershey for the final Phantoms regular season game

2009-04-11T19:57:00.001-04:00

It lookss like the Phantoms might be resting some guys for the playoffs. Aubin is playing. I saw Klotz, Bellamy, and Kempe warming up, and they are three guys who have been healthy scratches in recent games.

The recap will go up when we're on the way home. GO PHANTOMS!!!

Yep -- It was a legit Hat Trick!

2009-04-11T13:28:00.001-04:00

I just got this from a discussion I was in on Facebook. The person who posted it has good reason to know what transpired among off-ice officials, so I'm taking it as reliable info:

"let me clear it up for you guys haha. goal was originally credited to sirianni bc of the tip. then it was temporarily changed to syvret. then it was changed back to sirianni because of one reason or another. so yes, sirianni did indeed have a hatrick."

Phantoms vs, Hershey Bears, 4-10-09, Final Game at the Spectrum

2009-04-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

At the block party outside, we met up with and took pics with Frank Miceli, the team's former COO. Of course he's here; this was his second home for years. It's good to see him. I hope he brought extra good mojo with him to help boost the team into the playoffs.

Oustside, the band played "These Were The Best Days Of My Life". I wanted to cry, Which was only exacerbated when I saw the STH gift: a mini banner saluting the Final Game at the Spectrum, with Gene Hart's quote, "Good Night and Good Hockey".

The music on the PA is getting me, too; "Philadelphia Freedom", "I Will Remember You" (which nearly set me off again), "If I Could Turn Back Time"... the pregame music choices are surely no accident.

John Paddock is on the bench, pre-warmups, with his own personal video camera. Lou Nolan was signing autographs in the tunnel, but ran out of autograph cards before he got to me.

I already saw one small kid whom I'm familiar with crying at his seat. Yeah, little buddy, I can empathize.

So many familiar faces are here. That's what happens when you sit in the same place for at least 9 of the past 13 seasons. (I had three other locations, including the seats I shared with Bob P. and Karla in the first two seasons, before a seat adjacent to the tunnel became available.) So many long-timers like myself whom I've seen year in and year out, and am unlikely to see much of anymore after the season concludes.

I can see the original press box, which still has WIP on it, and the original organ which is still up in the rafters.

There's a Final Game banner in the rafters, also, waiting to be unfurled.

Scott Munroe just led the team out of the tunnel. Warmups are starting.

Luca Sbisa has returned to Philly, following the elimination of his junior team from the playoffs, and he is wearing #47
___
Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Ratchuk, DeSantis, Klotz, Beaulieu, Kempe, Bellamy.

Starting Lineup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Ross, Kane, Sirianni

Less than two minutes into the game, MacNeill and Josh Gratton fight. Meanwhile we also get a PP because Helmer went off for inbte2rference, so it's our first PECOOOO POWER PLAY of the game. MacNeill landed more punches early, but Gratton landed haymakers of his own and got the eventual takedown. The fans went berserk when he raised his arms on the way to tbe sin bin. When Berube was our assistant coach in the Cup year, he reprimanded Josh for doing that, but I think even he would understand the emotion of the moment. This is NOT just any game,and everyone knows it.

Sbisa is out with Curry and the Matsumoto line. OMG this place is as deafening as old-time Bears/Phantoms games. WOW.

With 8 seconds left in the PP, we have the only three SOG.

Hee, make that 4 SOG with five seconds left in the PP.

With Ratchuk scratched, the D Pair is now Curry and Sbisa.

Szwez is out with Kalinski and JVR. and we are back to even strength. Syvret/Guenin and Bartulis/Kukkonen are our other D pairs.

FIGHT, Clackson vs. Brennan. Like Gratton, Clackson got the takedown and I would say the edege. GREAT GREAT GREAT this team has really come out on fire. At the time of the Clackson fight, we had 5 SOG to Hershey's 1.

Now there's a scrum on Munroe's doorstep as the Bears attempt to get the frozen puck loose. But the ref calls play dead and we get a faceoff.

SCOOOOOOOORE! Matsumoto jams his 29th goal in from he doorstep with assists from Maroon and Laliberte! It was our 6th shot of the game, compared to Hershey's 2.

We then get our first PK as Sbisa goes of. Ross and Kane break out 2 on 2, with Syvret and Guenin on D for the start of the kill.

Next, Matsumoto/Laliberte with Kukkonen and Bartulis AAAA BREAKAWAY... shoot, the goalie made the stop. Nice way to shave time off the clock. :D The Phantoms are out there with an intensity that is easily playoff-level. We know that it's a "win or go home situation", and we are playing like it.

Koharski calls Guenin for slashing with 4 seconds left in the Sbisa penalty. Kane, Syvret, and Kukkonen are out. Ross comes out whe Sbisa crosses the ice and arrives at the bench. Next up are Matsumoto/Lalibere th Bartulis/Curry. Again Laliberte takes the puck all the way in for a shot on goal. SOG are Phantoms 8, Bears 2, with 21 seconds left in the Guenin penalty.

Bartulis blocks a shot. As the penalty expires, the SOG are Phantoms 9, Bears 3.

With just under five minutes left, again Laliberte rushes the puck up ice full speed, followed by eeryone else.; Our scoring attempt earned us another PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Ross, Kane Sirianni, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. SCOOOOOORE Sirianni from Syvret and Ross!!!! Outstanding! It was our 10th SOG.

About a shift later, here comes another PECOOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto's line is out with Sbisa and Curry. The Bears are clearing the puck pretty well this time around, but the infraction is only half served. SCOOOOOORE!!! Sirianni again from Kane and Kukkonen! 3-0 Phantoms! SOG are 13-4 in favor of the Phantoms. One of those Bears shots came during the PP we just truncated with a goal.

And at the end of the period, the Phantoms went off to a standing ovation, leading 3-0 and outshooting Hershey 13-4.
----
Intermission music: "Times of Your Life" and "Glory Days". HA HA HA, they're playing the Three Stooges theme again as the officials come out. :D They'd stopped doing that for a while, but tonight, it's baaaaack. :)

The second goal is now credited to Syvret from Kukkonen and Ross. We spent most of the first 90 seconds of the frame in our end, but allowed no shots. Matsumoto and company toook it in for a shot on Neuvirth, but Matsy shot high. However,even over the crowd noice, the puck struck the glass loudly. He got ALL of that disk!

The Bears must have gotten an earful in the locker room, because they are spending time cycling in our end again. However,a mixed line combo of Gratton, Raduns, and Ross got out of our zone and Ross sent a blistering puck on goal for the first shot by either team in the period. Nearly 4 minutes have elapsed in the frame. Neuvirth had to make a NICE save to keep that one out. For his troubles, he gets to stop three more pucks on the next shift. Ross's line is out for the faceoff. With 4 and a half mijtes gone, Munroe stops his first shot of the period, and it's a dandy save from point blank range. His next save thuds loudly off his pads, to loud applause from the Phantoms Phaithful.

Clackson gets called for hooking, so we go on the PK. Matsumoto/Laliberte are wth Guenin and Syvret. And MUNROE. :) Who is making stops With Authority. Aw, heck. Bears score just as the penalty ends. It's their 10th SOG, compared to our 7th. Also reminiscent of Days Of Old, there is a loud contingent of Bears fans in the house. We Phantoms fans will be returnng the favor tomorrow night at the GIANT Center, however.

With 9:30 left in the period, we give Neuvirth a puck to freeze just before the promo timeout.

Kalinski, JVR, and Szwez are out with Kukkonen and Bartulis.

Guenin blocked a shot. :)

HOLY COW. Our Phan Club's Sergeant-at-Arms just told me that Norfolk is leading Binghamton 6-0. OH. MY. GOSH. GO ADMIRALS!!!! If we win and Bingo loses, we clinch the last playoff berth!

AAAH SCOOOORE! While I was typng the great news about how much Norfolk is helpng our cause, KALINSKI scored an un-assisted goal on our 21st shot! $-1 Phantoms!!!

Next up, another PK. They think Matsumoto tripped someone. The Phantoms Phaithful beg to differ, LOUDLY. :D Oddly enough, I thought the Bears got a shot six seconds into the PK, but it never registered on the board. NOW they have a shot, with 36 seconds left in their man advantage. Munroe had to stop one other puck during the PK. Now the Matsumoto line is buzzing around the Bears net with a minute to go in the frame. They're followed by the Ross line, THEY'RE followed by the sound of the horn.

At the end of the second period, the Phantoms lead 4-1, and the SOG are Phantoms 21, Bears 17.
----
I had some computer issues during the third period and the recap I was typing got lost. Dang it. But in short order, you know that second Phantoms goal that was recredited to Syvret? Well, apparently everyone conveniently decided to pay no mind to that, because when Sirianni scored an empty-net goal to make it Phantoms 5, Hershey 2, there was a downright avalanche of hats. :) So if the box score remains as it is right now, crediting Sirianni with three goals, then we closed out our tenure at the Spectrum by winning two fights, scoring five goals, celebrating a hat trick, and clinching a playoff berth!

For a few points of interest that happened during the third period: Hershey's second goal was scored by The Wrong Giroux, aka Alexandre Giroux. It was bhis 58tb of the season. WHY is this man not with the Washington Capirals?! CALL HIM THE HECK UP! Anybody with 58 freaking goals belongs in the SHOW, thank you very much!

Hershey repeatedly pinballed the puck off the boards behind the net, aiming it for a guy who would be stationed there to try and stuff the puck in before Munroe could move laterally. On one of those attempts, Kukkonen saved us from being scored on by crouching down to block the puck. It was a gutsy move on his part, given he still is wearing a guard on the lower half of his face, and he put himself right in the line of fire for both the oncoming puck and the stick that shot it. Fortunately, he kept the puck out without getting injured. But this team was motivated enoujh to dive in front of a Mac truck if that's what it took to win this game. This was just one bit of evidence to that effect.

Keith Jones, wired jaw and all, announced both Sirianni's goal and the "For the final time in the Spectrum, one minute left in the period" call. At the end, the whole team gathered at center ice and saluted the fans, then followed Phlex around the perimeter of the ice. Phlex had the "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES" sign held high, and the team tapped the glass with their sticks all the way around the ice.

During the "Shirts Off Our Backs" after the game, the final song to be played in the Spectrum was "Say Goodbye".

It was a great send-off for one of the last ARENAS in pro sports. For make no mistake, the Spectrum is an ARENA. Most of the new buildings today are Entertainment Venues. The sports world will be a lesser place when the Spectrum is relegated to history.

But at least the Sports World will continue to have the Phantoms in it for a while longer. We are in the playoffs!

GREAT JOB, Phantoms! Now go kick some more Bear tail in Hershey tomorrow night!

WOO HOOOO, We're In The Playoffs!!!!

2009-04-10T22:55:00.004-04:00

The GREAT news is, we beat Hershey 5-2 and Bridgeport lost to Norfolk, so we have absolutely clinched a playoff berth as of tonight! OUTSTANDING!!!!

The aggravating news is that my game night recap got goofed up and I've only got the first two periods to show for it.

So I'll be proofreading those, then writing up the things I remember best about the third period. There were plenty of highlights to remember, for sure.

I am SO PROUD of this team. Did we ever come out like gangbusters in this game!

Pregame comments

2009-04-10T18:47:00.000-04:00

Warmups just ended. I've already had to dry salt water off my glasses once. Sigh.

Sbisa is wearing #47.

Detailed posting will follow postgame, as my netboook's connectivity is spotty.

LET'S GO, PHANTOMS!!!

Block Party

2009-04-10T17:08:00.001-04:00

Saluting the Spectrum prior to the game. The block party is getting underway.<

Today is the day :(

2009-04-10T08:27:00.000-04:00

Today is the day I have dreaded for months. It's the final Phantoms regular season home game at the Spectrum.

And I do mean DREAD. As in, the Paul Simon song whose lyrics begin with, "April, come she will" saddened me when I heard it, because I knew the end of the season was in April.

Regardless of whether we clinch a playoff berth in the next two days, I am extremely depressed to witness the end of an era in my life. For 13 years I have derived a tremendous amount of enjoyment from attending Phantoms games. There have been times during those years when I was feeling so down, nothing much else could lift my spirits or get me going, and yet even through THAT I would look forward to Phantoms games.

So, playoffs or not, I know that this season is the last season, this game is the final regular season home game, and something I've set great store by for over a decade is coming to an abrupt and unwanted end in my life. And I feel a stupendous amount of grief for that loss.

So if I'm not quite myself in the immediate future, I apologize in advance and I will do my best not to take it out on the rest of the universe. But I feel as awful right now as I've ever felt after a bereavement. No exaggeration.

This post is going to both my regular blog and the Phantoms blog, as IMO it's relevant to both.

Phantoms at Albany River Rats, 4-8-09; Third Period, OT, and Shootout

2009-04-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

We started the first minute or so defending in our zone, to the point where I had to sit here and count the players to make sure that we were not on the PK. We are at 5 on 5.

Albany gets hit by the Delay of Game rule, giving us our third PP of the game. I would like to see our PP make a bit more noise on offense than we've done so far. Albany keeps finding ways to clear the puck out before we can really get set up.

Bingo/Syracuse is now at 2-2, as we are.

NICE steal by Matsumoto, once we are back at even strength, but once again Albany clears the puck before we can get set up in their end. At this rate, we are going to have to score right off a rush instead of getting set up and cycling. Which will be challenging if we don't get the heck out of our end. Warring with Albany in the neutral zone, as we have been doing, won't help much either.

Now we're waiting through a promo timeout for a neutral-zone draw. Kalinski tried to roof the puck, but it went out of play. Hence, the draw. We succeed in getting Peters to freeze the puck for an offensive draw, but we don't create chances from that. In this period, Albany has so far gotten the better of the chances.

HAHAHA, thank you Jon Kalinski for making a fibber out of me! So help me, he scored just as I was typing the above paragraph. LMHO, good job! Kukkonen put the puck on net and Kalinski fired the rebound home. Our announcer believes that JVR should get the secondary assist, but it appears to have been credited to someone else (Syvret, whom our announcer doesn't believe was on the ice at the time). 3-2 Phantoms, with just under 10 minutes remaining in the period!

Guenin blocks a shot. :) If there is a shots-blocked-per-game stat, Guenin surely leads the team, if not the league, in that category.

Someone needs to sit on Petruzalek... I am hearing his name an awful lot on this shift. He keeps passing the puck to other River Rats for scoring chances.

Peters robs Maroon twice. Both goalies are playing for keeps in these past few minutes. However, flipping Albany deflected a puck off our defenseman Bartulis and into the net to tie the game at 3-3. :headdesk: Drat.

We have 1:14 left in the period. Still 3-3. Syracuse has taken a 3-2 lead over Binghamton. GO CRUNCH! Their game has 6 minutes and change remaining, so the Crunch will have to hang onto their lead a bit.

We, meanwhile, are waiting through a Albany timeout to faceoff in their end.. AAA Peters makes an incredible save and hangs on for another offensive zone draw. We get some great opportunities but so far but Peters answered them all.

With under 5 seconds remaining, we get another faceoff in front of Peters. There goes the horn. We are going into OT, so we have gained a point out of this game so far. We lead in shots 40-29.

Come on, Phantoms -- we NEED THIS SECOND POINT. Let there be a purple-clad hero and let it be soon!

Ross/Sirianni are our first two forwardsm with Syvret and probably Guenin.

Laliberte and Matsumoto with Kukkonen and Bartulis are next. Curry/Ratchuk are with JVR and Kalinski.

We are at least halfway into the OT. Still 3-3. There is less than a minute remaining in Syracuse/Bingo and Syracuse is still ahead. PHOOEY, no they're not -- Bingo tied it with 4 seconds left and sent it into OT. So they are at 3-3 also.

Meanwhile, we spent most of the final minute buzzing around the River Rats net. No dice. Albany tried to return the favor in the waning seconds of the OT, but they were equally unsuccessful and we are going to a shootout.

Yet again, I feel compelled to mention that I BLEEPING LOATHE SHOOTOUTS. Just so you know.
'
Freaking Binghamton won. So we HAVE to win to stay ahead of the Senators.

Albany -- no
ROSS -- no 0-0
Albany -- no
SIRIANNI -- no 0-0
Albany -- no
MATSUMOTO -- YES Phantoms lead 1-0 after 3 rounds
Albany -- no
LALIBERTE -- no still 1-0
Albany -- yes so 1-1
MAROON -- no

At the end of five rounds, we are 1-1,

Albany -- yes
MATSUMOTO -- YES 2-2

Albany -- yes
ROSS -- YES 3-3

Albany -- yes
SIRIANNI -- YES 4-4

Albany -- yes
MAROON-- no

*%&#$@!!!!. We lose in the 9th round of the shootout. We are even in the standings with Binghamton.

Our next two games are on Friday vs. Hershey at home, and Saturday in Hershey. Binghamton's final two games are vs. Norfolk and Albany. We have the tougher road, but I am hoping that we will have extra determination going for us due to the fact that our stakes are higher. If Hershey loses, they might get a lower playoff seed. If we lose and miss the playoffs, not only is our season finished, so is our TEAM.

GO PHANTOMS!

Phantoms at Albany River Rats, 4-8-09; Second Period

2009-04-08T20:34:00.001-04:00

How they think Szwez slashed the guy is beyond me... the long and short of it is that we are on the PK for the fourth time in the game.LOOK OUT oh what a save by Munroe! Nice clear, Kane! Now Matsumoto and McBain are grappling for the puck at the point. Matsumoto manages to drive both his adversary and the disk to the outside of the blue line. The penalty is killed, thank goodness.

There's a lot of end-to-end action going on right now. In the latest rush, Raduns carried it all the way in and took a shot. Clackson positioned himself at the crease's edge for any possible rebounds. Instead, an Albany defender dumped Clackson over the goalie into the net. The net came off its moorings, and Peters's goalie mask was dislodged, so play was stopped. Everybody's in one relatively intact piece, fortunately.

Hooray, time for a Phantoms PP. Let's see if we can do something with our second man advantage of the game.

OH, Ross made a beautiful move to bring the puck across the goalmouth and fire it, but Peters was ready for it and made a terrific save. Peters needs to be a star of the game if he keeps this up. Especially since Peters also managed to stop a shot that was deflected by a stick at point-blank range. Yeowza. Nice stop (dagnab it, lol).

We have reached the halfway mark of regulation time. The Phantoms still lead 1-0 and we are at even strength. Doggoned Binghamton, meanwhile, has tied their game at 1-1. C'mon, Crunch! Take the lead back!

Nice shot by Clackson, which created a rebound that the Rats managed to corral first. Unfortunately, that led to an odd-man rush into the Phantoms end, where Albany got a shot of their own and cashed in a rebound. Argh. 1-1.

We spent the next couple of shifts making a lot of noise in front of the Albany net, but so far we have not retaken the lead. However, we have dictated the majority of the play since the River Rats tied the score, so I am hopeful that we can be the next team to bury a puck. All we need to do is keep doing what we've done in the past few minutes of play. We currently lead on the shot clock 23-16 SCOOOOORE Bartulis! See what I mean? Outstanding! :) 2-1 Phantoms! Kukkonen made a huge cross-ice pass to Bartulis who suddenly pinched WAY in and fired the puck home, Our announcer said it appeared to be a set play, and from watching the replay of it, I believe him. Especially since Bartulis just got his second goal of the year in the 77th game of the season. So he's not normally what I'd consider an offensive D-man, to put it mildly.

Kalinski took a nice pass and went to crash the net with the puck. He did that a bit more effectively than he probably intended, as after getting the shot off he wound up colliding with Peters and the net. The goalie was bowled over, the net was knocked askew, Kalinski wound up in a pileup at the boards as the Rats didn't much appreciate seeing their goalie bumped into. The Phantoms joined in the conference, but the only penalty that came out of the scrum was Kalinski's two minutes for goaltender interference.

Blast. Rodney fires from the top of the slot and scores a flying-water-bottle goal to tie the game. 2-2.That was our 5th PK of the game. We need to do a better job of staying out of the box. I know this particular Zebra has come up with creative interpretations of the rules in the past (and present -- see the Szwez "slash" in the first period). But we can also avoid blatant infractions that any ref would be guaranteed to call.

In the final minute of the period, suddenly the River Rats have come to life and are buzzing around our net. Fortunately, the horn sounds and the period ends. The score is 2-2 and the Phantoms lead in SOG, 26-21. BInghamton and Syracuse remain at 1-1.

GO PHANTOMS! Win the third period handily!

Phantoms at Albany River Rats, 4-8-09; First Period

2009-04-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms are starting Scott Munroe tonight with Syvret, Guenin Ross, Kane, and Sirianni,

Bartulis/Kukkonen with Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon are next.

JVR!!!! His first pro goal!!! Freakin' beauty of a play -- he beat out the defenseman to get in front of the goal, shot, took the rebound and buried it. OH yeah! :)

The Phantoms go shorthanded and the farging video is freezing. Syvret kept a puck out, and from the sound of it, he made a save that will go into the stats as a blocked shot. But we all know it's a save. ;)

We had a PP of our own shortly afterward, and while we didn't score, we got some high-quality opportunities. If we keep that up, we will be adding to the goal tally.

Again, just as the teams return to full strength, there's another penalty. This time it's against the Phantoms. Guenin goes for cross-checking.

NICE stop by Munroe! Late in the PK, Matsumoto was only kept from a breakaway by the opposite-side Albany defender, who shadowed Matsumoto all the way and managed to break up a scoring chance without incurring a penalty. NICE play by McBain.

However, the teams are back at full strength, and Kalinski/Szwez nearly teamed up for a goal. Unfortunately for us, Peters added another couple of circus saves to his total tonight. The game remains 1-0 Phantoms.

With 5:13 left in thbe period, the Phantoms lead the River Rats in shots, 11-8.

Syracuse has taken a 1-0 lead over Binghamton. GOOD. Keep it up, Crunch!

The Phantoms wound up on a PK for six seconds before Nygel Pelletier whistled a River Rat for tripping AND Kukknen for interference... how Kukkonen could have interfered with anyone while he was the one getting tripped is an interesting mental exercise.

We ended the period at a 4 on 3 disadvantage. There'll be some more PK time remaining at the start of the second period.

The Phantoms lead on the scoreboard 1-0, and on the shot clock 12-8.

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals, 4-5-09

2009-04-05T22:02:00.001-04:00

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Sloane, DeSantis, Klotz, Beaulieu, Kempe, Bellamy

Starting lineup: Munroe, Bartulis, Kane, Sirianni, Ross

The induction of Peter White into the Phantoms hall of fame took place prior to the game.

Matsumoto's line remains the same Szwez/Kalinski/JVR are also a line. The D pairs are the same as normal. The three remaining forwards are Raduns, Gratton, and Clackson and they are a line too.;

Two and a half minutes in, the Phantoms have the only shot on goal.

JVR parked at the crease's edge to try and screen the goalie/corral a rebound. Good thinking on his part. His line drew a penalty during that shift. So we are on the PECOOOOOO POWER PLAY with the Ross line, Syvret, and Kukkonen.

OMG OMG OMG Ratchuk does an end-to-end rush reminiscent of his first pro goal, and BURIES the biscuit for a 1-0 lead!

I didn't even have time to type in that we were shorthanded, with Bartulis off, before Laliberte and Matsumoto break in and score SH Laliberte from Guenin and Matsumoto, ALLL RIIIIIIGHT!!!

This was followed by a superb save by Munroe when the Admirals get the puck into our end – Muny is pumped to do HIS part to earn us that playoff spot, too. :)

Matsumoto makes another break Shorthanded, or at least we were shorthanded when he started rushing the puck. It was a 1-on-2 break, and the Admirals defenders included hooking among their attempts to keep him from scoring. So we get another PECOOOOOO POWER PLAY. Ross's line goes out with Curry and Ratchuk. We proceed to get a switch, as Kane goes up the tunnel holding his wrist. JVR comes out to replace him.

We go to 4 on 4 for 1:20 as Sirianni gets called for interference. That leaves Ross and JVR out with Kukkonen and Bartulis for the start of the 4 on 4. Kukkonen, BTW, still has jaw protection attached to his helmet Net up, Matsumoto/Laliberte with Syvret/Guenin as we go to the SH situation. Then Raduns/Kalinski.

Good, Kane and the trainer return to the bench.

Kalinski goes barreling up the ice on a 2 on 1 as our penalty expires. We got a couple of chances out of it, but no goal. Norfolk's goalie made a great save to keep the score at 2-0.

Aaaaw, JVR narrowly missed getting his first pro goal – he was breaking in on goal With Intent, but no dice this time. If he keeps that up, though, we'll see that pro point before the game is out.

Boy, did Ratchuk move fast to get to a loose puck near our net. We have had games in this season where we haven't gotten to stray disks first, but this is not turning out to be a night like that. Great!

LALIBERTE!!!! From Matsumoto and Maroon! Matsy's shot created a rebound that went way off to the side, but Laliberte was there to slam it over the prone goalie.

We proceed to get the Battle of the #15s, as Clackson and Brookbank go. Clackson gets the extra two for roughing. Gratton will sit in his stead. It was a somewhat long tilt that had Brookbank trying to pin Clackson in close and throw head shots. Clackson gave up a lot of size and reach, but apparently not much strength, because he fought out of the bear hug and got in some punches of his own. Brookbank seemed to throw more than Clackson, if we want to go by punch count, but I would say the quality of the shots was about even. I would say
“draw”, or :”slight edge, Brookbank”.

Raduns, Kalinski, Guenin, and Syvret are out on the PK for the final minute of the period.

At the end of the period, the teams are back at even strength, the Phantoms lead 3-0, and the SOG are Phantoms 12, Admirals 10.
WTH? A center-ice scrum that eventually separated into just Gratton and Henley looked fightish, till Henley.... turned and skated away mid-fight. If he was trying to make Gratton get the Betteann 17 (two for instigation and a ten-minute misconduct on top of the 5 for fighting), the ploy failed. All he got was booed and the players got coincidental majors.

I'm still not sure what triggered that outburst, though, really. All I know is that both Clackson and Gratton are in the sin bin at the moment, and I'm not too happy about it. I don't want to see shenanigans going on out there with our two best fighters in the box. Fortunately, though, Clacker should be done with his two-minute extra penalty soon. His waltz partner is already finished with his fie minutes and came out at the last stoppage in play.

Szwez is on the ice with Kalinski and JVR. Which tells me, among other things, that we are letting our other most physical guy be out there while we await Clackson's return.

Maroon was denied on a POINT BLANK shot by a superb save. No matter what the demeanor of his teammates, their netminder Kowalski most definitely came to play.

Ross made a slick play, looking like he was about to crash the net with the puck, only to jam on the brakes and let the defender go past him. He got a clear shot on goal off, but unfortunately an Admiral was in better position to get to the resulting rebound before Sirianni could fire it home. Nice move, though. :)

Here we go on a PK, as Szwez gets called for hooking. Ross and Kane proceed to break out in a 2 on 1. We don't get a shot but we come darn close and we kill some time off the clock into the bargain.

Back at our end, Guenin blocks a shot.

Next up: Matsumoto/Laliberte with Bartulis and Kukkonen.

The Admirals appear to have tried to turn it on during this period, as they went from being outshot to outshooting us. As the period ends Kane shoots on a 2-on-0 and Kowalski makes the save. The score remains 3-0 Phantoms. SOG are Phantoms 17, Admirals 24.
Yikes, Laliberte and an Admiral I can't identify crashed into one another and the boards at the blue line and both went down stunned. Laliberte got up slowly, but the Admiral got some assistance from the trainer before getting up. What do you know, it's #15, Brookbank, who also got called for roughing. However, someone else is serving his penalty (Buck), so we will have to see if Brookbank returns to the game.

POSTAGE, dang it. We had a few chances so far during this PP, but the most recent one found iron. Then Norfolk made a shorthanded rush, at which point Guenin blocked a shot.

Surprise, we get another PP moments after the previous one ends. Let's try this again, shall we? We got some more opportunities in this man advantage, but all we did was close the gap on the shot clock a bit more. With 10:4 remaining in the period, the SOG are now Phantoms 25, Admirals 28.

BOY did Guenin ever block a shot. That's at least the third time he has laid out flat on the ice to cut off a shooting lane. This time, he swept his stick and cleared the oncoming puck out of harm's way.

On Norfolk's next attempt, our defender took the body and the puck slid gently in toward Munroe all by itself. He easily sticked it aside.

Our rush with 8:01 remaining in the period resulted in yet another penalty against Norfolk, so let's see about cashing in this latest PECOOOOO POWER PLAY. We start with th Matsumoto line, Curry, and Ratchuk. Yiii... on our next shift, Kukkonen's shot from the top of the slot nearly nailed Kane at the crease's edge. Fortunately, everyone was in one intact piece by the end of that sequence. Ross's line is out with Syvret and Kukkonen... as the PP expires, Kalinski, Szwez, and JVR are out with Curry and Ratchuk. With 5:34 remaining, SOG are even at 28-28.

Just as we reach the final minute of the period, Guenin gets called for slashing. So we get to wrap up this game on the PK. At least we can ice the puck at will. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Kukkonen, and Bartulis are out.

Or we could go to 4 on 4 instead, with 36.2 remaining. Ross and JVR are out with Ratchuk and Curry.

And there we go – the game is over, we've won our remaining game in hand, and now it's the Phantoms who are in 4th place by one point. We have a game in Albany on Wednesday, one at home on Friday vs. Hershey on Friday, and a game in Hershey on Saturday. Count them all as must-wins for us to control -our own destiny and secure that final playoff berth.

GO PHANTOMS!

Today's game blog will be sent postgame

2009-04-05T18:01:00.001-04:00

My goal is to attend the auction postgame, so I will be sending the blog post after that.

The fans booed the "One Game Left" announcement when the banners were updated.

It's currently the first intermission and we lead 3-0 in a feisty game. GO PHANTOMS!!!

Home

2009-04-05T03:35:00.001-04:00

We just got home. Talk to you tomor... Er, I mean "later today". ;)

Phantoms and Phantoms Phan Club at Norfolk Admirals 4-4-09

2009-04-05T00:40:00.002-04:00

Hooray! When we stopped at the rest area on the way home, I figured out why my freaking wireless internet was acting up.

So here, without further ado, is the blog file from Saturday night's game.
----
Here we are at Scope Arena, Section 213. It's in the penalty-box-side corner which, IIRC, we defend twice. That's fine by me... I've always preferred spending time in the general vicinity of my team's netminder, ever since the days when I had an immense case of hero-worship for Bernie Parent. :)

Here come the Admirals, and wouldn't you know it? They're warming up on our end of the ice. Shoot. Oddly enough, they entered the ice from a door at the other end of the arena, near the Zamboni tunnel, and skated all the way to this end to warm up. Meanwhile, the Phantoms entered the ice from a door that's pretty much directly in front of our section, and skated down to the opposite side of the ice to warm up. Bizarre,

I hadn't realized, until Mark read through the Admirals' game program, that this is Norfolk's final home game of the season. Their remaining games, including the one in Philly tomorrow night, are all on the road.

I brought only the smaller of my two SLR lenses with me. Some arenas are fussy about people carrying cameras with detachable lenses, and I figured that I would rather reduce the odds of getting into a debate with guards at the door. As it turned out, it was a non-issue anyway as the guard did not go through the bag with a fine-tooth comb.
'
I see Jeff Szwez warming up with the team. Last night, he was absent from the lineup. Also on the ice for pregame -warmups are Josh Gratton and Josh Beaulieu. I know that we are allowed to warm up with one or two more players than we actually dress, so I will hold off on predicting who's in tonight's game until the scratches are announced.

Scratched: 2 6 8 12 23 24 36 37 Liquorice, Sloane, DeSantis, Klotz, Kempe, Bellamy, Hersley, Kalinski – that was unexpected, to put it mildly.)
Starting lineup: Aubin, Guenin, Syvret, Kane, Sirianni, Ross

Yep, this is definitely the end where we SHOOT twice. Why the teams' benches are on the opposite end of the rink from the entrances they use is utterly beyond me.

]Syvret and Kane come in on a 2 on 1, and YEAAAH we score on the very first shot of the game! Kane from Syvret and Ross. Fantastic! Norfolk proceeds to buzz around our net in an attempt to equalize the score. But Aubin is up to the challenge.

Eeee, we just executed a pas in front of our own net that must have made Fred Shero turn over in his grave. One of his maxims was to never have a cross-ice pass in front of your own net. First of all, one of our guys had to et creative to keep an Admiral from picking off the puck in the slot, and second, Aubin was wandering off to one side so the net was wide open.; Gaaah. My blood pressure. Fortunately, nothing bad came of it.

Nor did any mishaps occur courtesy of the Admiral who took the puck in his own neutral zone and started hustling up the middle. Syvret and I think Ratchuk combined to chase him down and bat the puck off his stick from behind. Nice D by our boys, and as an added benefit, no penalty-worthy maneuvers were committed.

Oh, Clackson came a hair's breadth from scoring from the very top of the crease. Only the quick thinking of an Admiral defender, who blocked the shot attempt with a strategically-placed stick, kept he puck from going on net at ooint-blank range.

OK, go figure... Kalinski was announced as a scratch, yet there he is on the ice with Szwez and JVR. Someone goofed up the list of scratches. I suspect it was Beaulieu's name, and not Kalinski's, that should have been announced.

OH OH OH how did we not score into the wide freaking open goal? Helenius was behind the net, only to have the puck decide to be uncooperative and go to a Phantom out in front. A Norfolk defender made what we all know was a save, though it will go on record as a blocked shot. However, we get the puck back and SCOOOOORE the next time around! Curry from Clackson and Ross! 2-0 Phantoms!'
'
SOG with 6:57 remaining in the period are even at 6-6.

With just under a minute left in the frame, Brookbank goes for interference and we get the first PP of the game. We have had only one SOG since we scored the second goal, while Norfolk has had 9.

We actually spent most of that final 55.5 seconds in our own end, but eventually the period ended with the Phantoms leading 2-0. We will have about 1:05 of powerplay time remaining at the start of the second period. SOG: Phantoms 7, Admirals 15.

We are on a delayed penalty right now and it is taking forever for a Phantom to get control and stop play. And BLOODY HADES, don't you know that the Ads get repeated scoring chances until one goes in? Aubin was down and someone was able to flip the puck over his outstretched glove. Aw, it was our old pal Zingoni. Gee, amigo, spare a thought for your former team, would ya? ;)

Well, at least we don't have to kill a penalty, Though e had a hair-raising moment soon after getting scored on whee t looked like Aubin's angle was off and something might sneak n at the post. Fortunately, that one stayed out.

Sirianni clangs one loudly off the post while trying to break in 2 on 2 with Ross. Drat. But at least it got us into the Norfolk end for a while. That goal against was the result of spending way too much time on D and not enough time on the attack.

SOG with 13:09 left in the period: Admirals 17, Phantoms 10.

Argh. Not only are we going on a PK, but it appears that we are going on a two-man disadvantage. What the flying leap is going on here? Kalinski goes for unsportsmanlike conduct and Curry goes for interference.

Blast. There goes the tying goal. 2-2. IMO, it's BOGUS to call unsportsmanlike conduct call at a time like that, IMO, but what can you do? We still are at a 5-on-4 PK.

OK, we did kill the rest of that penalty, but the score remains 2-2. SOG are Admirals 23, Phantoms 11.

Whoa, Clackson nearly gave us the lead again with another shot attempt from just outside the crease, No dice... THIS time. If he keeps crashing the net like that, those pucks re going to tart going in for him.

Eeeeee yi yi yi, did we dodge a bullet when a Norfolk bomb of a shot hit the post with about 3 and a half minutes left in the frame! Hey, if we can get b ounces like that around our own net, it's time to test the bounces that we get in front of Norfolk's net. We have spent too much darn time at this end in this period.

Surprise, we have a PP . We were nearly 30 seconds into the man advantage before the announcement was made. OK, now it's REALLY time to test the bounces in front of the Ads' net! GO PHANTOMS!

GRRR we had a mad scramble in front of Helenius but it came to naught.

Blah, another PK on the way with 37 seconds left in the period. Maroon goes for tripping.

At the end of the second period, the score is 2-2, the SOG are Admirals 26, Phantoms 21, and the Phantoms have 1:23 of PK time remaining when the third period begins.
We killed the infraction, and a few minutes later Sirianni's shot found iron. Gack. Still 2-2.

What in the blue blazes is going on? The ref's arm was up, but nobody has ny idea who the infraction was against. BOTH goalies attempted to head to the bench for an extra attacker. Finally we find out that the Admirals are the team going shorthanded, We need to hit the NET with these attempts. AAH, like THAT! SCOOORE on the PP abnd the Phantoms take the lead back! :) Boyd KANE from Syvret and Ross (who has three assists tonight).

Ohhhh, SO CLOSE to doubling the lead, but the dratted puck wouldn't cooperate during a huge goalmouth scramble in front of Helenius. Eeee. Still 3-2 Phantoms.

We have a little tweaking going on... Raduns is out with Szwez and Kalinski.

A nice stop by Helenius keeps the Ads within a goal.

JVR is out with Matsumoto and Laliberte; that's DEFINITELY a line tweak, and a significant one. What
s up with Maroon?

The Ross line is its normal grouping.

I think I see Maroon on the end of our bench, but that doesn't bguarantee that he'sb well enough to play. Or maybe coach just wants to see what JVR is made of. We hae 5:27 left in the period and SOG are Ads 33, Phantoms 28.

We are seeing a WHOLE LOT of the Ross and Matsumoto lines (the latter with JVR in place of Maroon). Coach definitely wants his top forwards out at crunch time. Syvret and Guenin, and Kukkonen/Bartulis, are in heavy rotation as well. Hee, so of course now he makes a fibber out of me and sends out the Kalinski/Szwez/Raduns. ;) That's OK.

There goes Helenius with a minute and a half left. The Phantoms call timeout with 29.1 seconds left in the period.

Laliberte puts the game on ice with an ENG with 0.4 seconds left! Phantoms win 4-2!

Binghamton also won, so we are still one point behind them. However, we have our game-in-hand on Sunday, in our third contest in three days against Norfolk. So here's to seeing us take that contest and pull ahead of the Senators!

Go Phantoms!

Heading Home :)

2009-04-04T23:43:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms won a heck of a game in Norfolk, but I'm having issues trying to post the game writeup. I'll post it when I get home, either in a few hours or tomorrow.

Go Phantoms! :)

A little self-promotion

2009-04-04T17:35:00.001-04:00

I left an iPhone in the Apple store with this blog on its screen. :)

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

2009-04-04T14:14:00.001-04:00

Scope Arena

2009-04-04T13:48:00.002-04:00

The game will be here tonight.

Tunnel

2009-04-04T13:15:00.001-04:00

Chesapeake Channel Tunnel

The Bridge

2009-04-04T13:14:00.001-04:00

The "bridge" part of the Bridge Tunnel.

Getting there

2009-04-04T12:52:00.001-04:00

41 miles to Norfolk!
And 10 miles to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

Getting close!

2009-04-04T12:27:00.001-04:00

We just passed a sign that read "Norfolk 70 miles". It's not quite 4 hours since we left (at 8:30 AM).

It's a beautiful day, but windy as all heck. Philly was windy, MD was windy, and I won't be surprised if Norfolk has high winds as well.

The bus is here

2009-04-04T07:54:00.002-04:00

Loading the bus for the Phantoms Phan Club Trip to Norfolk.

Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals, 4-3-09: Third Period and OT

2009-04-03T21:47:00.000-04:00

Nuts. Looks like the original file I was creating for the third period got lost. We have about eight minutes remaining in the frame, and the score is now tied 2-2. A loose puck near our net got cashed in by Norfolk, followed not long afterward by a lovely goal by Sirianni.

I like some of the things we are doing in this second half of the third period. Rochester is currently beating Bingo 3-0, so we have got to come out with determination and pick up two points tonight. GOT to. No alternatives.

Sirianni and Kane create all kinds of havoc in front of the Norfolk net. Eventually someone sent the puck into the corner, where Sirianni retrieved it for Ross at the half-boards. No dice on that shift. The Matsumoto line comes out and makes a bit more noise for the Phantoms. But Norfolk starts heading up ice with the puck, just in time to earn themselves a bench minor for having too many men on the ice. So the Phantoms are getting a very timely PP with 3:26 remaining in the period. Ross's line is out with Syvret and Kukkonen. Freaking Norfolk keeps clearing the puck; we change shifts and the Matsumoto line comes out. TRIPPING on Norfolk and here we go with a 5-on-3 advantage. Ross's line is out. Norfolk's first clearing attempt hit the official and stayed in. The 5 on 3 expires but the Phantoms have gvot a PP for the better part of the rest of regulation time. Offside. :headdesk:

One minute left in the period, and we are having issues getting into the Ads' end. Matsumoto's line is out with Syvret and Ratcbhuk. Just as time expires, Helenius freezes the puck. We are headed to OT. We definitely have gotten at least one point from this contest.

Oh, wait, they add 1.5 seconds to the clock to compensate for the amount of time before the buzzer that Helenius held the puck. AAAH and we shoot just wide off the faceoff. Oh, my gosh, we came that close to winning in regulation. But now we really ARE going into OT. No kidding. I mean it this time.

Matsumoto and Laliberte are out with Syvret and Guenin. Now Ross and Sirianni with Bartulis and Kukkonen. And now it's Norfolk's turn to go offside.

ROSS SCORES!!! We win in OT and what a freaking beauty of a goal it was! He got himself in on a breakaway and roofed the puck. Wow... so if Rochester cooperates and wins this game in regulation, and they are ahead 4-0 over Bingo with 13 minutes left in their third period, we could very well be only one point behind Binghamton by the time this night is over. GO AMERKS! Beat the Sens!

Stars: #3 Sirianni; #2: Quick (Admirals) and #1:Ross

Phantoms at Norfolk Admirals, 4-3-09; Second Period

2009-04-03T20:48:00.001-04:00

Nuts. About a minute into the second period, we have a scramble at the Phantoms' net that appears to have put the puck into our net when one of our players slid into the net and the puck was under *him*.The end result is that the score is tied at 1 goal apiece.

We came close to regaining the lead on the following shift, with a feisty sequence in front of Norfolk's net, but this time the puck stayed out. It's still 1-1.

I am not liking the number of chances Norfolk has been getting in the past few minutes. We withstood an early onslaught in the first, and I would like to see us not only do so again, but start providing some onslaught material of our own.

Here comes a PECOOOO POWER PLAY for the Phantoms. I like the opportunities we are generating, but for the fact that the darn Ads' D has been on the ball with clearing rebounds before we can cash them in. I would love to see us start to go in for the kill during this man advantage.

The PP is over, but we are still cycling the puck in the Norfolk end. I am having a hard time seeing (on the computer screen) if one of our guys is missing a stick, as Norfolk finally gets hold of the puck and carries it out. The Phantoms respond with a LONG pass up to JVR -- not unlike the kind of play he was preparing himself for during Wednesday's game. The most we could make of our next opportunities on goal was an offensive-zone draw, however.

Oh here we go with the feed getting choppy. First it was both the video and audio, but then the audio returned to normal. Fortunately, within a minute, so did the video. Sort of. The video is coming and going.

We have an Admiral who appears to be down for the count in the Norfolk end. He had tripped Matsumoto, no call, shortly before, but the problem is that we couldn't see on screen what happened when the play started to head up ice toward the Phantoms side. There was no replay. Fortunately, the player, Kinrade, did eventually get helped to his feet and headed up the tunnel with the trainer in tow.

We are getting ready to go on the PK again, Josh Gratton heads off for elbowing with about three minutes remaining in the period.

Fortunately, OUR D has been religious about getting to rebounds first at OUR net. Because that's what saved our necks during this very active PK that we just had. The score remains 1-1 late in the second period. And that is how the period ends.

Phantoms @ Norfolk Admirals, 4-3-09: First Period

2009-04-03T19:59:00.001-04:00

Per the pregame comments, Jeff Szwez is out of the lineup tonight with a "boo-boo" (LOL!); he is replaced by Josh Gratton who is back in the lineup after abdominal issues. Kukkonen is back from "minor surgery" and will be taking the place of Jason DeSantis., who is back in Philadelphia with a leg muscle injury.

Ross/Kane/Sirianni
Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon
Gratton/JVR/Kalinski
Raduns/Beaulieu/Clackson
Guenin/Syvret
and presumably BaRtulis/Kukkonen and Curry/Ratchuk are the other two D pairs, though they haven't been officially read back to us.

It's nearly impossible to do a live blog right now, between having the Phantoms on the computer and the Flyers on television. But I will jot down significant details here and there... such as JVR's first professional penalty.

RATCHUK from CLACKSON! Oh, NICE! Beaulieu and a Norfolk defenseman were providing the screen, and we take a 1-0 lead just past the 15-minute mark.

However, we go on our third PK soon afterward. So we will see what comes of this. We successfully killed the previous two infractions, giving up four SOG in the process. Round 3 will now ensue.

Kalinski and Raduns get a SH opportunity, and draw a hooking infraction into the bargain. So we will be at 4 on 4 for a while, and then the Phantoms will get about a minute's worth of PP time.

OH so close to doubling our lead... some nice defense by a Norfolk player is the only reason that David Laliberte didn't roof a puck over Helenius. He had his stick placed in just the right position to keep Laliberte from getting the shot off; otherwise, he had the whole top 2/3 of the net to aim at.

Nice save by Munroe to keep it 1-0 in- the final minute of the period.

At the end of the first period, the Phantoms lead 1-0.

Phantoms vs. Albany River Rats, 4-1-09

2009-04-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Kukkonen, Sloane, Klotz, Gratton, Kempe, Bellamy.

Starting Lineup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Kane, Sirianni, Ross

Matsumoto, Maroon, and Laliberte are out with Bartulis and DeSantis. DeSantis made an alarming-sounding crash hitting the boards, came up lame, and got helped up the tunnel. Shoot, 87 seconds into the freaking game and we are down a guy.

Two seconds after the next faceoff, Szwez went with #3 on the River Rats, Olson, in a MARATHON fight. I can't believe how long it took the linesmen to step in. I give them a draw for both being standing by the end of that tilt. That's the longest fight I've seen in quite a while.

NUTS. With 16:55 left in the period and the shots on goal at Albany 3, Phantoms 0, the River Rats ricochet a puck into the Phantoms net for an early lead. Man, this game is not starting off as we would have wanted it to.

I can pretty much forget listing the D pairs tonight, as we are down to five blueliners for the time being. This will probably be the case for the duration of the game, as our trainer has returned to the bench but not DeSantis.

But forward lines, I can list. They include Kalnski/van Riemsdyk/Szwez and Clackson/Beaulieu/Raduns.

Phlex came out with a sign pregame, in lieu of his usual large Phantoms flag. The sign says "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES" on both the front and the back. Sigh. For the first time tonight, when the countdown banners were updated to show 2 games remaining, the fans booed the total.

I think JVR's reflex is "get in deep and someone will pass him the puck" If I had to make a guess, I would think that's what his college team's strategy was. Given his skill level, it probably worked well for them. But it's a reflex he will have to shed here. (As guys like Jeff Carter before him had to do when they turned pro.) He wasn't far enough ahead of the play just now for me to call it "cherry picking", as he was only one zone away from the puck, but he did head over to patrol the far blue line while the puck was still on the Phantoms side of the red line.

Aaaaa, Sirianni nearly kept his goal streak going with a point-blank attempt! That puck stayed out, but the next shift had better fortunes, and CURRY buried the disk with assists from Matsumoto and Laliberte! :) 1-1 and the SOG are Phantoms 5, River Rats 6.

DANG IT. Albany puts one in less than a minute later.They got it on a wraparound with Munroe hugging the far post. Very aggravating to let the Rats back into the lead that fast.

Color me Not Pleased that we are giving up the number of shots that we have. So far with five and a half minutes left in the period, we have six SOG to Albany's 12. We are going to have to spend more time in the River Rats end if we hope to take this game. Man alive, this section and our neighboring section are puck magnets tonight.

Guenin blocked a shot. We have an interesting half a line combo out there as Kane and Sirianni are with Kalinski.

And Albany scores again as we can't seem to get the puck out of our zone.; Argh. 3-1 Bad Guys. SOG Phantoms 6, River Rats 13.

We also apparently are about to go on the first PK of the game... or ar we? I see one guy in each sin bin, so let's see what the call is. Kane is in the box for us and gets two for roughing and two for tripping, while the River Rat only gets two for roughing, so I guess it IS a PK after all. Kalinski, Ross, Syvret,and Guenin are out.

Ross made a nice clearing attempt, which was only outdone by a River Rat's extension of his stick to keep the disk in. Guenin laid out flat on the ice to close off a shooting lane. Boy, this is a long shift for all concerned. FINALLY with 24 seconds left we get a clear and change. Matsumoto and Laliberte are out with Bartulis and Curry. There goes another puck into the neighboring section.

Finally, the penalty is killed. We only gave up two shots during the PK. Kane returns to the bench and Maroon comes out to replace him.

NICE save by Munroe in the final minute of the period. On the next faceoff, we have Raduns, Szwez and JVR. Raduns looks like he is getting waved out of the circle, with Szwez coming up in bhis place.

The period is over. SOG are Albany 16(!), Phantoms 6. The score is 3-1, Albany.
----
The starting line was tweaked: JVR was out in place of Kane with Sirianni and Ross. He got a nice shot off on our next rush, earning us an offensive-zone draw.

We seem to have some spring in our step to start this period. Even when Bartulis's keep-in attempt nearly went awry thanks to a Rier Rat's stick, Matsumoto was right there to get the puck before an Albany payer could clear it.; We kept the puck long enough for Laliberte to score, assisted by Maroon and Matsumoto, on our next shot on goal! 3-2 River Rats.

JVR is out again with Kalinski/Szwez. But the next time Ross/Sirianni came out, their usual linemate Kane was with them.

NUTS Kane came this-close to a goal but the flipping puck went just wide when the River Rats netminder managed to get between the puck and the net. The goalie was flat on the ice at the time. A little while later, Guenin fooled fans on the far side into thinking he had scored, but unfortunately the puck was on the outside of the twine. This time. The Matsumoto line is out now, and they are buzzing around the net With Intent.

Next shift, JVR/Kalinski/Szwez were out. JVR pulled a bit ahead of the pack again, but he followed the Fred Shero maxim of not being more than one zone away from the puck.

Next up, a PK as Ross goes. Matsumoto and Laliberte are out with Guenin (who blocked a shot) and Bartulis. Nice glove save by Munroe. Raduns heads up on a SH 1-on-2, and shaves a few extra seconds off the clock.

Upon exiting the sin bin, Ross and Matsumoto create some havoc in the Albany end for a bit. We are at even strength again.

With 4:57 left in the period, the SOG are Phantoms 14, River Rats 28. AAAAAA and our 15th shot was GOLDEN -- it went a-bouncing along like the dot on a karaoke display, and hopped right past Manzato into the net to tie the game! Laliberte from Guenin and Maroon, and we have a whole new game at 3-3. We also get a PP moments later for our first PECOOOO POWER PLAY of the night.

JVR is out with Sirianni Ross Kane and Syvret (four forwards). We never really got set up. Next faceoff, Syvret stayed out and was joined by Curfry and Matsumoto's line. Laliberte and Masumoto are attacking the net like they want to Terminate it with Extreme Prejudice. Back to even strength, and it's the turn of Clackson/Szwez/Kalinski to make some noise around the River Rats net.

ROSSCO Is in the HOUSE!!! And the PUCK is in the NET!!! Oh, I saw that one coming from the second he got the puck. He moved across the goalmouth until the goalie committed, then fired it home. Assists from Kane and Sirianni.

WHEW, what a period! At the second intermission, the Phantoms lead 4-3, and the SOG are Phantoms 20, River Rats 30.
----
We've certainly come out fiesty to start the period. Clackson got into a face-washing contest with a River Rat right in front of the Phantoms bench. No penalties were called, but we did end up with one helmet-free River Rat when all was said and done.

Munroe just stopped a BOMB of a shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle. NICE reflexes, Scott!

Oh, here we go with another PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Ratchuk and Syvret are out with the Matsumoto line. The end result, two minutes later, was not a lot happened at either end of the ice during that PP, but we did manage to chew two more minutes of the clock. Personally, I would rather see us playing for blood right about now, but if we keep the Albany opportunities to a bare minimum, we are doing our job.

Or even better, we could GET A HAT TRICK!!!! Here comes the rain of headgear even as I type! Laliberte scores his 25th from Matsumoto and Syvret! 5-3 Phantoms! SWEET goal!

One more thing that JVR will be developing is his strength. Some of that will be due to continuing to mature physically, and some will be because he'll be working with Jim McCrossin. He just was contending physically with a River Rat and eventually lost the battle for the puck. When he has a bit more experience and off-ice training under his belt, he will be winning that kind of battle.

OMG great save Munroe! with about five minutes remaining.

Matsumoto's line is buzzing around the Albany net again, drawing OOOHs from the crowd. But the puck stayed out.

OMG MATSUMOTO! What a freaking highlight-reel goal! He stole the puck at the top of the slot, deked the goalie out of his skates, and padded our lead to three goals! Assist to Jeff Szwez. Beautiful!

With 62 seconds left, Beaulieu and a Rat I couldn't see got into a bout. (Turns out it was Olson again.) From-the boards near the Albany bench, all of a sudden we saw gloves sailing all the way to the center ice faceoff circle. Beau's jersey looked like it detached in the back, but we will see what's up with the penalties. Ah, OK, both guys get just the 5 for fighting, so no problem, and no extra penalty for Beaulieu due to the detached jersey.

And the game is over! The three stars are all linemates, not surprisingly, given their performance in this game. #3: Maroon; #2: Matsumoto, #1: Laliberte.

Next up: Two games in Norfolk on Friday and Saturday, followed by a home game vs. Norfolk on Sunday. GO PHANTOMS!

JVR is here

2009-04-01T18:53:00.001-04:00

James van Riemsdyk is here and is wearing #22 for tonights game.

Andreas Nodl is called up to the Flyers and made the trip to Toronto with the team.

There will be one big postgame blog update after the game, as my internet connectiity is spotty at best.

We're getting JVR!

2009-04-01T15:25:00.000-04:00

I just got the text msg from the Flyers:

"The Flyers have signed prospect James van Riemsdyk to an entry level contract. Van Riemsdyk, the second overall pick in 2007, will report to the Phantoms."

Phantoms vs. Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-29-09

2009-03-29T21:01:00.001-04:00

I missed some of the awards that were handed out pregame, but it was nice to have been with the rest of the PPPC board to present the Unsung Hero award to David Laliberte. :)

SCOOOOORE! Today, it's OUR turn to score on -our first shot of the game! e had just killed a penalty to Matsumoto when we got down to the Griffins' end to try; and get some offense of our own going. Syvret from Matsumoto and Maroon. SOG at the time of the goal were Phantoms 1, GR 4.

McGrath would have had a nice shot on goal against us, but as he was skating in, the puck rolled off his stick at the hash marks, and it ended up in his skates. Threat averted.

Grand Rapids has come out with a lot of jump this afternoon. They want to avenge last night's loss in a manor way, methinks. But the Phantoms came out with high energy, as well, so we are standing up to what they have been throwing at us. Nodl is called up to the Flyers. In his stead, Kempe is on the line with Szwez and Kalinski. Clackson and Raduns are on the fourth line, but I can't see who their other forward is. Ross/Kane/Sirianni and Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon are together, as usual.

Ross just placed his stick blade on the ice to block a GR slapshot attempt. The attacker's stick hit Ross's stick so hard, it went flying out of Ross's hands, but the slapshot was aborted in mid-slap.

Ah, now I can see that Beaulieu is with Clackson and Raduns. :)

Heck, we had a scramble in the GR goalmouth that had the fans behind the net screaming. Even the goal judge was fooled to the point where the red light went on. Unfortunately, nobody told the PUCK to cooperate and go in, so it remained outside the net and the score remains 1-0.

However, we have a PECOOOO POWER PLAY going, so let's see what we can do to increase that lead. So far we are 30 seconds into the man advantage, and we have three SOG. Aah, we took a screened shot and it hit the goalie, Howard, who never saw the puck and didn't react until it bounced off him.

However, we made up for it by scoring a goal on our NEXT shot. Sirianni, which apparently is Italian for "En Fuego", scores with assists from Kane and Ross. SOG Phantoms 10, Griffins 7.

And Curry goes to the sin bin seconds later. Nice clear by Laliberte. OHHH Matsumoto snares the puck just after a failed keep-in, and tries to get a breakaway just as we go back to even strength, but the puck rolled on him.

At the end of the first period, the score is Phantoms 2, Griffins 0.; SOG are Phantoms 10, Griffins 8. The Phantoms' most recent shot was our second goal, and the Griffins got one shot during their recent PP.
----
About three and a half minutes into the period, we go on a PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Ross, Kane, Sirianni, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. Somehow the Griffins have ended up in our end while shorthanded, but their shot attempt never reached our net. The end result was that neither team registered a shot during our man advantage.
'
The ref is taking a lot of time to explain something, I know not what, to the Phantoms and Griffins on the ice, and then to one lone Griffin in the officials' crease. End result, a few minutes later, was a delay of game penalty on GR.

However, GR proceeded to set up in OUR end again, the same as during the last PP. Then we got a penalty of our own, and wound up at 4 on 4 with 1:18 left in the PP. Matsumoto and Laliberte had the fans screaming with the chances they were getting, one after another, but they were all near-misses. (and none registered as shots on goal.) Then we got a penalty and wound up at 4-on-3 for a while... until the Griffins got their guy back and we wound up with two-man disadvantage. We withstood that onslaught until Kane came out to make it a regular 5-on-4 PK. Just as we returned to even stength, Munroe made the save of the game so far. NICE stop, which got the "Unbelievable" song. :)

Looks like we did get a shot credited to us on that PP after all. Last night and today, it's taken a few moments longer than usual for some things to make an appearance on the scoreboard. I suspect that either the system is acting up, or someone who is less than familiar with the controls has been taking care of posting the data. With 9:18 left in the period, SOG are Phantoms 13, Griffins 15.

After a scrum in the GR crease, the Grifins got a guy sent off for roughing, so we get another attempt at the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto's line is out with Syvret and Kukkonen. aah nice chances, guys. But at the stoppage of play, we change forwards and Ross's line comes out, and GR gets a delay-of-game infraction. So we have a two-man advantage for over a minute.

Oh, WHAT is this ref calling? With 35 seconds left in the 5-on-3, it goes down to a 4-on-3 as Kane gets sent off. Interference, my foot. Sigh.

MATSYYYY scores when we are at 4-on-4! Apparently, "Matsumoto" is Japanese for "En Fuego". :) Assists to Syvret and Kukkonen.

With 32 seconds remaining in the penalty to Kane, GR gets a penalty, so we will go back to 4 on 4 briefly. There were a few moments of concern when the puck got cleared into our bench, but then Matsumto popped up like a purple-clad Jack-in-the-box. Crazy kid! :)

KALINSKIIII with the gorgeous wraparound! He jammed the puck in at the post hard enough to have put the disk through a cinderblock wall. Howard tried to get his skate over to block it, but he was just a moment too late. Assists from Szwez and Raduns. 4-0 Phantoms and it's the last minute of play in the second period.

At the end of the period, the SOG are Phantoms 20, Griffins 17.
----
Nice save by Munroe, including a little Patty Roy flourish, two minutes into the period. By that time, GR had evened the shots at 20 apiece.

NUTS. Munroe went to make a pad save a minute later, but lost the shutout when it hit his leg pad and kept going in. 4-1 Phantoms.

With 14:28 left in the period, GR is getting a penalty. SOG are Phantons 20, Griffns 25.

Aaah, Ross had a scoring chance in the slot, but Howard tracked him all the way and made the stop. And WHAT is the deal with us windnig up in OUR doggoned end while WE are on the PP?

Actually, we are now just over halfway into the period (9:42 left) and I'm not pleased with the amount of time we have spent in front of Scott Munroe. It's not going to help matters that Szwez just went to the sin bin. SOG are Phantoms 23, Griffins 27. GR has had about a shot per minute since the third frame began.

OK, we killed the penalty safely, and just got the announcement that the Flyers lead the Bruins 1-0 on a goal by Claude Giroux. :) So that was a good few minutes, all told. :)

Curry/Bartulis seems to be a new D pair for the time being. Ratchuk and Kukkonen are both on the bench, though, so it isn't due to an injury. We seem to have gone to two D pairs.

With 46 seconds left, Matsumoto gets a penalty and GR calls a timeout.

Ross, Kane, Syvret, and Guennin are out and the GR net is empty. We come close to scoring on a lonnnnnng clearing attempt, but the disk just misses the net.

And we win! The final score is Phantoms 4, Grand Rapids 1. We just picked up two points on the Senators. Great job!

Next up, we have a home game on Wednesday night. Go Phantoms!

Phantoms vs. Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-28-09

2009-03-28T22:13:00.001-04:00

Aubin led the team out of the tunnel for the pregame skate. We are wearing the Spectrum jerseys.

Now I KNOW we need to make it to the playoffs, because if we do, Keith Jones will be able to return to announcing. So come on, Phantoms! Go on a tear and beat the daylights out of everyone and everything that stands between us and the postseason :)

Lou Nolan is announcing tonight's game. There will be a pregame awards ceremony tomorrow, which is a couple weeks earlier than we normally do it. However, given that there is likely to be a lot of ceremony attached to the final home game this season, it's understandable that they have moved the awards ceremony to a different night.

I love the way this device's battery measures its time left. As it recalculates the amount of time remaining, sometimes the estimate of time left goes UP instead of down. :) If the guess-timate I am getting is correct, I won't have to change the battery during tonight's game. That will suit me just fine. We'll see.

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Sloane, DeSantis, Klotz, Gratton, Beaulieu, Bellamy

Starting Lineup: Aubin, Bartulis, Kukkonen, Kane, Sirianni, Ross. So Sirianni has been moved back onto the line with Kane and Ross.

We have the same ref tonight as we did last night (Ghislain Hebert). We had decent flow to last night's game, so if he calls tonight's contest the way he did last night, then it will be the players who decide the outcome of the game. That's all I want. (Besides the players to decide that the Phantoms win, of course. :D That goes without saying.)

Neil Little was on our bench for the pregame warmup. The Grand Rapids goalie tonight is wearing #31, as Neil did during his season there. (Which was ten years ago. Good GRIEF. Where did the time go?) I saw the Griffins #31 sweater on the visiting starting goalie (Larsson) and thought of Neil. I wonder what Neil was thinking of when he saw it?

Kukkonen has a face guard on his chin...! I don't remember seeing him take an injury last night that would warrant that. Eek. At least he's well enough to play.

Guenin takes down GR's #19, half a minute into the game, and we go on the PK. Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out to kill the penalty.

Nice defensive stickwork by Syvret to keep a shot from comng in on goal. Next line: Kalinski, Nodl, Curry, Bartulis. Kalinski and Nodl break out on a 2 on 1, but our shot does not reach the net. I thnk. Then again, NO shots on goal have appeared on the shot clock as yet, but I would swear Aubin has stopped at least two pucks. Maybe they're having some shot clock Gremlins and the stats will be making an appearance shortly.

Next up Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Syvret, Guenin. And yes, the SOG are now Phantoms 1, Griffins 2.

Blast. GR shoots high glove side on Aubin, who is down in a butterfly split. It goes over his shoulder (rather too close to his head for comfort, actually) and in. 1-0 Griffins.

Szwez, Kalinski, and Nodl are back to being a line combination. Raduns, Kempe, and Clackson are our other line. The D pairs remain the same: Curry/Ratchuk, Bartulis/Kukkonen, Syvret/Guenin.

There goes Haydar. He has been a thorn in the Phantoms' side in past seasons. One of my friends has met him a few times offline, and I am always telling her to shoplift him when he comes to town, but she never does. ;)

Ross and Kempe nearly teamed up to tie the game. But they did draw a penalty while on their scoring chance, so it's time for the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. SOG are even at 3-3.

Or it WILL be a PP for us when they finish repairing the ice, LOL. The Shot Clock Gremlins leave, and the Ice Surface Gremlins come in to take their place.

OK, the ice is all better, so Matsumoto's line is out with Syvret and Kukkonen. Laliberte nearly cashed in a rebound at the top of the crease, but the shot went high.

Kukkonen got the puck taken from him after a nice keep-in, and the Griffins dumped it in deep and went for a line change. The Phantoms did, as well. Ross's line is out with Curry and Ratchuk to close out the PP.

SCOOOORE! Sirianni from Ross and Kane, *just* as the penalty expired. It was counted as an even strength goal. The score is 1-1, and the SOG are now Phantoms 5, Griffins 3.

Kukkonen nlooks like he needs to get used to seeing the puck when it's at his skates. Unfortunately, his next couple minutes of looking at his skates will take place in the sin bin, as he was called for tripping. The Phantoms Phaithful beg to differ.

MATSUMOTO!!!! Scores a SH goal on a breakaway!!! What a highlight reel play THAT was! Nate Guenin provided the assist. NICE, nice play.

And he came close to doing it again on the next shift, but unfortunately he didn't strike twice in a fraction of a minute. ;)

Clackson is out and talking to his guy in the faceoff circle. No bout resulted, but given the timing was just after our go-ahead goal, you never know.

Kane BURIED a guy at our half-boards as the Griffins took the puck into our zone.

'SOG with 4:13 left in the period are Phantoms 10, Griffins 4.

Hebert let a Griffins interference go vs. a Phantom in the neutral zone, but behind our net, he called Guenin for holding GR's #19. The music guy responded by playing a clip from Mr Grinch.

Aubin has kept a couple of shots out, regardless of the screening going on in front of him. He has also had some nice help from our PKers who have blocked the puck and swept loose pucks out of harm's way. The end result was a killed penalty and only 3 SOG for the Griffins during their man advantage.

Final minute of play in the period, and Maroon gets hauled down just as he crosses the GR blue line. Hebert sees it, so we will have a two-minute PP at the beginning of the second period. There was a ten-skater conference in the corner behind the GR net, and I wondered if additional minors would be called, but no. The guy who tripped Maroon is the only one who got penalized.

At the end of the second period, the score is Phantoms 2, Griffins 1. The SOG are Phantoms 0, Griffins 7.
----
To start the period, our PP unit consists of Ross, Kane, Sirianni, Syvret, and Curry (intead of Kukkonen).

BLAST times TEN. GR's #15 pilfered the puck from Syvret and charged in for a SH breakaway. Freaking Helm again. He's the guy that got their first goal. He scored to tie the game at 2-2. So far that was the only shot that took place during the PP for either team. The penalty is over but Matsumoto's line is still cycling. Laliberte would have had a clear shot on goal, but freaking Helm (again! grrrr) made a nice defensive play.

Kempe is headed to the sin bin for interference. Out to kill the penalty are Kane, Ross, Syvret, and Guenin. At the next faceoff, we changed forwards for Matsumoto and Laliberte, who got the puck deep shorthanded. Next are Kalinski and Nodl, who did the same.

Aaaah, another shortie! With Kempe still in the sin bin, Ross's shot kind of squeaked through Larsson for as odd-looking of a goal as I've witnessed in a while. But if it's us scoring them, I'll take 'em no matter what sort of goal it is! Kane got the assist. 3-2 Phantoms. SOG Phantoms 14, Griffins 9.

Eeeee... goalmouth scramble with nearly all the skaters on the ice having a scrum in front of our crease. Fortunately, Aubin must have corralled it (not that I can see through the throng) because the ref blew the play dead.

Bah. Raduns is sent off for hooking. SOG are Phantoms 14, Griffins 11.

Ross, Kane, Bartulis, and Kukkonen are out to start. Ross gets a SH shot on goal. Boy, both teams are giving up SH chances like mad.

Nice PK, guys! We got out of that one unscathed. SOG Phantoms 15 Griffins 11.

GR's next shot was a doozie... we got the "Great Save" graphic. :) We also got a penalty to Nate Guenin. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. I would loooove to see us get a clear. We haven't faced a shot yet but the darn Griffins keep cycling. We need the puck to Go Away for a while and give our guys a breather.

FINALLY with a few seconds left in the penalty kill, we get the thing deep and change lines. Unfortunately, we didn't get ourselves back to our own end soon enough, and we gave up a goal. 3-3. SOG are Phantoms 15, Griffins 14.

Nice shot, Ratchuk. Unfortunately, no one was off to the side to pick up the enormous rebound. Ross got a point-blank attempt at the post moments later, but was unable to stuff it past Larsson's skate.

AAARGH. Grand Rapids takes a shot that pings Aubin, seemingly on his shoulder as he is down in a split, and keeps going into the net. 4-3 freaking Griffins.

SECONDS later, Matsumoto does almost the same thing to Larsson, except he appeared to put it in off Larsson's upper arm. WHEW. 4-4 with 4 minutes remaining in the period. Laliberte got the assist.

AWWWWW crud crud crud crud on the puck just STOPPING in the crease behind Larsson about 38 seconds later. Drat. It stopped a few inches behind him and jnust sat there. A Griffins defender managed to swipe it under his goalie before any of our guys could bat it the final few inches over the goal line. Aaaah. Still 4-4.

The Phantoms have continued to get chances in the GR zone, however, to the point where we drew a roughing penalty and are on the PECOOOOO POWER PLAY. Ross's line is out and a Griffin barely kept Ross from smacking a puck in point blank. Next up, Matsumoto's line with Curry and Ratchuk. With 17 seconds left in the man advantage, the D swap out for Syvret and Guenin, but the forwards remain the same. For good reason, as Matsumoto's shot fell right in front of Larsson and Laliberte was only a moment too late getting to the rebound before Larsson covered it up. This line is En Fuego tonight.

NICE scoring chance. Kalinski shot the puck just a tiny bit wide, with Szwez standing right there to try and deflect it in. Unfortunately, Larsson anticipated this and hugged the post, but the chance was a good one.

At the end of the period, the game is tied 4-4. SOG are Phantoms 24, Griffins 19.
----
SIRIANNI!!!! SCOOOOOOORE from Bartulis and Kane! Only 25 seconds into the period, WTG GUYS! Way to come out of the gate like gangbusters! We are in need of these two points, and I want to see us go after them with everything we've got.

Nice play by Szwez to go in alone on Larsson, and shortly afterward, Ratchuk handled a 3-on-1 with aplomb. SOG with 1:38 left Phantoms 32(!), Griffins 21.

HAT TRICK ROB SIRIANNI! Holy cow, what a game he's having! I love it! :) 6-4 Phantoms and the assist was from Maroon. There is a pause to retrieve hats from the ice and to repair that Gremlin-infested spot on the ice again.

Kukkonen just about put a Griffin right through the boards and into Lou Nolan's lap.

Aubin just made two fabulous stops on consecutive shifts. He froze the puck both times. But he and everyone on the Phantoms are in Stamp Out the Enemy Mode now. NICE vision from Ratchuk, right there in our slot to anticipate a puck and keep a Griffin from firing it on net.

HAT TRICK JONATHAN MATSUMOTO!!! I don't ever remember seeing two different Phantoms get a hat trick in the same game before. Holy cow! Laliberte gets the assist.

Not a lot of hats were available for the second hat trick of the contest, so some fans near me were suggesting that I should supply mine to the effort. But I have had this Phantoms hat almost as long as the team has existed. THIS lid isn't going anywhere unless I'm still in it. ;)

Guenin blocked a shot moments before the end of the game.

The three stars were all multi-goal scorers. #3: Helm (GR); #2 Matsumoto, #1 Sirianni. Apparently, our two Hat Trick Boys were left in suspense as to which of them would be the first star of the game, because when Matsumoto was announced as the second star, they grinned at each other and did a fist bump. :)

Gotta love our guys. Here's to a similarly hungry performance tomorrow night. GO PHANTOMS!

P.S. As we were walking up the steps to the concourse, a loud cheer... no, make that a ROAR emanated from the press box. Villanova had just won their basketball game, so they're heading to the Final Four. Outstanding! :)

Phantoms vs. Toronto Marlies, 3-27-09

2009-03-27T23:16:00.001-04:00

Town Hall Meeting

It appears that there are two separate groups of ticket holders meeting. The first one is assembled elsewhere in the building, I think possibly in a media room. The rest of us are in Bullies. It's 5:45 and it appears that the other group is getting The Big Talk first.

To my surprise, they let me in with the baseball bat cane. The security was surprisingly tight, or maybe NOT so surprisingly tight, given Luukko's unpopularity with Phantoms fans.. First we got orange wristbands when we confirmed our RSVP at the entrance. And yes, they actually did fill up and turn people away who called too late.

We had to show said wristbands at the top of the stairs on the way down to Bullies. Then we had to show the wristbands again at the BOTTOM of the stairs. (As if people were going to teleport into the closed stairwell and bypass the first security guard?)

They checked the Sign Man's signs for content, and I also think they turned some people away with anti-Comcast shirts.

Per Mike Thornton, they have got the first group in the area of the Zamboni. in the area that has been used for press conferences in the past.

Interestingly, there is a small table set up with a microphone and bottles of Aquafina. Someone came and added some bottles of Perrier water to the collection on the tabletop. Klotz and Bellamy came through wearing suits and got a brief Lets Go Phantoms chant.

Luukko came in to TOTAL silence. No boos and obviously no cheers. He started by giving us a time frame of the team's history: in 94-95 when they were building the Center, they wanted to keep Spectrum alive. Maybe do circuses, ice shows, and other events. They were looking at the possibility of bringing in an IHL franchise. At the time these discussions were going on, IHL games were drawing well. The discussion was whether having a minor-league team would take from the Flyers and we went to getting an AHL franchise instead. Luukko said that he was the one who proposed having an AHL team in here. (I bit my tongue on saying Luukko giveth and the Luukko taketh away.)

From the 6th year onward, the team was being subsidized by the organization and the Spectrum was aging. Also they had development rights as part of the agreement with the city to build the Center. Then in the past year Cordish approached Comcast regarding developing the site. At that point they reviewed where they were financially and the determination was that the current situation was not viable both from the Spectrum approached standpoint and from the financial standpoint. (All this, absent the fact that it was Luukko's efforts to bring an AHL team in, are things that have been brought forth already in prior interviews and media statements.)

They had to decide what to do with the Phantoms. Comcast was approached by several concerns and looked at a few places including Pennsauken, Atco, Bellmawr, and Trenton. They asked the Devils if they would be interested in moving from Trenton, but they would not leave. At that point the Brooks Group approached to buy the team, and they want an arena in Allentown. They asked if Comcast would sell them the team, which they did. Possibly this team will be in Glens Falls, NY, till an arena is built but the goal of Brooks Group is to build in .

At this point the floor was opened for questions. Luukko and Tilger said they will get people's contact inforfmation regarding getting Flyers season tickets with the Phantoms STH discount next year, if they are already STHs over there or if they need a child ticket discount.

The Flyers have an affiliation agreement with the Brooks Group, and the agreement lasts ten years. No one asked how this would be affected if the Brooks Group has to take the team dormant temporarily due to not having an arena to play in.

I am not sure if I am going to get a question in or not. Mr Microphone keeps acknowledging me visually via eye contact and a nod, and then giving the floor to other people. There is no shortage of raised hands to choose from.

No, the AHL Board of Governors has not approved the sale. They expect the sale to be approved unless Brooks Group proves to be financially unsound. The question of Brooks Group's partial ownership of the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and whether that would be enough of a conflict of interest to negate the sale, went unasked.

In answer to several unrelated questions and comments, Luukko said that Comcast looked hard at Atlantic City before rejecting the idea due to the poor attendance of the Bullies games and the current poor economy. (Given what I have read about some casinos being in financial hot water, I can't debate that the economy in A/C might not be ideal right now.) The Brooks Group will have some games here in Philly every year. Wherever the new arena will be built, the construction will be funded with government money; no one can afford to build an arena with only private funding. Comcast looked at various construction companies to see about building their own arena. In this economy, nothing was feasible.

Someone made a point of reminding Luukko and Tilger what they have done to the fans and how much this hurts all of us, but the response was that there weren't enough fans coming in. People (both with and without the floor) questioned whether the team was marketed well enough but the response was tha they had advertising during Flyers and Sixers games.

Personally, I am not convinced that the Sixers fans are the ideal people to whom to promote a hockey team, as there isn't a lot of crossover in my experience between fans of the two sports. Also, in my experience, a lot of people are snobs when it comes to being major league fans. I have seen people who are avid supporters of the NHL who dismiss the very idea that they would be interested in watching a minor pro team. I got to say NONE of these things, because I never did end up getting the microphone.

It's unfortunate that we only got half an hour instead of a full hour, due to the splitting of the STHs into two groups. We got a lot of "what happened" details, but little or no background on WHY the decisions were made. For example, WHY was Bellmawr deemed to be unfeasible? One would think that it was the perfect location for all concerned, the fan base and the team alike. But we never got that far into the discussion of any of the rejected sites.

It was a frustrating experience, as nothing is going to change for us. It was polite, fortunately. And I am disappointed that I never did get to say anything that I would have liked to ask or state.
----

Scratches: Duchesne, Lehtivuori, Sloane, DeSantis, Klotz, Gratton, Beaulieu, Bellamy.

Starting lineup: Munroe, Bartulis, Kukkonen, Maroon, Laliberte, Matsumoto.

Eek...! A puck comes sailing into my section abut 20 seconds into the game.

Second line up is Ross/Kane/Sirianni with Syvret and Guenin. Is that where Bates Battaglia is these days? With Toronto? I always did like that kid after meeting him at the All Star Game in Syracuse... then again, I met him eleven years ago, so I suppose he isn't really a kid anymore. LOL. Either way, he's a nice fellow, even if he IS in the Wrong Team's Jersey tonight.

We are not off to an ideal start... TOs first shot on goa with 18:38 left in the period, goes in. Darn it... I hate when we wind up chasing the game from early on. Such is life.

Next line is Kalinski/Szwez/Nodl with Curry and Ratchuk. Fight: Szwez and Berry. Szwez got the vast majority of punches in, so I would credit him with a solid win.

Kempe comes out to replace Szwez on the wing, and we face off again.

The Phantoms are about to get the first PECOOOO POWER PLAY of the game. Lou Nolan is announcing the game, and he knows how to make that particular announcement with just the right inflection and timing. :)

We are having issues keeping the puck in Toronto's end. Ross, Kane, and Sirianni were out with Kukkonen and Syvret, but Ratchuk and Curry came on to replace the D . Aaaah, near miss from Kane in front. Just as the PP ended,Matsumoto and Maroon nearly teamed up to score, but unfortunately, no luck. Heck, I would gladly take an even strength goal OR a PP goal. ;)

Raduns , Clackson, and Maroon were out for the fourth line. (Maroon is also on the Matsumoto line). With Szwez in the box, we had to do a little substituting on wing.

With 12:47 left in the period, we are outshooting TO 4 to 1. Unfortunately the Marlies lead us on the scoreboard. Grrr... GOALIE interference! Aw, come on, 44 ran right into Munroe and freaking GUENIN goes off for tripping? Say what?

Sigh. ANyhow, Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, and Syvret are killing the penalty. Our Captain, our two assistant captains, and Kukkonen. Ah, the ref DID catch this infraction -- a Marlie bowled over one of our guys right in front of our net. The puck was nowhere near him. I would have called it interference and not tripping, but as long as the guy goes to the sin bin. we will be at 4 on 4 for over a minute.

Or maybe we won't. Ratchuk goes for hooking with 38 seconds left in Guenin's penalty, so we will be at 4 on 3 for a while.

Not long enough of a while... with 15 seconds remaining in Guenin's penalty, TO scores a PP goal. Back to 4 on 4 for us.

2-0 Bad Guys, and the fans are getting grouchy. Kalinski, Nodl, Syvret, and Guenin are out for the final seconds of Ratchuk's penalty. TO is now outshooting

Nice defensive move by Swez at even strength to swat the puck off the stick of a Marly in the slot. us 7-5. Or is he a "Marlie"? Technically, he's a Marlboro, but it's not often that I've seen the singular form of the nickname "Marlies".

Guenin is apparently less favorably inclined to Battaglia than I am, as he knocked him flat to the ice in our crease. ;) I guess he thought the blue jersey would look good on the blue ice.

Aaaaaah, Maroon came close to burying one but somehow it stayed out. I don't even see a shot on goal getting credited to us for the maneuver, but TO's goalie had to jam his skate to the post to make sure it remained out. Now there's another scxramble in front on the same shift, but that also comes to naught. That time, I think the puck hit at least one Marlie (there we go again with the singular form of the nickname), before a TO player retrieved it from the chaos and rushed it back into our end.

With a minute and a half left, we dump it in deep and make a wholesale line change for Ross's line and Bartulis/Kukkonen. Sirianni gets a nice scoring chance and draws an OOOHH from the crowd. The puck stays out.

Just at the end of the period, the Marlies get a penalty for holding. The Phantoms will have two minutes of PP time to start the second period. The score is 2-0, Marlies. SOG are Phantoms 6, Marlies 8.
----
I dont know how we only got credit for only two SOG during that PP. Somehow, that doesn't seem like it's enough. Bu that was how the stats panned out. Unfortunately, this was followed by a scramble in our goalmouth during which TO got two shots on goal of their own. The second of the two pucks they got on net went in. The score is 3-0, Toronto.

It's an unfortunate turn of events that we are facing a couple of the top teams in the West while Bingo, the team we are chasing for the final playiff berthm is playing two of the weaker teams in the West in their remaining schedule. Such is life.

Interestingly, in this game we are having the Battle of the Munro(e)s. Our goaltender's name is Munroe with an E, and the Marlies' netminder is named Munro (no silent E at the end). I guess that's a good name for goalies to have. :) Munro has been around for a while... I seem to recall his having a goalie fight in here a few years back, so he has got his own set of Spectrum memories to take with him after this weekend.

Kane just dumped a Marlie to the ice at the top of our right faceoff circle. Nice hit. :)

We have a bit of line tweaking in progress. Kalinski and Szwez are out with Sirianni instead of Nodl. I can see that the next line up will be Matsumoto's line, which appears to be the same group of three as always. This could get interesting, as the Marlies just got my unfavorite penalty: Delay of Game. So Matsumoto's line is out with Kukkonen and Syvret for a PP instead of a regular line change. SOG ate Pantoms 9, Marlies 15.

Next up: Ross, Kane, and Nodl (not Sirianni). Kukkonen and Syvret remain out. Maroon and an equipment guy went up the tunnel right after Matsumoto's line returned to the bench.

By the end of the PP, the numbers on the shot clock remained the same. Sirianni and Nodl have definitely swapped lines in this period. Paddock tends to roll three lines and infrequently uses the fourth line, so there is ample opportunity to see who has been moved aroujnd.

Oh, drat that we couldn't cash this chance in... Munro came way out to the faceoff circle to stop one of our forwards. But he fell, and our forward fell over him. The puck remained in the faceoff circle, under the goalie's stick. By the time one of our guys retrieved it and passed it back to a teammate, it exited the zone and Munro had time to return to his post. Too bad we didn't manage a shot while the goalie was way out of position. I do hasten to add that it would not have been a slam dunk goal, as three Marlies were standing in the crease in Munro's stead.

The good news is that Maroon is back from his stint getting equipment fixed. The less-than-good good news is that Szwsez just went up the tunnel with the trainer. I couldnt tell what injury it might bem so let's hope it isn't anything too major and we will see him in the third.

We have less than a minute left in the period, and a flurry of attempts in the TO end came to naught. The score remains Toronto 3, Phantoms 0; the SOG totals are Marlies 18, Phantoms 12.
----
We are getting another trip to the sin bin early in the third period. Guenin goes for boarding. Raduns, Kalinski, Syvret, and Kukkonen are out. Kukkonen must have blocked a shot, because he came back to the bench limping as soon as the puck was cleared. Curry proceeded to replace him, and break his stick almost right away, so Ross gave him his stick. Boyce proceeded to back into Ross and fall down, so even stick-free he is still killing a penalty. Then the loose puck slid by Ross's feet and he swatted it out of the zone with his glove. Matsumoto and Laliberte had a SH 2 on 1 but we coudn't quite cash it in.

Kalinski just had three golden chances in a row. Pain in the neck Munro-with-no-E kept everything out.

It's so frustrating to see our guys having "fan on the shot" moments. It just seems like everyone's stick has a freaking hole in it tonight|,m that passes are going off sticks and keeping going, or shot attempts are getting a fraction of the wood (or graphite or whatever the heck it is) on them that the player intended. Friday the 13th was two darn weeks ago, so we shoud be having better luck than this. ;)

With 11:41 remaining in the period, the SOG are Phantoms 20, Marlies 22.

The officials are measuring someones stick, and apparently it came up illegal. Someone from Toronto is heading to the sin bin, to the tune of "Oh No, You Didn't". Oh dear, it's Bates. Naughty boy, ;) The Phantoms are going on the PECOOOOO POWER PLAY. and arrrgh but we have had two point-blank attempts that Mr. No Silent E has kept out. Now Kane in the crease cant quite get the thing homem so make that three point-blank attempts.

The SOG are now Phantoms 25, TO 23. Everyone thought Clackson was going to go with someone down at the TO end, in the corner I can't see from my seat. Unofrtunately, nothing came of it... this time. From the booing, unless I see or hear otherwise I will have to presume that the linesmen stepped in to prevent anything from taking place.

With 7:24 left, we seem to be having a promotional timeout. The officials went back to their crease and the players returned to their bench (other than Munroe, who skated back and forth at his end of the ice).

But Bates is going back to the sin bin, and we are going on the PECOOO POWER PLAY again. Matsumoto's line is out with Ross and Kukkonen (four forwards). We quickly end up at four on four, as Matsumoto goes off for holding. TO clangs one off the post toward the end of the 4 on 4.

In the final minute of play we have Ross, Kane, and Sirianni reunited on the ice. The puck went sailing into my section again, and the person on the other side of the tunnel from me caught it. Now we have Sirianni Kalinski Kempe with Bartulis and Curry. Kempe started lugging the puck up ice, but a Marlie stole it from him in the neutral zone. I would file that under "Rookie Growing Pains".

Game over. The Phantoms lost 3-0, and the SOG were even at 27-27.

This loss is a setback for our effort to make the playoffs. I haven't seen the out-of-town results to know whether Binghamton won or lost.

We have two more home games this weekend, both vs. Grand Rapids. Here's to moving four points closer to a playoff berth. Time is of the essence. Go Phantoms!

Sign

2009-03-27T18:54:00.000-04:00

Town Hall Meeting

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Game blog will be posted postgame

2009-03-27T18:03:00.001-04:00

But I will also post minutes from the pregame Town Hall meeting, so I hope that makes up for the delay in posting the blog.

Phantoms at Binghamton Senators, 3-25-09: Third Period

2009-03-25T21:36:00.001-04:00

As I suspected, we have spent most if the first three and a half minutes in our end, fending off Senators' attempts to get on the board. Now we are starting to get play into the neutral zone and, occasionally, into the other end. But Bingo really is pressing to get something going. They probably got an earful from their coach during the second intermission, particularly considering that the Phantoms forced them to turn over the puck more than any team would like to do during the first two periods of the game.

Fortunately, Munroe has been solid and we have been defensively responsible. The score remains 3-0.

Yiiiii, that time we had a scramble in front of our net and Munroe was down after making a save. But Kane and Sirianni managed to earn us an offensive-zone draw by forcing Glass to freeze the puck.

We are being outshot in this period 11-1, halfway through the frame. Did I mention that we would have to stand up to an early Senators onslaught? Which should only make life even more interesting, as we are about to go shorthanded,

Syvret and Guenin are out with Kane and Ross. We can't seem to clear the darn thing for love or money, and finally it comes back to bite us. Binghamton scores. 3-1, Phantoms.

It was former Flyer Denis Hamel's 500th career AHL point. He's good people, for sure, and that's an admirable milestone, but we really don't need to have Senators garnering points on us right about now. That was Bingo's 16th shot of the period and 34th of the game, so in other words they have sent nearly half their shots on our net in the first half or so of this period.

OK, we need to get the heck out of our zone, please... the amount of time we are spending on our side of our blue line is getting ridiculous. Ah, there goes Szwez. He just got our second shot on goal of the frame, compared to Binghamton's 17 pucks that they have sent in on Munroe in the past 16 minutes and change.

Nice D, Nate Guenin, as he runs over Mauldin. :) Leave it to Nasty Nate to imbed someone in the boards or the ice before the game is over.

Now with two minutes and change left, we are in the Senators' end and playing keep-away for as long as possible. When Bingo took the puck out, their goalie left with two minutes to go in the game. Empty net for the Senators with a minute and a half remaining and here we go again with the freaking PICTURE getting all jumpy. At least the audio is coming through.

There goes the final minute of the period announcement. All I am hearing are Binghamton players' names... till Syvret cleared the puck, thank goodness. GO GO GO Ross is trying to get the ENG -- he didn't score, but the clock ran out and we did win the game in regulation time.

Carkner is going after Ross for I Know Not What, however, and now Hamel is throwing haymakers into the giant conference going on behind the Phantoms net. The stupid picture is still looking like a slide show so it's hard to tell what triggered all this. Kane has no helmet on. Now Hamel is going after him and trying to get into a fight. Shoot, this game could turn into a two-sheeter after the whistle. Unreal that the game would wait until the end to boil over like that... on the other hand, this IS a playoff-level amount of pressure. Finally, everyone is pried away from everyone else and the teams leave the ice. (With a few pinheads who don't deserve to be called hockey fans throwing some items at the Phantoms. Dopes... there are a few nitwits in every arena.)

All three of the stars are Phantoms: #3 Ross, #2 Kalinski, #1 Munroe. NICE!

The Phantoms now trail the Senators by 6 points in the standings, and we have two games in hand.

Next up: a four-game homestand, three of which are coming up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Go Phantoms!

Phantoms at Binghamton Senators, 3-25-09: Second Period

2009-03-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

Looks like everyone is out in force on our bench to start the second period, so this is good. We need to be out in force on the ice to start this frame. We ended the first period with the Sens on a surge, and we don't need to start this one the way we ended the previous one.

SCOOORE -- Kalinski, from a great pass by Nodl! Good start, guys, it's 56 seconds into the period and we are up 2-0. :)

That goal really did quiet the fans down a lot. But we need to get out of our zone now... neither team is setting up all that well in the other team's end, but I don't like the number of attempts that the Sens are making to get something going in front of Munroe.

Here goes an interference call against Binghamton. Time for us to draw blood again. Ross, Kane, Sirianni are out with Syvret and I can't see who the other Dman is.

The next line out is Matsumoto, Maroon, Laliberte, with Curry, and this flipping cybercast picture is getting all jumpy. Not only can't I see who the other defenseman is, but I feel like I'm watching a slideshow. Bingo killed the penalty but MAROOOOON scored right after the teams returned to even strength! He was all alone in front of Binghamton's net, battling three Senators for the puck, and he buried an unassisted goal. FANTASTIC job!

I don't want to jinx this game, but I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of penalty calls we have had so far. I thought after that early holding call that it was going to be a game where guys were getting whistled down for looking at one another the wrong way. But now it seems like the ref wants to let the players decide the outcome of the game. May it stay that way, especially since the stakes in this contest are about as high as it gets for a regular season game. Maybe the ref is going into HIS version of a playoff mode where the teams are allowed to actually play. We can only hope.

With just over five minutes left in the period, Kempe made an attempt to accrue his first pro goal, going after a loose puck in front of the Binghamton net. However, he was thoroughly outnumbered by Senators, who managed to get the puck out of harm's way.

Nice defensive move by Matsumoto to pluck the puck out of a forest of legs and skates in front of Munroe and start skating the puck up ice. Binghamton was duelling with us for the puck on our doorstep, so it was good to see him not only get control, but take the disk entirely out of harm's way.

The score at the end of the second period remains 3-0, Phantoms. We will have to be ready for the Senators to come out of the gate like GANGBUSTERS in the third period. If we hold them off, especially in the first half or so of the frame, we will do ourselves a huge favor.

Phantoms at Binghamton Senators, 3-25-09: First Period

2009-03-25T19:49:00.000-04:00

David Laliberte is cleared to resume playing, which has reunited the line of Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon is reunited. Ross/Kane/Sirianni is another line, and the return of Laliberte has allowed for the line of Kalinski/Szwez/Nodl to be reassembled, as well. Our other three forwards are Raduns, Kempe, and Clackson. Presumably they are our other line. :)

Per Brian Smith, this is the last time these two teams will ever meet, as there is no possibility that the Phantoms and Senators will meet in the playoffs. I presume that's because it's a mutually exclusive proposition -- when one team clinches the last playoff berth', the other team will be eliminated. |There's still no word on what it was that had Laliberte out of the lineup last week. However, as long as he's back, that's all that matters. :)

Mario Kempe is in tonight's lineup. He is a Flyers prospect who just came over from playing in Sweden and was signed to a tryout contract.

Fight: Clackson vs. Carkner. Carkner got in more hits early, as well as the eventual takedown. I would have to give this decision to Carkner, but Clackson withstood some solid punches and threw some haymakers of his own, so he gets a tip of the cap from me, too. Fiesty bout. This should be a high-energy game tonight, as there is so much at stake, and it shows.

With 14:12 left in the period, the SOG are Phantoms 3, Senators 2.

The Phantoms will be the first team to be awarded a PP, as Slattengren tripped Ratchuk. So let's have a nice PECOOOOO POWER PLAY, shall we? :)

Aaaah, two near-goals from Curry and then Matsumoto made me scare the cats. ;) But now we're at even strength.

Not for long, though, as Nodl is getting sent to the sin bin for holding. Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me... they just showed the replay of the alleged infraction, and if that was holding, I am the Queen of England. Well, anyway, we're killing a penalty. I like that we have been clearing the puck relatively well. That has been an issue for us at various times in the season, but not on THIS penalty kill. Aaaand there we go, it's even strength again. (Waits to see if the ref makes a fibber out of me by immediately calling a penalty. No? No. Good.)

We have 11 games left to play, including tonight's game, six of which are at home. We have two games in hand over Bingo, but we also need the Senators to lose some games in order for us to vault into the final playof spot. Well, all we can do is treat the upcoming games like they ARE playoff games, because they do bear that level of importance.

TO is playing in Hershey tonight. I hope the Bears and Marlies wear one another the heck out, as the Marlies play the Phantoms on Friday in Philly.

We have an extended timeout at the moment, as there's a broken pane of glass that needs to be replaced.

SCOOOOORE!!! ROSS draws first blood with 5:19 left! Assists from Sirianni and Bartulis. Outstanding work!

Eeeeek, there's a mob scene in our crease. Good grief, that was an alarming sequence! Fortunately, the Senators weren't able to cash in on any of several opportunities, and the score remains 1-0 Phantoms.

Our announcer is trying to figure out which Phantoms just headed up the tunnel with about a minute to go in the period. The forward combos are slightly jumbled (Ross/Kane and Matsumoto/Laliberte were out with a different winger than usual), but it wasn't possible to determine who was the missing player prior to the end of the period. The period is, in fact, over, and I hope that whoever it was comes back out with no difficulty to start the second.

Phantoms at Albany River Rats ,3-22-09

2009-03-23T13:49:00.002-04:00

I tried to email this post last night, but I am checking now and I see that it never arrived. Doggone it. Let's try this again.

The Phantoms had a game in Albany on Sunday evening. I didn't get to tune in online until the final few minutes of the cybercast. Unfortunately, that basically means I got online just in time to see us lose 2-0.

This is disappointing for multiple reasons. We desperately needed those two points, for one thing. I see the Phantoms got 17 shots on goal in the third period alone, so it's obvious that they're thinking along the same lines on that topic. For another thing, we just used up one of the three games-in-hand we had on the Senators. Drat.

Our next game is on Wednesday in Bingo, so that will be a four-poit-swing game. GO PHANTOMS! We need that win!

CLICK HERE for the game recap from the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL site.

Phantoms vs. Binghamton Senators, 3-21-09: First, Second, and Third Periods; OT; Shootout

2009-03-21T22:46:00.001-04:00

I can't seem to get through to the available networks tonight, so I will post the entire blog file when I get home.

Nodl is still on the line with Matsumoto and Maroon, so Laliberte is still out of the lineup. Kalinski is on a line with Raduns and Szwez. The line of Ross, Kane, and Sirianni remains together from last night. Klotz is on a line, and is out on the ice, with Clackson and Beaulieu.

The D pairs are the same as last night. Guenin is with DeSantis, Kukkonen is with Bartulis, and Ratchuk is with Curry.

We just spent the first four and a half minutes of the game with no stoppage of play before the Sens went offside. The Phantoms have the only shot on goal.

OMG we lucked out -- the puck hit the post behind Scott Munroe and didn't deflect in off him. Even better, he was able to clear it away from the Senator waiting on the doorstep.

Bartulis made some nice defensive moves, including checking an attacker into our bench, to prevent Bingo from getting set up in our end.

The shots on goal, with 10 minutes left in the period, are Phantoms 3, Senators 6.

We get to go on the game's first PK, as Kalinski gets sent off immediately after a faceoff for hooking. The first unit is Kane, Ross, Kukkonen, and Guenin. Nice clear by Kane. Next up are Matsumoto, Nodl, Bartulis, Curry. Curry's stick broke in half just as we finished killing the penalty, but luckily we cleared the puck out and nothing bad came of it.

A nice little scrum at our half boards results in one Senator going to the sin bin for boarding. Time for the PECOOOOO POWER PLAAY. Matsumoto's line is the first one up. 'we finally got our first shot on goal since before the halfway mark of the period. Unfortunately, that turned out to be our only shot during the man advantage,

Nice save by Munroe and an even nicer clear of the rebound by Kukkonen.

Kalinski is getting sent off for holding with 3:04 remaining in the period. The first PK unit is Ross, Kane, Guenin, and Kukkonen, However, the first shot of the PK was a SH attempt by Ross, who got to the loose puck first and rushed up ice with it for all he was worth,

A Senator tried to do a wrap-around, but Munroe was ready for him and hugged the post. It was Bingo's 11th shot on goal.

At the end of the first period, the score is 0-0, and the SOG are Phantoms 5, Senators 11.
____

RATCHUK with the end-to-end rush! Glass made the save, but the Senators took a hooking penalty. 21 seconds into the PP, we scored the game's first goal on a long shot that hit Glass's leg pad so hard, it bounced up and over and went into the net. Rob Sirianni scored, assisted by Ross and Kukkonen. I was surprised at how long it took to announce the goal. Maybe it was as hard to tell from the ice as it was from this angle who should get credit for the goal. In any event, 1-0, Good Guys. :)

Ratchuk was breaking in on the Bingo net with the puck. He and the Senator covering him fell. Somehow this translated into RATCHUK going to the box for tripping. :headdesk: :headdesk: :headdesk: Don't ask me what logic was behind THAT observation, but unfortunately the Sens tied the game on their PP. 1-1.

Guenin was already going to get a penalty, but the scrum at the stoppage in play ensured that more guys would go off. Guenin, Kane, and Yablonski of the Sens all went off for slashing.

This caused our first PK unit to consist of Ross and Raduns, instead of Ross and Kane.

NICE clear, Now we have Matsumoto and Kalinski as our PK unit. Banfield's arm is up again, this time for the Sens. With 17 seconds left in the PK, Bois of Bingo goes off.

Kukkonen turned the puck over, leading to a SH rush by Bingo, but the end result was a Senator in our net, the net against the back boards, and a whistle stopping play.

With half a minute left on our PP, Munroe made a diving save on another SH attempt that led to the "Unbelievable" song being played. Dang, it's been a while since we've heard that one. This is 90s night, with music from that decade, but we still used to hear the song during games after a good save.

In any event, with seven minutes left in the period and the teams back at even strength, the SOG are Phantoms 13, Sens 19.

Sirianni gave us all a scare by slamming head first into the boards, and coming up holding his arm in a way that suggested an Upper Body Injury. He went up the tunnel with the trainer in tow, but to my surprise, they both came back out near the end of the period.

SOG at the end of the period: Phantoms 14, Sens 21.
____

Sirianni is out for the faceoff to open the third period, which is an excellent sign.

Sean Curry just tried to put a Senator right through the boards. After the last couple of borderline-boarding hits from Bingo went uncalled, I was glad to see that Curry didn't get an infraction either.

We have a broken pane of glass over by the Bingo blue line. Accordingly, the song on the PA is "Walking on Broken Glass". :)

WHOA, Munroe got the puck *under* his pads while in a butterfly split. Needless to say, he froze until the whistle was blown, lest a wrong move inadvertently send the puck into the net.

With 8:51 remaining in the period, the score remains 1-1 and the SOG are Phantoms 15, Senators 28. In other words, we have only gotten one shot in this period so far.

Matsumoto slammed the Sens' number 16 into the boards hard enough to earn a glare from him, but then they both continued playing instead of getting into a scrum.

Clackson is out with Raduns and Kalinski, which is a tweak to that line. (Szwez is normally their other winger).

Guenin blocked a shot.

You know, I would have sworn we got a least one SOG a couple shifts ago, but we didn't get credit for it on the shot clock.

NICE save by Munroe. That was the Sens 29th shot (as opposed to our alleged total of 15).

There. NOW we finally got credit for the shot.

In the final minute, Matsumoto, Nodl, and Maroon are out with Curry and Bartulis, However, the Game will go into OT and each team will earn at least one point.

So the best we can gain on Bingo in the standings is one point tonight. However, we need that point, so I hope the hero is on our side of the scorecard tonight.

SOG at the end of the third period are Phantoms 16, Sens 31.

Bingo just took a one-minute OT penalty for Delay of Game. It's my un-favorite infration, but at least we benefit from it about as often as we get burnt by it, The Phantoms used their time out.

Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, and Sirianni are out (three forwards). for the 4 on 3 PP.

WOW, Bingo just rang one off our post as loudly as a clang from a fire alarm. Geesh, what a blast, but fortunately it stayed out.

Last minute of OT, and so far we have all the OT shots on goal. It won't count as a shot, but Bingo just clanged another puck off the iron,

SOG at the end of OT, Phantoms 22, Binghamton 31.

I FREAKING LOATHE SHOOTOUTS, but that's how we will determine who gets the bonus point.
/
It took us into the sudden death portion of the shootout, but the Senators won the bonus point. So the point that we gained on them in the standings on Wednesday, we just lost again. Drat. We need these four-point-swing games.

We do have two more games vs. the Senators remaining, plus we still have three games in hand on them, So we are still mathematically capable of earning a playoff berth. Here's to postseason play, because we want to keep our team as long as possible.

Phantoms vs. Binghamton Senators, 3-21-09

2009-03-21T19:39:00.001-04:00

I will post the entire blog after the game. My connectivity to the internet is too sporadic tonight. I will save the file on the computer and send it when I have reliable access.

For the record...

2009-03-21T12:19:00.002-04:00

Just for the record...

I know the banner at the top of the site reads "14 games" remaining. At this writing, the current number is actually 8.

I do have a photo of the most current banner. I have a photo of EVERY banner from every home game this season.

But it's getting more and more depressing to update the banner photo, the lower the numbers get.

Bear with me. I'll get the banner current. I have a lot of pictures that need to be uploaded from my camera card, and the latest banner pics are among them.

By the end of tonight's home game, we will have 7 games remaining.

Sigh. :(

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: Third Period

2009-03-20T22:36:00.001-04:00

LMHO! So when the officials come out and the music guy plays the theme from the Three Stooges, does he mean the Zebras are three stooges, or is the implication that they are Three Blind Mice? :D Either way works in the fans' opinion, heh heh heh... The song got a nice round of applause.

SCOOORE! 55 seconds into the period, with a 5 on 3 PP, Ross scores from Kukkonen and DeSantis. Gret work, guys! The score is 1-1 and we still have 1:06 of PP time remaining.

With 16:51 left, Raduns is going off for hooking. This after some NICE D from DeSantis and Guenin to get between a shooter;;and Munroe.

SPeaking of getting between the puck and the net, we just did it again with a pileup in the goalmouth. This included would-be attacker Taffe. Munroe made a nice east-west move to stop another puck shortly afterward.

Nice -- 8620 are in attendance, and for once I can honestly say that I don't notice a loud contingent of Pens fans bumping the total up. It's OUR fans tonight. Good.

We had a hairy moment when DeSantis went into the boards in the corner behind our net, face-first. The trainer came out to check on him, but he didn't need any repairs done. (It must have still been smarting, though, because he checked his jaw area one more time bare-handed before replacing his glove.)

It looks like the D on Daoust's jersey is coming off. I wonder if he was the Penguin who tried to throw a hit on one of our guys, but missed and slammed forcefully into the boards with his back? Owie. I can't say I remember seeing a time when a guy's letter started to come off the nameplate, though. Waaaay back in the Days of the Bullies, I remember seeing a namepate here or a number there start to detach from a jersey, but that was rare and it was a long time ago.

There was just a "dogpile on the Muny" moment where the crease kind of looked like a "how many people can we fit into this phone booth?" stunt. Kukkonen started throwing haymakers at the Pen who was most obviously getting into Munroe's face (literally) wihtot having been pushed there. So we are at 4 on 4, as Kukkonen and the Penguin went off for roughing.

At this point, all the guys from each team are seriously hating on all the guys from the opposing team. Now we are at the Pens' end and another large scrum took place, only next to their net instead of in the goalmouth.

Last minute of play in the third. Eeee, and a Penguin shot that Munroe did get part of brushed against the outside of the post with a faint ping. There's one bullet doeged. Ross, Kalinski, and Kane are out with Kukkonen and Guenin. (Not a regular line combo.)

AAAH! SCOOOOOOOOOOORE!!! The guys are not only h ugging, but jumping up and down in the corner, and there is 19.5 seconds left. Kalinski, the addtion to the Ross/Kane pairing, got the goal with assists from Kukkonen and Kane. OMG, the fans are practically screaming the place off its foundation. The Penguins called a timeout and pulled the goalie. But the Phantoms hold on to win, only to have a fight behind our net break out at the final horn between Kalinski and Minard.

The stars of the game were #3: Kukkonen, #2: Munroe, and the obvious choice for #1 was Kalinski.

This team's going to give me a coronary with these dramatic finishes. ;) But as long as the Phantoms are on the happy side of the drama, I won't complain.

Our next game is tomorrow night, at home, vs. Binghamton. Go Phantoms!

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-20-09: Second Period

2009-03-20T20:37:00.001-04:00

Wow -- we just had a LONG sequence without a break in play, and I think that Matsumoto was out for nearly all of it. He was on for at least two full shifts, including a stint with Kane nd SIrianni, and another with Beaulieu and Clackson. But what was impressive was at the end, he didn't look like he was about to keel over. Impressive conditioning. :)

The Phantoms have spent a mintue on the PP, and we are about to go on a 5 on 3 advantage. We HAVE to tie this game on this. I never in my leife heard of "throwing the stick" as a penalty beore, but evidently it's in the rulebook, as we just saw a Penguin go to the sin bin for it.
Our first mnute on PP didn't include a goal, but we stil have another minute of 5 on 4. We need to start shooting more and passing a it less, though. Nope, no dice. Even strength again... No PP goal this time.

Kane just came this-close to putting Pesonen over the boards into the Phantoms bench. NICE hit.

I can't believe that with 9:30 left in the period, we have only had three shots on goal. SOG are Phantoms 10, Penguins 17.

But as I was typing that, a Penguin took a penalty in the Phantoms' end. For crying out loud... And six seconds into the PP, Sirinni gets called for interference. So we are at 4 on 4.

Kand went right through Pesonen in our end in the faceoff circle. That's at least two solid hits he's dished out on Pesonen in this period so far. Heck, if it keeps that thorn in our side off the scoreboard for the rest of the game, let Kane keep it up.

Satan just hooked down Matsumoto, who still managed to dump the puck deep into the Pens' end while he was falling to the ice. Satan tried to plead his case to the referee, but away he goes. We have a 4 on 3 advantage for the eime being. Then we will have six seconds of 4 on 4 when this is done, and the rest of the penalty willb e a regular 5 on 4 PP for us. Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, and Curry-the-Dman are out. Ross blastee a shot through traffic. I don't know how Curry-the-goalie saw it, but he froze it. Faceoff: we have the same players oht. Kukkonen snot a bomb from center of the blueline. Again, Curry-the-goalie froze it. This time, we are changing ines. Matsumoto, Nod, and Maroon are with Ratchuk and DeSantis.

Apparently, the Pens have decided that this is Maul Jonl Matsumoto night. Taffe just tackled him in the neutral zone, but the ref missed it. That's OK, Guenin got away with an elbow to Bissonnette's chin about a minute later. Even Steven. ;)

With 3:21 left in the period, SOG are Phantoms 17, Penguins 21.

AGAIN there is a scrum in that one corner that's impossible to see from this seat. These guys need to start having their ten-skater conferences on other parts of the ice surface. ;) The only Phantom to get relegated to the sin bin is Clackson, along with #22 from the Penguins. We will be at 4 on 4, and there is 2:16 left in the period.

Engellund was mauling the daylights out of Matsumoto, cross-checking him while he was down on the ice. Banfield called it, and apparently he also decided to add an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, SECONDS later, Kukkonen got called for two for holding, so any PP we will have will take place in the next period. We are at 3 on 3 right now. Ross, Guenin, and Bartulis are our three guys who are out.

For most of the rest of the period, we had a lot of activity where guys from both teams looked like they were playing "hot potato" with the puck. We couldn't clear the darned thing, but the Pens couldn't get enough control of iti to do anything constructive.

Then we returned to 4 on 4, and things got very colorful, very fast. Lovejoy fell in our zone, allowing us to break out with the puck. Matsumoto get sent sprawling, Clackson stationed himself at the right post but didn't get passed the puck in time to deflect it home, as the period ended. In the midst of all this, Lovejoy got called for interference at the end of the period.

So at the end of the second period, the Penguins still ead 1-0. The Phantoms have 9 seconds of penalty time remaining. The Pens have two penalties remaining, one of which has 2:02 left on it, and the other of which has a full 2 minutes to go. So we are set to have a long 5-on-3 stint available to us in the coming period. Sog are Phantoms 17, Penguins 23.

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-20-09: First Period

2009-03-20T19:42:00.002-04:00

Duchesne, Sloane(?), Laliberte :( Gratton, Bellamy
Who is Sloane? That's a new name on me.

I wonder what happened to Laliberte, that he's out of the lineup? That's bad news for the Phantoms for sure. He is 1/3 of our hottest line (with Matsumoto and Maroon). In his stead, Klotz is in the lineup tonight.

The Phantoms got a PP less than a mnute into the game, after a fiesty first shift in our end where multiple hits were thrown. We actuallyhad a good scoring chance on the delayed penalty, but unfortunately nothing came of it.

The game program describes Sloane as a D-man from the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler, PA, who recently completed his college career. He has been signed to a tryout contract. However, there is no indication in the game program regarding the reason that Laliberte isout of the lneup.

Now it's the Phantoms' turn to kill a penalty. Matsumoto goes off for slashing. The first PK unit incudes Kane, Ross, Guenin (with an A, replacing Syvret) and Kukkonen. We made a little shorthanded noise, but we still so far only have one shot on goal in the game. Oh, great, Pesonen and Satan are on the first PP shift for the Penguins. Pains in the neck. Fortunately, Pesonen fumbled an attempt to pass the puck, leaving it there for Kukkonen to clear to the far end. ON the next shift for us, Raduns and Kalinski managed to get a Sh break, though no shot on goal. This time, however, Nodl and Curry take it down to the other end, which kils still more time off the PK. At the end of the PK, the SOG are Phantoms 1, Penguins 6. I am not certain whether we got that shot on the scoring attempt leading up to the PP, or if we got it during the power play itself.

Ratchuk just had a fight with Bissonnette. It started out with Bissonnette having an edge, but then Clackson got the jersey over his fellow gladiator's head and pretty much took over from there. Win: Clackson.

The D pairs in this game remain Guenon/DeSantis, Bartulis/Kukkonen, and Curry-the-Dman/Ratchuk.

Kukkonen made a nice move with his stick to prevent a Penguin from receiving a cross-ice pass from Satan in frotn of our net. Matsumoto and Maroon are with Nodl tnight, in the absence of Laliberte.

Paddock is NOT a happy camper. He has been standing on top of our bench hollering, and now that we are going on another PK, he is adamant about getting some answers from Banfield, the referee.

BLAST -- soooo close to a goal and the lousy puck went wide! Ross broke in shorthanded, and the Dman covering him fell. Curry-the-goalie came way out to cut down the angle, and Ross managed to get around him. Owever, the puck went off on its own tangent, and when Ross got hold of it again, he shot it in a hurry and it went wide of the open net. Argh. We did, however, earn some 4 on 4 play as a Penguin was guilty of holding.

Nodl got a breakaway on the next shift, but he was unable to score. I heard the puck hit the boards, but I didn't see if Curry-the-goalie deflected it or if it went wide.

We killed our penalty, and we are now on a very brief PP of our own. Too bad it wasn't enough time to get entirely set up. However, I like our energy so far in this game. We need to keep it up.

Kalinski is on a line with Raduns and Szwez. That leaves Clackson, Beaulieu, and Klotz as our fourth line.

The referee's arm is up, thanks to a play in the corner that's hard to see from my seat (the bench side of the end where the Zamboni tunnel is). The SOG are now Phantoms 5, Pens 6. The Penguins have not shot on our goal since the last time I posted the shot totals.

DeSantis just got a blast on goal from the top of the left faceoff circle. IT's possible that Curry-the-goalie was screened on the play, but a rebound came way out to a Pens defender. Kukkonen and DeSantis are our on D, and Kukkonen just had a nice keep-in. With 42 seconds in the PP remaining, after Curry-the-goalie froze the puck and there was a little conference of skaters at the goalmouth, we're changing lines to get some fresh legs out. Curry-the-Dman and Ratchuk are out with matsumoto, Nodl, and Maroon. First Nodl, then Maroon stationed himself at the crease for rebounds. By the end of the PP, the SOG were even at 6 each.

With 2:22 left, it's OUR turn to kill a penalty. Again. Banfield is in Whistle Mode tonight, apparently. Kalinski goes.

Kane and Ross are out with Guenin and Kukkonen. Kane fed Ross in the neutral zone, but the Pens defender who had stayed back managed to bat the puck off to the side. Next, Nodl and Matsumoto are with Bartulis and Curry. We made a nice clear all the way to the far boards. (Good to see us get deep clears of the puck... When we fail to do that, it never turns out well. Never.) Blasted pain in the caboose Pesonen. AGAIN. He got the onlyt wo goals in regulation time on Wednesday, and he got one just now on us with 50.8 seconds remaining in the period. 1-0 Bad Guys. Pittsburgh, CALL THIS GUY UP. Geesh. This time, he had a bouncing shot that knuckled on Munroe with a bounce six inches in front of the goal.

At the end of the first period, the Penguins have the only goal of the game, and the SOG are Phantoms 7, Penguins 10.

Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-18-09: Third Period, OT, and Shootout

2009-03-18T21:47:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms' PK has been absolutely stellar so far in this game. Munroe deserves to add another "star of the game" selection to his collection for the season, and his teammates are making a solid case to join him.

Unfortunately, the darned thorn in our side known as Janne Pesonen, who got five points in the previous game against the Phantoms and has already scored tonight, is the one that finally found a way to get a puck past Munroe and tie the game,

But with 9 minutes left in the third period, the Phantoms are about to go on our second PP of the game. Munroe proceeds to have to poke check a puck away from a SH attacker. Now the Matsumoto line is out with Kukkonen and DeSantis. On the next shift, Ross, Kane, and Sirianni tested the living daylights out of Curry-the-goalie but somehow the puck stayed out.

Now there is a(nother) penalty on the Phantoms, the validity of which the announcer has voiced an objection. But to the PK we go. Matsumoto not only clears the puck, but speeds up to take it with Ross for a SH 2-on-1. OH, they have to call this trip -- another Penguin came up behind Matsumoto and hauled him down to prevent the breakaway.

Yep, they call it, so we will spend about a minute (slightly less, actually) at 4-on-4 before embarking on a PP of our own.

On the PP, Ross, Kane, and Sirianni got a nice chance when they got it to Ross and he one-timed the puck, but he didn't get good wood on it (or whatever the darn sticks are made of... didn't get good composite on it?) and Curry-the-goalie made the stop.

We have three minutes remaining in regulation time, and the PP is over. Kalinski is in a dispute with Satan. Nice to see he's so fiesty that even an NHL veteran doesn't intimidate him. :)

At the end of regulation, the score remains tied at 2-2, so we are going into OT. Matsumoto did his part by winning the faceoff in our zone with six seconds remaining. Good job.

The team we are chasing for the final playoff slot, Binghamton, is winning by three goals in the final frame of their contest, so if we want to maintain our current distance of 8 points between them and us, we need a hero tonight. Go Phantoms!

WOW -- the first stoppage of play in the OT came about three minutes into the five-minute extra session. In the shift that led up to the offensive-zone draw, Ross and Sirianni were getting some nice chances. Curry-the-goalie had to freeze the puck to prevent things from gettng out-of-hand.

Eek... that was close. Just as the Pens got set up in our zone, OT ended. So we are going into a shootout. Which provides me the opportunity to say, yet again, that I FREAKING HATE SHOOTOUTS!!! Argh argh argh!

But in any case, the Zambonis are out to clear a path for the shooters. It is the 8th shootout for both teams. So far, the Pens are 4-3 and the Phantoms are 5-2 in shootouts this season.

AHL shootouts go five rounds to start with

Pens Satan -- yes
Matsumoto -- no

Pens Pesonen -- yes
Ross -- YES

Pens -- Letestu -- no
Maroon -- no

Pens Goligoski -- no
Sirianni -- no

Pens Taffe -- no
Guenin -- no

The Penguins win the shootout 2-1 and the game 3-2. We drop to 9 points behind the Senators in the standings. Pesonen got two goals during regulation and his shootout goal was the game-winner. Pittsburgh needs to call this dude up and KEEP him up.

The stars are #3 Munroe (told ya!); #2 Curry-the-goalie; #1 Pesonen (no surprise there).

Here's to some REVENGE on Friday when we see this team again in Philly!

Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-18-09: Second Period

2009-03-18T20:32:00.000-04:00

Incidentally, Miroslav Satan did join the baby Penguins and is currently in their lineup. He has been on the ice a LOT in thie early second period, He and his line have drawn a penalty against the Phantoms. Szwez will sit.

So far, the Phantoms' PK has been very effective. We did have a somewhat alarming sequence when Munroe had to clap his mitt over a loose puck right in front of the crease. Kalinski actually took the puck out from under his own goalie's glove and cleared it down the ice to make certain that it was out of the danger zone.

Sirianni scores to tie the game! 1-1! Great job, Rob. :)

Munroe has been absolutely superb in preserving the tie, including one deflection where the unfortunate Penguin Bissonnette had the puck ricochet off his face. OUCH. He made a beeline up the tunnel for repairs.

Our PK has served us well during this period, as well. This is what we need to keep doing, not just for the rest of the game but for our upcoming games, too.

SCOOOORE with a surprise deflection in front of the net! We're trying to determine if it was Kalinski or Szwez who scored it. Szwez is getting the credit, with assists from Curry-the-Dman and Nodl. 2-1 Phantoms, late in the second period.

Wow, Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon really have had some great opportunities so far in this game. They just created at least their third great scoring chance of the night. If they keep it up, they're sure to figure in the box score. They'll be very deserving if they come out of this game with some more points added to their respective totals.

Yikes... Kalinski just went flying into the Wilkes-Barre net after a defenseman swatted the puck off his stick. Fortunately, he's getting up and is OK.

The second period is over with the Phantoms leading 2-1. Considering we only got five shots in the entire period, as opposed to the 13 that the Penguins got, the fact that we took the lead is even more impressive.

Now we need to WIN THE THIRD PERIOD. Wilkes-Barre is going to come out of the gate FLYING In the third; I'm sure of it.

Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-18-09: First Period

2009-03-18T19:41:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms are playing in Wilkes-Barre tonight, and as always, we need these points from our divisional rivals, I wondered for a few moments what was the matter with my screen, as the colors seemed a tad strange on the uniforms, Then I realized that the Penguins have green St. Patrick's Day jerseys on. LOL. First day with the new eyes. ;)

The Pens got started with shots on goal early. They had at least three shots before the Phantoms sent any pucks in the direction of Curry-the-goalie, So far the goaltenders have withstood all onslaughts, DeSantis is back in the lineup on D, since Syvret is still up with the Flyers.

The Phantoms are on the game's first PP, but we have had a really hairy moment. Munroe stopped a puck from a shorthanded attempt by the Pens; however, Kukkonen lost an edge and slid into his own goalie. Munroe got shoved most of the way into the net, but the referee ruled "no goal". It was hard to tell from the camera angle whether the puck went across the goal line along with the goalie. Either Charron (the referee) had a better angle of observation from behind the net, or else he decided to err on the side of caution, Either way, that was a break for the Phantoms.

Whew... the Phantoms, according to the announcer, are embarking on a schedule of 5 games in 25 nights. Yikes. Our stretch run to attempt to reach a playoff seeding is going to be more like a marathon, or maybe a decathlon.

Munroe just made two excellent stops, but we couldn't seem to get control of the puck at any point during a goalmouth scramble. The end result was a Penguin goal. 1-0 Bad Guys.

Matsumoto and Laliberte created a scramble of their own, late in the period, but Curry-the-goalie found a way to keep their point-blank attempts out of the net, Not long afterward, the announcement was made that there is one minute remaining in the period.

The first period is over, The score is 1-0 in favor of the Penguins. The SOG are Penguins 10, Phantoms 6.

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals, 3-15-09: Third Period

2009-03-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

BWAAAA HA HA HA, the music guy started playing the theme from The Three Stooges ("Three Blind Mice") when the three officials came out. So whether he's calling our zebras Three Stooges or Three Blind Mice, either way he's tweaking the officials. Heh heh heh. :D

They're changing credit on the second goal. Now it's Sirianni from Ross and Kane.

Here comes a PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Maroon is stationed at the crease for rebounds or deflections from Matsumoto/Laliberte shots. Syvret and Kukkonen are the D. Unfortunately, ew are spending this first shift in OUR zone, which is not what we want to be doing. OK, now we finally are getting set up in the Norfolk end. But not for long. Grumble. Norfolk carries it out, we carry it back in.

OH! We have a very near miss on our first try, but the goalie was down after attempting to make the save, and Ross fires it into the open net for our first lead of the game. Assists to Kane and Curry, and we managed to get that disk into the net with all of 4 seconds remaining on the PP.

Curry just LEVELLED the Ads' number 44 who was carring the puck up the far boards. He lined him up and sent him flying. NICE hit. :) The Phantoms Phaithful appreciated it, too.

Nice team D. Keller from the Ads grabbed the puck and charged into our zone, full speed ahead, but all by himself. Our two D had already stayed back and covered him, two of our forwards came in behind him, so the only choice he had was to try and dump the puck in. We regained possession and headed out again.

SON of a BLANKETY BLANK BLANK BLANK, we were just about to have a great scoring chance, but we got whistled for too many men on the ice. BLAST. Szwez heads off to serve the penalty. Konopka gets flattened by Bartulis at the half boards when he tried to et in position to shoot. It actually took a few seconds for me to see who it was that threw the hit, because they went sliding out of sight at the base of the boards for a few moments.

We have killed the penalty but still I like our defensive play right now. We are sending otwo forwards in deep, and the third one is making a point to stay back and help the D more than worry about attacking. Matsumto has been one of the guys who still attacks, though, and with his speed that's pretty sensible. But Helenius has stood his ground with Matsumoto, and later with Szwez who was all alone at the Norfolk net trying to swat the puck by the goalie any way he knew how. (If I were Norfolk's coach, I wouldn't be one bit happy about seeing a Phantom duelling with Helenius and not one blue-clad teammate anywhere nearby to help out.)

Uh oh, we kind of fell out of that pattern I described earlier, and wound up with a 2 on 1 break against us. Fortunately, two of our other players managed to get back into the play before any damage was done, and the puck woudn up under a dogpile of players at the boards.

Kane just passed the puck half a mile, from deep in our end to Sirianni who was charging for all he was worth at the center ice circle. He and Ross barreled in to try and get a scoring chance. We ddn't get a goal, but the play was nice enough to inspire an excerpt from "Sweet Home Alabama" to be played. :) (Ross is from Huntsville, AL.)

We have 3:09 remaining in the game, with the Phantoms leading 3-2 and the SOG Phantoms 29, Admirals 24. Norfok is busting their collective tail to tie this game. I hate that we just had to have a faceoff in our end, because it let the Ads set up and crash our net, looking for a goal. Munroe froze it, and here we go facing off in our end again. This time we won and out goes Ross's lne. The D changed while our forwards were at the far end of the ice, with Bartulis and Kukkonen coming out for a pair of fresh players on the blueline.

Norfolk is trying the dump-and-chase method. We got to it first, but since we didn't quite clear it out, it let them get a chance. Grrr. Munroe took care of that, and wound up gloving the puck for a faceoff to his right. Matsumoto, Kaliberte, Maroon, Guenin, and Syvret are taking the draw. This eventually turned into a giant dogpile on Munroe's stick side. The last guy to get up looked like a blue pancake on the ice while he waited for the other players to get off him and line up for the faceoff.

The more the clock winds down, the more desperate the Admirals are becoming. Konopka needs to be sat on right about now. His shot went wide, but I don't like him getting near-miss chances this late in a close game. With 35.1 seconds left, a shoving match to Scotty's right ended up with one Admiral on the ice, and his teammate backing over him and landing on Ross who also was on the ice. Ross didn't appreciate this much and when he got up, he had some comments to make to the nearest Admiral (which wasn't the guy that fell on him).

Timeout, Norfolk. Ross's line remains on the ice with Guenin and Syvret. We neeeed to get this doggone biscuit out of our zoe. Munroe makes a nice catch with his glove, just wide of the net, and brings the mitt up with a bit of extra flourish to the sound of cheering from the crowd. The Phantoms call timeout with 25.4 seconds left and the Norfolk goalie pulled.

The same guys are on the ice for us. And ten skaters are mobbed in front of the net -- how Munroe even came close to seein the puck, never mind keeping it out, I don't know. No shot on goal was registered on the board, so maybe someone else batted the disk out of harm's way. IN any event, we wound up icing the thing with 4.1 seconds left. Same five guys remain on the ice for us once again. And this time, we win and get a ten-skater scrum in the corner.

Stars of the game. #3: Zingoni (NOR), #2 Kane, and #1 Ross. SOG were Phantoms 29, Admirals 28.

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-15-09: Second Period

2009-03-15T18:32:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms are on the attack early, but Helenius had an answer for the puck that came his way. The good news is, when we had the faceoff to his right on the second shift, we got the puck back to Bartulis, who blasted the puck into the net from the point. Assist goes to Matsumoto. NICE shot -- what a freakin' BOMB. SOG Phantoms 11, Ads 9, and the score is now 1-1.

Hebert is the referee, but to my surprise, he is letting a LOT go. Which generally does work for me... I would rather see some borderline things get let slide and have some flow to the game than have stoppages of play every four seconds for penalties. (See: today's Flyers game at Madison Square Garden. Ugh.)

Speaking of UGH, the Admirals just retook the lead 2-1 as Pete Zingoni, the former Phantom, deked Munroe to his knees in the crease, then went around him to shoot into the open net.

OMG, the Phantoms tied it at 2-2 almost immediately. Ross it from such an angle, while charging at the net full tilt with an Admiral hot on his heels, that I thought the puck was on the OUTSIDE of the twine when it hit the net. But fortunately for us, it was IN the net. The goal was unassisted and I suspect that both goaltenders would like to have a do-over on those last two shots. I think they both would have liked to cover the post better on those plays. In any event, SOG: Phantoms 12, Norfolk 11.

Here goes a Phantoms penalty. Raduns goes for hookng. Ross and Kane are out with Guenin and Syvret. Nice, Guenin -- his defensive work in the corner is keepng an Admiral from getting the puck to anyone who's in a scoring position. Oh, now this is interesting -- the faceoff is in the Norfolk zone. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Bartulis, and Kukkonen are out. We are trying to make some noise shorthanded, but at least we shaved some time off the clock.

Oh, bless my soul, did I say that Hebert wasn't calling anything? Silly me. Matsumoto goes into the box MOMENTS after Raduns exits. Back to the freaking PK we go. Kane, Ross, Guenin, Syvret. Nice clear.

And AGAIN. With 58 seconds left on our PK, we are about to go down on a two-man disadvantage. Guenin is being sent off. LMHO, the announcer said "Phantom penalty"... Which sounds a litle bit like it was a phantom penalty, rather than a penalty on the Phantom*S*.

Too bad Kane's freaking stick broke. He would have been able to have a shorthanded breakaway. Instead, he made a beeline to the bench to exchange places with Kalinski, while the puck sped into the Ads zone and a Norfolk player rushed back to retrieve it. At least it killed some time and we got a fresh forward onto the ice.

Here is Matsumoto... The first part of our two-man disadvantage is killed off. Nodl, Kalinski, Curry, and Bartulis are out. And Kalinski gets a shorthanded rush, and tries for the wraparound. It doesn't work, but it allowws Nodl to pick up the puck and nearly manage a shot on goal of his own. Hooray, now we are at even strength again. Ross would have been able to et his second tally of the game if the pass that was sent toward him was within his reach.

With 9:08 left in the period, SOG are Phantoms 16, Admirals 13. We got a few of those during the recent PK, and for that, I'm pleased. Though it would be nice for us to score shorthanded... We haven't done that in a while. We got a ton of shorties earlier in the season.

Wth 7:21 left in the period, we are going on the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. But the Ads clear it all the way to the far boards. Back to the Norfolk end we go. Ross, Kane, Nodl, Ratchuk, and Curry are out. In the battle of the 26es, the Admirals' #26 stole the puck from Curry and went on the rush. Curry took a hooking infraction with ten seconds left in our PP. So we'll have a brief 4 on 4, then start killing a penalty of our own. Raduns, Kalinsk, Guenin, and Syvret are out. AFter them, Matsumoto, Laliberte, and the same two D. (It surprises me when we don't change all the guys during the second period, because we hve the long skate to the bench in this period.)

Bah. Humbug. We are embarking on 1:11 of a two-man disadvantage, as Guenin is getting called for hooking. SOG are Phantoms 17, Ads 15. Kane, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. I think Syvret has been out for this entire PK so far. NICE clear. Heh heh heh, and at the stoppage of play, we get the Chicken Dance with its enhanced lyrical content provided by the crowd. ("Hey, Ref! You S*ck!") Section 214 is back to its old tricks, too, hollering "YOU S*CK, REF" every time he skates past. They normally do that for the duration of the penalty that they disagree with, but this time they're really letting him have it. We have been at even strength for a while and they're still giving him grief. Nice keep-in, Guenin, speaking of the guy whose penalty triggered the fans' ire.

Kane just punched Henley in the chin after the whstle (when Helenius froze the puck). Henley, who is about nine freaking feet tall, just gave him the Glare of Death and the teams faced off to the goalie's right. (OK, he's 6'6", but he's still the Jolly Green freakin' Giant.)

The second period is over. We're at even strength, miraculously, and the score is 2-2. SOG: Phantoms 19, Admirals 18.

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-15-09: First Period

2009-03-15T17:38:00.001-04:00

I can see our injured announcer, Keith Jones (not the former Flyer, but the person who also does races at Philadelphia Park), in the press box talking to Mike Thornton. However, unfortunately, from the bits and pieces of info I've gleaned, his jaw is wired shut and Lou Nolan, the Flyers announcer, will have to take his duties over for the time being. The injury list that I saw was a broken jaw, 4 lost teeth, and 55 stitches. :( Having said that, Lou isn't in the announcer's box today. I don't know who it is, but I'm sure he'll introduce himself at some point.

Scratches: DeSantis, Klotz, Gratton, Bellamy.
Starting Lineup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Laliberte, Matsumoto, Maroon.

Gratton's still out. He limped up the tunnel after the second period of our previous home game on Wednesday, and we haven't seen him in the lineup since. Rats -- whatever it is, I hope it doesn't sideline him for long. If we're going to make a push for that last playoff spot, we need to be a healthy team.

Regarding my post a few days ago expressing some surprise at seeing some Phantoms left off the Clear Day Roster: we had at least two of those guys in the lineup last night in Albany. Beaulieu and Sirianni are not on the CDR, and aside from players on the CDR being our prospective playoff roster, they are also intended to be the ones who are allowed to be in our lineup for the remainder of the regular season. So, seeing a couple of non-CDR players in the lineup puzzled me.

However, then I realized that other players are allowed to be added in case of injury or emergency. And we do have several guys on that CDR who are currently on the Flyers' roster. I guess that was how we allowed for some insurance to have guys like Powe and Parent in the Phantoms lineup if the Flyers send them down... But if they're not down, then maybe that means we're allowed to use some of our "emergency" players on our roster instead. In any event, I'm glad to see our guys who are on the roster playing, and not in the press box.

Ugh. We're down to single dgits in the ""Games Left" Countdown. :( 9 games remain in the Spectrum, including this one.

OK, now that the piece of glass in front of our goal judge has been replaced, we can get the game under way. Matsumoto and Maroon proceed to crash the net. Matsy pretty much took that one literally, nearly colliding with the goalie. Faceoff is in the Norfolk end. Ross, Kane, and Sirianni are out with Bartulis and Kukkonen.

Next up: Szwez, Kalinski, Nodl and Curry/Ratchuk. Then Beaulieu, Clackson, Raduns.

Four and a haf inutes into the period, the Phantoms have the only two shots on goal in the game. Munroe did sare one with his glove, but t was a puck that would have hit the side of the net and perhaps gone into a dagner zone if he hadn't caught it. But as it would have gone wide of the goalmouth, he doesn't get credit for a save.

Nice speed on Syvret's part, getting to a loose puck first instead of the Admiral who, if he'd have arrived first, would have had a clear shot on net from the slot.

With 12:44 remaining, the Phantoms now have the only FOUR shots on goal in the game. Ross's line is out and we are about to go on the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Ross's ine is out with Kukkonen and Syvret, ane ARGH we just barely missed scoring. Kane was stationed at the crease and according to the fans at that end of the ice, he must have come this-close to augmenting his point total.

Scotty is baning his stick on the ice to signal the end of the PP. Ratchuk make a nice keep-in, but we didn't manage to get set back up for an even strength chance. The Admirals came out and threatened to set up a scoring chance before we could get the puck back down to Helenius's end.

Ha -- at somewhere between 10 minutes and 9:30 minutes left, a puck directed at our net by Norfolk was originally credited to them as a shot on goal. However, a few moments later, it was rescinded. I think the faint ping of puck brushing metal was enough to count it as a hit post instead of a shot. We, meanwhile, haven't given Helenius anything to do since that near-miss during the PP. SOG are currently 5-0, Phantoms, with 6:30 left in the period.

We have another PP coming up with 5:51 left in the period. NOW the Ads have a shot on goal.Ross, Kane, and Sirianni are out with Kukkonen and Syvret. Srianni took the faceoff... And we promptly give up a shorthanded break. Eek. OK, that won't do. There goes Norfolk's second shot on goal.

I'm glad that the people who actually have tickets for the row in front of me came in, late though they are, and claimed their seats. The two gents who moved down from wherever their seats were to that row must be HEAVY smokers, judging from the smoke scent clinging to their clothes. Don't know where they moved to, but it's not somewhere where I'm getting smoke-fested to death.

Riku Helenius is driviing me up the walls... He made a couple of ten-bell stops on the Phantoms just now to keep the game scoreless. Pain in the tail. ;) I see the Phantoms' penalty bendh opening with3:11 left. Kalinski is goingn off for interference SOG Phantoms 9, Admirals 3 and that was a nice clear. We have Ross, Kane, Syvret, and Guenin on the ice. Matsumoto and Laliberte are the next forward pair. NICE save by Munroe, who hangs on to freeze the puck and allow our D pair to change (Bartulis and Kukkonen). Also, Raduns came off the bench to replace Laliberte. Matsumoto remained on the ice. Wotj 21 secpmds ;eft om the {L. We are back to Ross, Kane, Guenin, Syvret. Aah, drat... With 1:17 left in the flipping period, the Admirals draw first blood with a PP goal. SOG are Phantoms 9, Norfolk 7, and at least four of those came during this past PP.

Zenon Konopka scored that goal. Doggone Phantoms killer. Seem to recall us having all sorts of fun dealing with him in our recent visit from Norfolk a few games ago.

There goes the end of the period. SOG are even at 9-9. The score is Norfolk 1, Phantoms 0.

Phantoms at Albany River Rats 3-14-09: an abbreviated First Period commentary

2009-03-14T17:55:00.001-04:00

I'm not live-blogging this game because I won't be able to stay at home long enough to watch the entire game online. However, WOW holy cow what a first period! It's not even over yet and the Phantoms are up 5-2. We have 5 goals on 16 shots, and Albany changed goaltenders after the fifth goal was scored.

It looked like it was likely to be a long night, and not in a good way, when Albany scored against us early. However, we soon tied the game, then went ahead 2-1 on goals from Laliberte and Kalinski.

Albany tied the score at 2-2 on their first PP of the game. However, between 16:31 and 18:02, the Phantoms scored three quick, unanswered goals from Laliberte, Syvret, and Kalinski.

That outburst ended the night for Albany's goaltender Manzato, in favor of Justin Peters.

Jean-Sebastian Aubin is the Phantoms' goaltender. I was a little surprised, given that Munroe's record vs. Albany is outstanding. However, keeping both our goalies active and sharp is a good idea.

Go Phantoms!

Phantoms 2009 Clear Day Roster

2009-03-12T16:01:00.003-04:00

The following is the Phantoms' Clear Day Roster for 2009. These are the players who are allowed to play for us during the rest of the regular season and in the playoffs.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin (G)
Scott Munroe (G)
Oskars Bartulis
Matt Clackson
Sean Curry
Jason DeSantis
Josh Gratton
Nate Guenin
Jonathon Kalinski
Boyd Kane
Lasse Kukkonen
David Laliberte
Patrick Maroon
Jonathan Matsumoto
Andreas Nodl
Ryan Parent
Darroll Powe
Nate Raduns
Michael Ratchuk
Jared Ross
Danny Syvret
Jeffrey Szwez

Powe? Parent? Does anyone expect to see either of them sent down? I would be very surprised if that happened.

No Beaulieu, no Bellamy, no Klotz, and to my surprise and disappointment, no Sirianni. I would have thought he's done more than well enough to play his way onto this roster.

On the other hand, that we have some work to do to move up in the standings, to make this anything other than an academic discussion. Let's hope that THAT happens, or the Phantoms' season will end in Hershey on April 11. :(

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-11-09: Game Recap and Box Score

2009-03-11T23:59:00.001-04:00

CLICK HERE for the recap of the game on the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL's site.

What a frustrating, frustrating game, and that's putting it mildly. We got behind the 8 ball early and never recovered from that. The game was a goal-fest for both teams, but it was also a Special Teams Parade. 10 infractions per side? 9 PPs each? 4 PP goals each? Take a look through the box score -- it appears to bear out my suspicion that the special teams were on the ice for nearly as much time as the teams spent at full strength. I wish the ref had let the teams PLAY THE GAME. We could have decided the outcome of the game for ourselves without nine powerplays and nine penalty kills per team.

But we need to stop falling behind early in games. And in particular, this game's kind of start needs to be a complete anomaly from here on out. The Phantoms recap says that we gave up three goals on our first three shots. But I remember seeing 3 shots on goal listed for the Pens well *before* their third goal went in. But it took forever for the fourth shot to be registered on the board (if it ever was). So unless one of those three shots was an error that was allowed to sit on the board until an actual shot on goal took place, we might have given up FOUR shots on goal and three goals-against. Which is, to be sure, no comfort to anyone who plays for or supports the team. Sigh.

But dwelling on the past won't change it. Time to move on to the next games, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-11-09: Third Period

2009-03-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

After Ross's line went of, we got a combo of Kalinski, Beaulieu, and Raduns. So I'm wondering if there is just a small bit of weaking going on out there. We'll have to see. Matsumoto's and Ross's lines were not changed, so I'm thinking about the third snd fourth line combos and wondering what's up there.

Come to think of it, Gratton limped into the tunnel at the end of the second period. I'm not sure what was hurting him, but his gait was not normal. I am currently looking for him on the bench, and I'm not seing him there. I don't know what's amiss, but whatever it is, he appears to have been given the rest of the game off.

One person who IS in the bench area is Neil Little. :) I'm glad they haven't sent him off to Parts Unknown right about now. I'd love to see him sit with both our goalies and make sure that they're where they need to be regarding confidence and fundamentals.

Here we go again with another PP, which is nice. Come to think of it, during the first four minutes of the period, we spent the vast majority of it in the Pens' zone and we were at even strength at the time. So that bodes well for us... Certainly it bodes better than our results at even strength earlier in tonight's game.

The first PP lne out was Matsumoto's.

CRIKEY, our annoucner Keith Jones just got naled with a puck in the mouth/ :( :( :( He's exiting via the Phantoms tunnel with our trainer in tow. Ouch and double ouch. Mike Thornton is in our tunnel, talking on a walke-talkie to I Know Not Whom. I don't see anyone with the headset on just now -- OH! SCOOOORE, so we need to have someone figure out who is going to announce the Phantoms PP goal. Here goes Shawn Hill into the announcers box to take over Keith's duties. Geesh. I can't help but remember a Flyers game where one of our goal judges got injured, where the report in the next day's papers said it's important to have depth in the off-ice officials. Well, the same apparently holds true here. And the goal was by SYVRET from ROSS and KANE. And geesh but I hope Keith's not too badly banged up.

We are still tilting the ice in the Pens' direction, even when we are at 5 on 5. I'm very pleased with that and SCOOOOOORE, Laliberte in the slot SLAMS one home! ALl-freaking-RIGHT! 6-4 and 3 minutes and change left in the period. COME ON, PHANTOMS! Assists from Maroooooon and Matsumoto.

Don't look now, but with 12:33 remaining in the period, The Penguins just got their first shot on goal in the frame. It took until a delayed penalty against us for them to get a puck on net.

PK time. Guenin blocked a shot. Syvret, Kane, nd Ross are also out there. Kane clears it halfway to New Jersey. We had a few more back-and-forth exchanges, including a nice Sh rush from Kalinski who evaded several attempts by Pens to steal the puck from him. However, we had one instance where Aubin was cheating a bit and when he made a leg save and was down on the ice, there was too much space between him and the far post. Our D and the Pens' O duelled for the puck, but the end result was a Wilkes-Barre goal. 7-4 Bad Guys.

Oh, what in the flying blazes is this now? I see Guenin and Matsumoto in the box with minors. At 10:36, it appears that this nitwit ref is about to put us on the PK for a full two-minute 5-on-3. Both get two minutes for slashing. It's about time for us to get the Chicken Dance song. HA HA HA HA, and just as I tuype it, the music guy plays it. LMHO... (For those who haven't seen this, at Phantoms games, the crowd chants, "Hey, Ref! You S*ck!" at the point of the song where the four claps take pace.)

NICE stop by Aubin. Kane, Syvret, and Kukkonen are out. Lasse follows up by blocking a shot. Good work. 50 seconds left on the PK, and we change forwards. Kalinski comes out. The D stay on the ice. I'm a little surprised by that.

15 seconds left in the PK... A rebound from a far-side shot comes out on the near side, and the waitng Pen has the entre net to aim at. 8-4 Pens. We have dug ourselves quite a hole in this game, and for the most part we have ony ourselves to blame, but we can thank the freaking ref for that goal-against. Blankety-blank-blank-blank.

This zebra just has no intention of letting play go at even strength for more than a few moments at a time. Raduns gets called for hooking immediately after the goal. More fargin' PK. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Guenin, and Bartulis are out. Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, and Syvret are next. Kukkonen starts rushing the puck shorthanded, resuting in an offensive-zone draw for us with 34 seconds of PK time left. Guenin comes out and Kukonen goes off. Kalinski and Beaulieu are also out. Syvret stays on. (What the heck is up with the D moves in this game tonight -- there are some non-changes that puzzle me.)

In any event, ow we are at even strengt, don't tell the ref or he'll call something on someone, and we are, again, hemming the Pens in. I wish we had done this earier in the game... We wouldn't be trailing quite this badly now.

Whoops, the ref saw 5 on 5 and decided the ice was too crowded, so he's giving the Phantoms a PP. Curry, Ratdhuk, Ross Kane SIrianni are out and we don;'t take long to cash in the PP goal. 11 seconds into the powerplay, Kane buries a shot, courtesy of Curry and Ross. 8-5 Penguins and there's just under 3 minutes remaining.

Raduns saved us from another goal-against, as the puck went off to the opposite side from the one Aubin was guarding. His quick stickwork prevented a Penguin's shot into a wide open goal. Still 8-5 Bad Guys. 1:30 remains in the period. SOG are Pens 36, Phantoms 22.

There goes the final horn. The Pens win 8-5. SOG at the end of the game: Penguins 37, Phantoms 23. Boyd Kane was the third star of the game.

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-11-09: Second Period

2009-03-11T20:31:00.001-04:00

This is, and always will be, a family-friendly blog, but OOOO does that ever mean keeping myself from typing out some vocabuary that's best left unexpressed. We took an early penalty for my UNFAVORITE infraction, Delay of the Game, and gave up a PP goal on the first Pens shot. 5-1, Evil Flightless Waterfowl.

We are currently killing a penalty to Clackson for boarding, and so far that's going as we would like it to. Including the goal against, we have only given up three SOG in two shortanded situations, so that's good.

FINALLY, we get a shot on goal of our own with nearly five and a half minutes gone in the period. I do realize that about three of those minutes were spent shorthanded; however, we really need to start getting pucks on Curry-the-goalie ASAP.

Clackson and a Penguin were jawing with each other, but for whatever reason, it didn't come to anything.

The Penguins scored right off the faceoff, just after this, making it 6-1 Penguins. Geesh, this game is painful. I am, however, a firm believer in not exiting the building until the final horn unless the Fire Marshall is evacuating the building. So I am here for the duration. SOG: Penguins 20, Phantoms 10.

ANOTHER penalty, this time to Guenin for tripping. It would be nice if the zebras would remember for a moment or two that BOTH teams have taken liberties with the rules during the course of the game... It's awfully one-sided so far tonight.

Crud, Matsumoto's stick is broken. He's out there with Laliberte, Kukkonen, and Bartulis. Finally, a clear and we can get a line change. Kalinski, Raduns, Curry-the-Dman, and Syvret. Here we go on a shorthanded rush -- Raduns with Kalinski. Raduns takes the shot, but he's nearly level with the goal line by then and Curry-the-goalie is hugging the post for all he's worth. It does, at least, get us a faceoff in the Penguins' end. Now Kane nd Ross are on the attack, but we're no longer shorthanded. I'm wondering if the Pens are pulling into a bit of a defensive mode. Let's see how these next shifts go.

How they're going so far is that the Pens are the only ones handling the puck, other than Aubin. With 9:39 left in the period, we have only taken one shot in this frame. It's really sad-looking, and I know we are a better team than this.

The ref's arm was up, again, in our zone. When play stopped, and I couldn't see who it was that touched the puck so your guess is as good as mine who the penalty was originally on, Guenin gets into a shoving match behnd our net and there's a conference of all ten skaters at the boards. The end result was matching cross-checking penalties and 4 on 4 hockey.

Ross/Kane conme in on a 2-on-1. Ross passes toward Kane, but it was just a bit too far out of his rech. Had the puck gotten to Kane, he would have had a wide-open net to fire at because Curry-the-goalie was still in position to stop a shot from Ross on the far side.

We are about to embark on 1:07 of a 4 on 3 PP. Minard, who has two goals so far in this game, goes off for the Penguins. We finally get a PECOOOO POWER PLY. Maroon, Laliberte, Matsumoto, and Syvret are out. Finally: a shot. Unfortunately: a save. Fter the faceoff, the same players are out, and we keep getting in place at the crease's edge. But there is a lot of traffic in front, including two or three Pens at any given time, so the pucks are staying out. On the other hand, with 43 seconds remaining in the 5-on-4 PP, the Pens take another infraction and we go back to a two-man advantage. Syvret, Kukkonen, Ross, Kane, Sirianni. SCOOOORE, Kane! Finally all that traffic we have been ge4tting in front has paid off, plus we have 1:38 left of 5-on-4 PP. Assists to Syvret and Kukkonen. (I thought Syvret scored it, but Kanem ust have redirected. Did I mention we had plenty of bodies in front of the net?)

Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Syvret, Kukkonen are out for the remainder of the PP. Check that, lol, now it's Kalinski, Raduns, Gratton, Curry-the-Dman, and Ratchuk. We don't have a lot of PP time left. Or *do* we? Seems we are cycling the puck and the ref's arm is up. So I presume we have another couple of minutes of PP coming our way. Yep. There we go. Ross, Kane, Sirianni, Kukkonen, Syvret are out again for the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Argh... Why did we all pinch so far in? No one was at the right pont, so when one of our guys passed back to there, it went out of the zone. With a minute left on the PP, we have Matsumoto's line with Curry-the-Dman and Ratchuk out. Matsumoto shot top shelf, but it went just a few inches high. Too bad -- it would have gone in if it'd been below the crossbar, as Curry-the-goalie wisely ducked when the puck sailed tward his head.

After that PP ends, we get ANOTHER one. Wowie. See what happens when you spend all your time in one zone? The defending team takes one infraction after another. For all these PPs, though, I'm not too happy that we only have five shots in this period. There is still 1:16 left in the period, though -- one less second than there is PK time for the Pens. (Unless, of course, we put in another goal, whioch would be nice. ;)) Aaah, of all the times to go offside... Faceoff otusize the zone. Curry, Ratchuk (whose NICE shot nearly made up for the offside gaffe), Raduns, Kalinski, Gratton. Freaking Curry-the-Goalie made a nice glove save, however.

And there goes the end of the period. The score is 6-2 Penguins, and the SOG are Penguins 25, Phantoms 15. We have one second of PP time left at the start of the third period.

Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-11-09: First Period

2009-03-11T19:37:00.001-04:00

Scratches: DeSantis, Klotz, Bellamy
Starting Linepup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Ross, Sirianni, Kane.

Miroslav Satan was sent down to Wilkes-Barre and is scratched for tonight. I wonder if he has reported or not? In any event, that's one less threat to the Phantoms in this game.

Say what you will about Petr Nedved's stint in Philly -- when he got sent down for cap space, as Pittsburgh did to Satan, Nedved showed up and played his way back to a big-league contract elsewhere.

Including tonight, we have 10 more games remaining in the Spectrum.

35 seconds into the game, we are on the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Syvret/Kukkonen are the D, along with Matsumoto, Maroon, and Laliberte. We make Curry-the-goalie freeze the puck, and upon winning the faceoff we started a scramble in front of the net. Laliberte cashed in a rebound, assisted by Maroon and Matsumoto. :) So we have gotten our game off to a great start!

Or maybe not. We give up a goal on the first shift following the PP goal. :( 1-1. Drat and double drat.

Next D pair: Bartulis/Kukkonen. Next lne combo: Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon.

We promptly dodged one bullet, a puck that went across the goal line behind Munroe, only to be shot by the bullet that folowed when Bissonette cashed the puck in after it came out on Munroe's other side. 2-1 Evil Flightless Waterfowl.

Next line combo: Szwez, Clackson, Beaulieu. Then Raduns, Gratton, Kalinski. Next D pair, Curry-the-Dman, Ratchuk.

OK, as much as I love Muny, he needs to sit tonight. He just gave up another goal. The Pens ony have four shots on goal, and they have three goals. Here comes Aubin. We are 5:39 into the game and we're already down 3-1. Goodness only knows what the matter is, but here's to seeing him straighten it out and come back solid in his next outing.

So ANYway... Other than the fact that we keep having to face off at center ice, there has been a lot of back-and-forth action in this game. It doesn't really float my boat to see us get into a skating game, since the team really isn't constructed for river hockey (Ross's line on the ice notwithstanding -- Ross won the Fastest Skater competition in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition). But I suppose it beats being hemmed into our own zone for minutes on end.

With 11:17 left, Gratton goes off for slashing, and we are on the PK. Kane/Ross and Guenin/Syvret are out. James from the Pens decided to try a cutesy behind-the-back pass in the slot, but the Phantoms took it and cleared it. I don't appreciate the disrespect of acting like he can just do anything he likes in our zone, regardless of what it says on the scoreboard. Maybe the next time he gets the puck, Guenin or Clackson can give him a nice open-ice check.

Next up on the PK: Kukkonen/Syvret, Matsumoto/Laliberte. We have a Penguin heading to the box with 21 seconds remaining on our PK. So not only do we get 4 on 4 play, we get an offensive zone draw to help shave some time off our penalty. Unfortunaely, we don't win the faceoff so play heads back to our zone. However, as soon as Gratton exits the box, another Penguin gets called for tripping, so we have 5 on 3 for 1:33.

Matsumoto, Laliberte, and Maroon are out with Syvret and... Ross. Four forwards. Paddock is dead set on closing that two goal gap. I havent' seen Ross on the point for a long time, though he was there with regularith last season for PPs. Shucks, Curry-the-goalie made two great stops in a row. We are about to go to 5 on 4 now. Ratchuk/Curry-the-Dman are now out with Kalinski, Kane, and Sirianni. There goes the other penalty, we are at even strength.

With 5:50 left in the period, SOG are even at 9 each.

Kane goes for slashing with 4:38 left. Kalinski, Raduns, Kukkonen, and Bartulis are out. Nice clear. But here come the Pens back again, of course. We dodge a bullet again as another shot creeps across the crease behind Aubin; however, THIS time Raduns slams his stick down to prevent the Penguin at the post from firing the puck home.

Unfortunately, a little later on the same PP, we don't fare as well. The Evil Flightless Waterfowl score again to make the score 4-1. That's Minard's 30th goal of the year... Pittsburgh needs to call this guy up and keep him up. Yeah, that's the ticket. Keep him with Pittsburgh. ;)

At the end of the first period, the score is Penguins 4, Phantoms 1, and the SOG are Penguins 14, Phantoms 9.

Come out angry in the second period, guys. We need you to follow Fred Shero's credo: take the shortest route to the puck, and arrive in ill humor.

Phantoms Head Into Final 10 at Spectrum: Phantoms Weekly

2009-03-11T17:43:00.001-04:00

CLICK HERE for the latest Phantoms Weekly article.

It breaks my heart to realize that we only have TEN games remaining in the Spectrum. Now, the Final Countdown really IS going into the Final Countdown.

:(

Phantoms at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-7-09: Recap and Box Score

2009-03-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

I wasn't able to watch this game or listen to it. However, I was told on the following day that one of our goals-against was an own-goal or close to it. Argh. :( Do I need to say that we need to avoid mishaps like that if we want to see postseason play? Particularly against a divisional rival?

Gaaah. Frustrating weekend.

CLICK HERE for the game recap from the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL's site.

Phantoms at Worcester Sharks 3-6-09: Recap and Box Score

2009-03-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

CLICK HERE for the game recap from the Phantoms site.

CLICK HERE for the box score from the AHL's site.

This was a frustrating game to tune into partway through. By the time I logged on to watch the game, the Phantoms' offensive output for the night was complete and the score was 1-1. This game marked the first time that the Worcester Sharks defeated the Phantoms.

Flyers nullify trade with San Jose

2009-03-06T20:33:00.002-05:00

The Flyers have nullified a trade with San Jose that would have brought Kyle McLaren to Philadelphia to play for the Phantoms. The article I saw was very terse, stating only that McLaren did not pass his physical according to Paul Holmgren.

And speaking of San Jose,the Phantoms are in the midst of a game with the Sharks' farm team in Worcester. As I was unable to tune in online until the second period, I am not live blogging the game. I'll post the recap and box score later.

But I will say that right now, the Phantoms/Sharks have just gone into the second intermission with the Sharks leading 3-1. The Phantoms need to SIT ON Matt Fornitaro, who has been a factor in all three Worcester goals. He scored two of them, and assisted on the other.

So, for the third period (and beyond,if necessary), GO PHANTOMS!

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-4-09: Third Period

2009-03-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

I can't help but notice, from the viewing angle which I have, that the backup-goalie stool that Aubin is sitting on is covered with gold glitter. However, from what I can see when he stands up, it does not appear to have gotten all over his uniform. That would be, uh, not good. Imagine having to explain to the equipment guys why he's got gold glitter all over his rump. ;)

Oh, crud. Once again, the first shot Norfolk took in the period clanged off the post and in. I'm thinking Scott might want to review what happened with these goals and tweak his angles a bit. 3-3, drat and double-drat.

The Admirals' coach, former Phantom Darren Rumble, must have given them some words of wisdom during the intermission, because Norfolk came out hard and they keep finding their way into our zone now. The shot clock needs to be incremented for the Admirals, as I counted four shots on goal (including the goal) and I only see that they've gotten credit for three.

IN any event, the sooner we start tilting the ice back in the Admirals' direction, the better. We can't let up now. We have a PP in progress, so let's see if that helps us any. My unfavorite infraction, Delay of Game, ws called against Konopka. And it's STILL my unfavorite infraction (well, other than the instigator penalty, which is worthy of its own separate rant some time when I'm not blogging a game live). Matsumoto's line is out with Ratchuk and Curry (who is face-fuzz-free again after sporting a beard for most of the season). YO, freaking number 7 for the Admiras decided to clear the crease by pnching Laliberte in the back of the head. No call. Excuse me while I aim a Glare of Death at the Zebra.

We're back at full stsrength now, and Kalinski's line is out with Syvret and Guenin. Kalinski and Gratton are digging in the corner for the puck, with three Admirals on hand to do battle with them. The Ads come up with the disk, and in the course of defending the net, Nate Raduns comes up with an interference penalty. Off he goes.

The first PK unit is Matsumoto, Laliberte, Kukkonen, and Bartulis. Oskars laid himself out flat to prevent a shot on goal. Now it's Guenin with Syvret, Nodl with Kalinski.

We're back at even strength, and Clackson went with Rosehill. I would give Rosehill the edge early due to a flurry of punches he threw before Clackson got going, but then Clackson came back and threw enough punches to even it out IMO. This was a LONG bout for sure. I can't really say that Rosehill got a takedown, because I think that once the linesmen moved in, their attempt to pry apart the tired-but-still-willing gladiators caused Clackson to lose an edge. I can't really give a decision to either guy, except to say that they both must be in good condition to keep going at it for that length of time.

MOVE, linesman! Dang it, he got in Laliberte's way as we were trying to get into the Norfolk end. We did manage to get a scoring chance out of it, but I'd have liked our guy not to be delayed in his arrival while we're trying to generate some offense.

With 5:35 left in the period, SOG are Phantoms 31, Admirals 30. The score remans 3-3. And Norfolk's holding infraction sends us onto the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. OK, guys, do or die here. We don't need to give up a point to a divisional rival, even when the rival is well behind us in the race for the final playoff slot.

Our first shot of the PP had the puck tagged for the top right corner, but it was just high. However, we kept on going with the play, and our next attempts led to success. Freakin' SWEET. Matsumoto stood on the doorstep to slam in the rebound, and the Phantoms have the lead back. Assists to Laliberte and Kukkonen.

The ref sends Guenin off for interference, over the vociferous objections of the Phantoms Phaithful. Raduns, Kalinski, Kukkonen, and Syvret start the PK. Norfolk is deadly serious about wanting to tie this game. Next up, Matsumoto (nice clear!), Laliberte, Curry, and Syvret. Next, Ross, Kane, Kukkonen, Syvret and Kane gets the pyuk way down just before the penalty ends. Guenin proceeds to try and mow down the Norfolk attacker who carries the puck past the sin bin just as Nasty Nate exits.

Curry got away with one in our zone, as he let Konopka have it in the corner behind our net, well behind the play. Fans have been hollering for someone to "get number 28" for a while now, so perhaps Konopka has gotten away with one or two of his own during the course of the game. ;) In any event, with 41.2 seconds left, Norfolk calls timeout. There will be a faceoff in our zone, and the Ads' net is empty.

ON the ice we have Raduns Ross, Kane, Guenin, and Syvret. Keller elbows Ross right off his feet, but it makes no difference in the outcome. The Phantoms win! :)

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-4-09: Second Period

2009-03-04T20:29:00.001-05:00

61 seconds into the period, former Phantom Pete Zingoni heads to the sin bin. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Syvret, and Kukkonen (nice keep-in!) are out. Syvret pinched way in to the half-boards and fired the puck on net, but Helenius got over to the post soon enough to keep it out.

Next up: Kane, Nodl, Ross with Curry and Ratchuk. Freaking Norfolk clears the puck on us.

With four seconds left on the PP, Ratchuk gets sent off for interference. Lies, mistakes, errors, I tell ya. ;) Anyway, it's our turn to kill a penalty. Kalinski, Raduns, Guenin, and Syvret are out. Munroe makes another post-to-post maneuver. Kalinski goes one on one with a defenseman shorthanded. He gets practically all the way to the net before the Dman separates him from the puck, which drifts over to where Helenius can swat it away.

Back in our end, Kukkonen blocked a shot and left the ice in pain. Must have been a wicked blast, from the sound of it -- he was on the opposite end of the ice, and you could clearly hear the puck hit him. Ouch. The trainer is checking him out on the bench even as I type. However, the other problem that happened was that JUST as the penanty ended, Norfolk scored to tie it at 2-2. Rats.

The GOOD news is that on the next shift, Clackson went to BURY an Admiral at the Norfolk half-boards. The puck's momentum carried it into the slotk where Sirianni one-timed it home for an unassisted goal. 3-2, Good Guys. :)

Oh, and Clackson, on his next shift, got a point-blank shot on goal and tried to poke home the puck from where it landed after the save. (Not quite far enough from the goalie for me to want to call it a "rebound".) Norfok's players weren't too pleased with this. There wound up being a nice conference at the crease's edge.

The Phantoms went on another PP shortly thereafter. With six seconds remaining in that man advantage, Norfok took another penalty. The 5 on 3 ddn't last long enough for us to do a lot with it, but more importantly, it kept Norfolk's penalty killing unit on the ice when they wwere anticipating a return to full strength.

We got some nice scoring opportunities on that second PP, but the score remained 3-2. However, I am pleased to see that after returning to 5 on 5 hockey, we are continuing to press offensively and we are keeping Norfolk hemmed into their end. We haven't had this kind of sustained offense in a few games.

Gratton BURIED a guy in the Norfolk end, to the delight of the crowd. :) The next shift, he tried to dole out another big hit, but the other guy was a bit more prepared this time around and he didn't get knocked into the next time zone.

Gratton fought with Henley, and GOOD GRIEF did he ever give up a ton of size and reach. Henley's 6'6", 258 lbs. Gratton (6'2", 214, and there's no way on earth he's only four inches shorter than this guy) landed the first few punches, including to Henley's face, but then Henley let loose with a flurry of punches, some of which didn't seem to hit much and others which landed on Gratton's head. This eventually led to a Henley takedown. I'd give the fight to Henley, but Gratton gets a tip of the cap for going with a freaking behemoth.

Norfolk has another Jolly Green Giant on the roster, btw. Vladimir Mihalik is 6'7" and 222 lbs.

EEEYIKES. Norfolk got hold of a loose puck inches from our net. Munroe got the pad jammed against the post. Somehow the puck stayed out. Doggone, that was a close call. Just as this was going on, the final minute of the period was announced. So we narrowly dodged the bullet of giving up a late goal.

So anyway, I'm pleased to say that at the end of the second period, the Phantoms lead 3-2. SOG are Phantoms 23, Admirals 22.

Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-4-09: First Period

2009-03-04T19:35:00.000-05:00

Scratches: DeSantis, Klotz, Beaulieu, Bellamy
Starters: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Kane, Nodl, Ross

Gratton warmed up with the team. Ross and Guenin have been returned from the Flyers, and Claude Giroux was recalled to the Flyers.

I darn near had a heart faiure earlier when the name of Patrick Maroon was mistakenly announced as a scratch. He's been en fuego lately, as has his entire line (including Matsumoto and Laliberte), so if there's one thing I *don't* want to see, it's a hot scorer get sidelined.

Next D pair: Bartulis/Kukkonen. Next line: Kalinski, Raduns, Gratton.

Former Phantom Steve Downie is suspended by the league pending review of an incident that happened over the weekend. He could be goine for as many as 20 games, meaning that he would not suit up again for Norfolk until their final game of the season.

Crumbs. Norfolk's first shot on goal clanged off the post and in. Shoot, but I hate playing catchup early. Well, we've done a lot of come-from-behind play this season, so we know we can do it.

Next line: Szwez, Sirianni, Clackson. Third D pair: Ratchuk/Curry. And the line I haven't mentioned yet is Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon.

SCOOOORE! Kane goes hard to the net and fires home Ross's pass! Nodl gets the secondary assist. 1-1. Nice work!

With 13:11 left, the score is 1-1 and the SOG are even at 5-5. The Phantoms are about to go on the PECOOOO Power Play. First PP unit is Ross, Kane, Nodl, Syvret, Kukkonen. SCORE with about half a minute left in the PP -- Laliberte from Maroon and Matsumoto! (Did I mention their line's on fire lately?) 2-1, Good Guys. SOG Phantoms 7, Admirals 5.

And instants later, we get a PK of our own, as Gratton goes for hookng. First PK unit: Kalinski, Raduns, Syvret, Guenin. Norfolk's number 9 took a bad spill... I didn't see what happened, but as we were sending the puck down to the other end, I saw him on the ice just outside the Norfolk blue line. He limped off favoring one leg pretty heavily. Owie.

We're still on the PK, and now we have Matsumoto/Laliberte with Kukkonen and Bartulis. There we go -- PK done. No SOG were allowed by either team. Gratton headed to the bench and Maroon came out to replace him.

A shift later, it's Maroon still out with Clackson and Sirianni, and these guys are buzzing in the Norfolk end. Curry and Ratchuk are on D, and Ratchuk made a nice defensie play to keep Norfolk from getting into our zone.

(Yo, ref, that's called tripping! Mumble grumble mumble...)

Whoa, nice glove save by Riku Helenius. He flashed the leather and kept his team within a goal. (Dang. ;) )

But the faceoff is in his end, and we got another scoring chance before Norfolk managed to get the puck out of their zone.

NICE lateral movement by Munroe! From a butterfly split, he made one save on the glove side, then shifted over to the opposite post to stop another puck. Good work. B ut we need to not let Norfolk do the east-west thing too often. It's bad for the fans' blood pressure. Um, I mean it allows for dangerous scoring chances that we shoudn't give up.

Oh, NOW the ref calls tripping. On Kukkonen. PK time. Masumoto, Laliberte, Syvret, and Guenin are out. Norfolk's #9 is named Jones, and he is back out. If igured he would be OK if he was able to get off the ice under his own power a whie ago. Still, I'd like to implement a No Owies Allowed rule.

NICE stop through traffic for Scotty Munroe. Gotta love those goalie with X-ray vision. :D Raduns, Kalinski, Guenin, and Syvret are out. We ony have one second left on this PK, but we're spending it taking a defensive zone draw. Good. We win, and away we go. Danger averted.

At the end of the first period, the Phantoms lead 2-1. SOG are Phantoms 12, Admirals 15.

Phantoms vs. Povidence Bruins 2-28-09: Third Period

2009-02-28T21:44:00.001-05:00

Wow, this ref is something with all these penalties one after the ther. As Matsumoto was exiting the box, the ref skated by him whie the Phantoms were on a rush, and his arm was up for another delayed penalty. This time it's the Baby Bs who are guity, so the Phantoms are on the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Let's ee if we can retake the lead for the third time.

YES! LOL, exactly at the moment I typed the punctuation on the previous sentence, Matsumoto punctuated the PP with a puck in the net. Assists from Maroon and Kukkonen, and HAPPY NEW YEAR, the Phantoms are ahead again. 3-2, Good Guys, and the SOG are even at 24-24.

Now, a note to Our Heroes. Please commit everything short of mayhem to protect this lead. My blood pressure can't take all the back-and-forth. ;)

Wheeee... Aubin tried to wrap the puck around the boards from the back of our net, only to send it right to a Bruin in the corner. Fortunately, we had two guys on him immediately to get te puck back. The end result ws that Giroux went on the attack,a nd at some point during the breakout th Bs ran afoul of the ref yet again. Giroux was able to skte all the way around the net untouched because the ref's arm was up. Eventually, play ws stopped and we went on the PP.

With one second left in our PP, Kane goes off for roughing. Blah. So it's our turn to kill a penalty.

We have hardly seen anything resembling 5 on 5 hockey in this period. Just sayin'.

NICE glove save by Aubin. :) Gotta love when a neetminder snares the puck out of the air emphatically. I would, however, like to see us clear the puck. This line has been out for over a minute and they need a change. Good... Curry, Kukkonen, Kalinski, and Raduns go off. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Bartulis, and Syvret come on to replace them.

Now everyone is back on the ice, but we still need a clear. Kane, Nodl, Giroux, take the puck up ice -- even better than a cear. :() DeSantis fires from the faceoff circle, but it's into traffic as the Bs collapse around their net.

When the Bruins tri to take it back to our end, there's a mishap along the boards at our point. It seems lke one of the Bruins (#21) fell into the boards awkwardly -- I didn't quite see if he got hung up with the ref or linesman and lost his balance, or what happened. But he made a nasty thud sound when he hit ti e boards, and the trainer had to come out had help him re-orient.

SOG are 27-27... Oh, bah humbug, no they aren't. Freaking Providence fired one shot that found nothing but net, tying the game and giving the Bruins one more shot on goal than we have. 8:08 is gone in the period. 3-3.

Ratchuk and Kalinski double-team a Bruin at our blue line, and Kalinskin takes the puck away from him. On the ensuing rush, Kalinski not only crashes the net, but somehwo in the traffic he winds up running over the goalie as well. No penalty on the play, and nobody was hurt worse than being a bit shaken up. Fortunately.

Nice, matumoto -- he took th epuck away from a Bruin and sent it up to Laliberte at the Providence point. We came oh-so-close to ptting it in, as evidenced by the loud OHHHHH from the fans at that end of the ice. And loud is the only way to describe it, as we have over 10,000 fans in the house tonight. Nice. :)

Heh, when Ratchuk and a Bruin collided in the corner to Aubin's left, Ratchuk made certain that when he went down the Bruin also fell to the ice.

Ah, with 6:47 left in the period, the Phantoms are returning to the PECOOOOO Power Play. So let's see what we can do with this one. Kane, Nodl, Giroux, Syvret, and Kukkonen are the first group out. No dice. 3/4 of the way through the penalty, out come Curry, Ratchuk, Laliberte, Matsumoto, and Maroon. But now the darn Bruins are clearing the puck before we can get set up. So the PP ends and the score remains 3-3.

Ha, Clackson just flattened a guy who was going after the loose puck that he also had targeted.

3:31 left. SOG Phantoms 34, Bruins 30. Score 3-3. Even strength. Phantoms on the rush with Giroux/Kane/Nodl/Curry/Syvret. That'w an interesting tweak to the D... As is Bartulis/Kukkonen, the D pair that came out to replace them. Looks like for whatever reason, we're going with the more experienced D in the final minutes of the frame. Curry/Syret are out again with Matsumoto's lne. And again, Bartulis/Kukkonen with kalinski, raduns, and Giroux. (Ratchuk and DeSantis, the two rookie D, are the ones who haven't been out for several shifts.
Forward groupings looked a little jumbled, too, given that the previous threesome gave way to Matsumoto, Nodl, Kane. Now Maroon, Laliberte, Giroux, Syvret, Curry, and we are going into OT.

SOG at the end of the third period: Phantoms 36, Bruins 30. In 60 seconds, we will go to a 4 on 4 OT session.

First up in the OT: Giroux, Kane, Bartulis, Kukkonen. We had a couple hairy-looking moments in front of our net, but nothing came of it. Next up, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Syvret, Curry.

We really do appear to have shortened our bench to four D. Nodl, Giroux, Bartulis, and Kukkonen are the next foursome. I am not happy with the amount if time we are spending in our end. NOdl was replaced by Kalinski, but the other three remained the same. Now there's a scrap in the faceoff circle to Aubin's left, for a moment it looked like only alinski was getting sent off. The fans booed heartily, until a Bruin ws pried out of the crowd and steered into the visiting sin bin. So the penalties are ONE minute during OT, so we will have a minute of 3 on 3. Interesting. Giroux, Syvret, and Kukkonen are out for us. Smart move -- at least one offensive D-man and the guy who I'd say is our best forward right now.

Gaaah, Giroux got the shot on goal, but the darn rebound went behind the Phantom who was charging in to collect any loose pucks. Heck.

Now it's Matsumoto, Kalinski, Bartulis, and Curry (the D pairs got a tad tweaked when we had that penalty.)

Oh, COME ON, ref, it's a freaking CONTACT sport. Bartulis goes off for a minute with 1:21 left. Providence calls a timeout. OK, guys. Giroux, Kukkonen, Syvret and ha, we got the puck out of the zone. It didn't go too far over the blue line though, so we are back to defending. Nice play by Giroux to break up a chance. Bruins hit the post, thank goodness, and now our guy is back. Whew. My freaking nerves with this 4-on-3 stuff. With 11 seconds left, the Phantoms call timeout. SOG are Phantoms 39, Bruins 34. And that is how the OT ends. We now go to the only thing I dislike more than the freaking new Delay of Game rules... A shootout. I FREAKING LOATHE SHOOTOUTS. ARGH GRRRR AACK!

OK, now that I've gotten THAT out of my system... In the AHL the shootouts go five rounds, and after that it goes to sudden death rounds if need be.

Maroon goes first. No.
Bruins: yes.
Matsumoto goes: YES.
Bruins: no. 1-1
Giroux: no
Bruins: yes
Laliberte: YES 2-2
Bruins: no
Syvret: no
Bruins: no

So it's 2-2 at the en if the first five rounds.
Matsumoto: no
Bruins: no
Maroon: no
Bruins: no
Giroux: YES
Bruins: no

Phantoms win the shootout 3-2 and the game 4-3.

Phantoms vs. Providence Bruins 2-28-09: Second Period

2009-02-28T20:30:00.001-05:00

I got a delayed start on blogging the second period, as I got hung up in a long concession line. (There is a sale on merchandise tonight, with 20-25% off most items, and lots of peope decided to take advantage of the savings.)

Anyway, I could hear that we got some power plays, and I could see the TV in the Fan Gear store, but the only thing we racked up so far has been shots on goal. At the time that we are sending a player to the sin bin, with 8:33 remaining in the second period, the Phantoms have 21 SOG compared to the Bruins' 19. However, we are now about to see Maroon sit for two minutes, so it's time for us to keep the Bad Guys away from our net.

We now have 37 seconds more of penalty to kill, and I'm very pleased so far. We haven't allowed even one shot on goal, and we have succeeded in clearing the puck repeatedly throughout this entire PK. It's been a textbook shorthanded situation so far.

Here goes Matsumoto and Laliberte with a SH 2 on 2. We didn't get a shot, but we did chew up a few more seconds. And there's Maroon, out of the box. We did it. Oh, and the moment we went on the attack, a Bruin tried to take the puck from Maroon and the ref called play dead. We are on another PP, moments after we returned to even strength. Syvret, Kukkonen, Nodl, Kane, and Giroux are out. Syvret seems to want to go for the top fo an umbrella formation, but Kukkonen keeps heading toward the point. This is interesting. Then Kukkonen eased his way to the top of the slot and fired on net. Too bad the rebound went to the opposite side from where our guy was standing at the crease's edge, lookng for a loose puck to ca in.

Next up: Curry, Ratchuk, Matsumoto, Laliberte, and Maroon. Maroon is crease-sitting. Curry and Ratchuk have no debate over whether to man the points or try the umbrella formation... They are at the points. Whoops... Curry pnched in to about the top of the faceoff circle, and the puck got behind him. This led to a SH breakout by the Bruins, but Aubin stopped the shot on goal. We did end up with a defensive-zone draw as a result.

Oddly enough, we were not credited with any shots during that PK. I am not entirely sure that's correct, to put it midly. I could have sworn we got one or two. But in any case, with 3:38 remaining in the period, the SOG are even at 21-21, the score is even at 2-2, and the teams are playng 5 on 5.

We had one interesting exchange where Maroon and a Bruin whose number I couldn't see got in one another's face, as the Bs were heading out of their end. The linesman intervened and play continued. However, again, in the final two minutes, we got a penalty. This time it was Matsumoto. So we will be shorthanded for the remainder of this period and into the next one. SOG are 22-22.

The period is over, and the SOG are now Bruins 24, Phantoms 22. The score remains 2-2. The Phantoms will have 43 seconds of PK time remaining at the start of the third period.

Phantoms vs. Providence Bruin s 2-28-09; First Period

2009-02-28T19:37:00.001-05:00

Our scrtches are Klotz, Gratton, and Bellamy.

Ross is still called up, and Guenin was called up to join him today. Back with the Phantoms are Lasse Kukonen and Claude Giroux.
J-S Aubin gets the start tonight. Line combinations coul be interesting, as our starting lineup shows there's been some reordering of the forward groupings. Kalinski is centering Kane and Clackson. Syvret and DeSantis are the starting D.

Former Phantom Ned Lukacevic, who started the season on our team and was traded early on, is here with the P-Bruins.

Our second line is the usual Matsumoto/Laliberte/Maroon, with Bartulis and Kukkonen as the D pairl Ratchuk and Curry are the third D pair, with Nodl, GIroux, and ... Kane? That's interesting. He was with two different guys n the starting lineup.I guess we'll see who the regular winger is with Clackson/Kalinski later.

BTW, four seconds into the first shift, someone shoved at Clackson and there was a ten-skater conference over by the point in the Providence end. It never ceases to amaze me how cranky these teams are with one another, considering that we only see one another twice during the regular season. It's as if the ghost of the Flyers/Bruins rivalry lives on through the farm teams 30 years later.

SCORE! MAROOOOON with his 21st goal of the year, with assists from Laliberte and Matsumoto. NICE. 6:06 into the game, we take the lead. I like being ahead early.

But you know what I would have liked even better? STAYING ahead early. The dratted Bruins, and in particular the guy with the most interesting name in pro hockey, Wacey Rabbit, tied the game within two minutes. 1-1.

Oh, and Raduns is the winger who is with Clackson and Kalinski.

Nice defensive move by Matsumoto: Aubin made a save that sent the puck a good 15 feet straight up. As it fell, Matsumoto made sure to punch it out of harm's way so it wouldn't bounce into the net or onto the stick of a waiting Bruin at the edge of the crease.

With 10:40 left, SOG are Bruins 9, Phantoms 5. We h ave taken two shots on goal, at most, since we sored. And that's only because I'm not sure if the goal was our third or fourth shot on goal. We need to get something going in Providence's end, same as last night.

Matsumoto lugs the puck up ice, but he's got both defenders to contend with. Now it's Giroux coming on the ice to replace him, with Maroon crashing the net. Nope, no dice, though we did at least get the puck on net. In fact, we have more first period shots now (7) than we did in the entire first frame last nigt (5, and we stil have eight minutes and change remaining in the frame.

SCOOOORE! Clackson was at the crease's edge, and I think he distracted everyone enough that they never picked up the trailer. Kalnski swooped in and buried the puck. Assist to Sean Curry. We have 7:20 remaining in the period. SOG Providence 10, Phantoms 8.

Blast. And about two and a half minutes later, we have a HUGE scrum in front of our net. Curry's stick broke, and no matter how many Phantoms tried to interpose themselves between the puck and the twine, we let one too many rebounds fall into the danger zone. A Bruin was there to fire it home and tie the score again at 2-2.

With less than two minutes left in the period, Raduns goes to the box. Our first PK unit was Kane, Kalinski, Bartulis, and Kukkonen. Now it's Nodl, Giroux, Syvret, and Bartuls. There goes the end of the period. SOG Phantoms 11, Bruins 15. The score is 2-2, and the Phantoms will have 16 seconds of PK left when the second period begins.

Phantoms vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2-27-09: Third Period

2009-02-27T21:20:00.002-05:00

Three minutes into the period, Mannino has had a couple of pucks to stop, while Munroe has been ide. THIS is how we need to conduct business in this period. (Even better would be getting pucks on net that Mannino *doesn't* stop ;), but we have to get some freaking offense going. Period.)

Three minutes later, there has been a lot of action in the neutral zone, but nothing much else. This favors Bridgeport, obviously, as they only need to keep us away from their end in order to win. They don't necessarily have to press for more goals. I actually do hope they go into a defensive shell, because I think that even without Ross in the lineup, we have enough scoring on our roster to make a team regret trying the "prevent defense" tactic. SOG Sound Tigers 21, Phantoms 12 with 12:38 left.

MUNY with the point-bank save, as Smith one-times a puck at the crease's edge!

Oooops, LOL. For the first time ever, an in-game host accidentally picked a fan of the visiting team to play a contest. He won the "finish the song" game, and then followed up with "Let's go, Sound Tigers". Good thing it's a substitute host, as our normal guy is over at the Flyers game. (He's a Flyers STH.) I don't think the team would wnt to have to find a new host for our team this ate in the season. ;)

We hit ANOTHER flipping POST! Blast these freaking magnetized pucks! The score remains 3-1, Bad Guys. :headdesk: :headdesk: If the darn post shots had gone in, this game would be tied. Oh, well.

Here comes the "It's a Friday in Lent, so some of us can't participate" hot dog toss. Though really, I've seen these hot dogs... The question is, do they have enough meat in them to actualy qualify as something that should be avoided on a Lenten Friday? ;)

Aaah, Nodl would have had a great scoring chance if the darn puck hadn't rolled on him. Darn thing had a bit too much momentum on its way to his stick blade, and it hit the toe of the blade and kept going. He still managed to give us a boost, however, by BURYING a guy in the corner a little later on the same shift.

CRUD! Crud and double crud. We let someone get the puck RIGHT in front of Munroe. Nobody was anywhere the heck near the guy, and he deked and buried the puck in the net. To add insult to injury, someone in the scorer's booth had a brain cramp and sounded the goal horn, for a goal AGAINST. Geesh. First we get a "Let's Go, Sound Tigers" on the PA and now the darn goal horn celebrates the wrong team's goal. Um, HELLO? Freakin' Friday the 13th was two weeks ago, so we should be well out of Mishap Mode. AAAAnyway... 4-1, Sound Tigers.

Guenin blocked a shot. I knew I'd get to type that before the game was out. ;) Unfortunately, it's the last minute of play, so we haven't got a lot of time left to make up this deficit.There goes the final horn. Sound Tigers 28, Phantoms 16. Matt Clackson was the third star of the game.

Phantoms vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2-27-09: Second Period

2009-02-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

The second period got off to an odd start. One of the Sound Tigers, who I believe wears #37, took a strange fall as his team crossed our blueline. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, as it happened so fast, but it sounded odd when he landed. THAT made me take a closer look. Sure enough, he was having trouble getting up, and the ref blew the whistle. His trainer and a teammate helped him off the ice, favoring one leg.

Raduns, Bellamy, and Szwez (a partial line change, as Bellamy is on a different line) gave us our best chance so far, with five minutes gone in the period. Their shot on goal wound up in the slot, where only a diving play by the goalie kept it from gong in.

Two shifts later unfortunately, Bridgeport succeeded in burying another puck on us. 2-0 Bad Guys. SOG Sound Tigers 11, Phantoms 5.

We have been having a real challenge during this period sustaining any offense. We get a little something going in the Sound Tigers end, but we only have two shots to show for it in this frame. Bridgeport keeps on taking the puck and rushing it down to OUR end.

Maybe now we'll have a chance to get something started, as we are on the PP. YES! Laliberte scores from the left faceoff circle! Assists to Matsumoto and Curry, and the Phantoms are on the board! 2-1! SOG Sound Tigers 13, Phantoms 7.

Nuts... The dratted Sound Tigers get it back almost right away. 3-1. SOG Sound Tigers 15, Phantoms 7. We have got to find ways to keep them out of our zone -- we are spending too much time in front of Munroe, and nowehere near enough time in front of Mannino. Nice hit Kane... Speaking of being in front of Mannino, that's where we were when Kane buried a guy behind the Sound Tigers net.

FIGHT. Clackson vs. Rechlicz (sp). It was a LONG bout, whose momentum seemed to swing back and forth repeatedly (a few punches from one, a few from the other, repeat several times over). I'd score it a draw, as there was no clearcut edge to either player for any length of time, but I will note that Rechlicz got the takedown.

NOW we're doing some good stuff and getting in front of Mannino. Maroon's shot missed the net, unfortunately. Kalinski and someone are now having it out in the corner to Mannino's left. I can't see who the other guy is... Ah. Gleed. The flipping popcorn guy keeps walking between me an the action so it's hard to describe the proceedings. Hah... Looks like there were no penalties called on that shoving match. (THAT'S interesting... I'm used to refs who call infractions when guys gare at one another too much.) Fine by me if the officials Let Them Play; I wish it would happen a bit more often.

There has been a lot of back-and-forth in this period. I'm not overly happy when we start playing river hockey, because that's not a style of game that this team is built to thrive in. The other difference is, when the Sound Tigers get in front of Munroe, they have tended to get the puck on net. When we have been on the attack, we have ony gotten three shots in the whole period so far (we have six and a half inutes left in the frame). One of those went in, but STILL. Not good.

Here's an interesting call. Two guys, one from each team, were assessed two mintues for "delay of the game". Hmm. That's the first time I have ever seen coincidental minors for THAT. So we are at 4 on 4 for the time being. Our guy in the Sin Bin is Szwez.

To make a long story less long, the 4 on 4 ended without goals for either team. Now we have 3:35 left n the period. SOG Sound Tigers 19, Phantoms 8.

Nice save, Munroe, on a point blank attempt from the slot. Boy, it's like the ice is tilted the wrong way tonight, the way play keeps migrating to our zone. We have a mintue and a half left in the period, so I hope the coaches offer some feedback during the second intermission that will help us actually sustain some offensive pressure.

AAAH, we just clanged one off the dagnab pipe! Sheesh, we get the darn biscuit on net and the ang thing has a magnet in it.

Ah, now we're up to something. Szwez shoves Gleed to the ice (no call) and Gleed gets up and slashes him (also no call). We respond with two more fantastic shots on goal. Unfortunately, time is not our friend and the period ends while we are on the attack. SOG at the end of the frame: Sound Tigers 21, Phantoms 10. The score is 3-1, Bridgeport.

Phantoms vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2-27-09: First Period

2009-02-27T19:37:00.002-05:00

Scratches: Klotz, Gratton, Ross
Starting Lineup: Munroe, Guenin, Syvret, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon

Boy, we started the game on a hair-raising note. We got hung up in our own slot and the Tigers gort a couple of good opportunities before we finally cleared the darn puck. I'm surprised to see only one shoton goal credited to Bridgeport, as they had at least three slarming-lookng attempts before we got the puck out of harm's way.

Kalinski is centering a line with Nodl and Kane. Bartulis and DeSantis are our second D pair. Our third line is Radunsm Clackson, and Szwez. Curry nd Ratchuk are our last D pair. Ratchuk nearly got a clean SOG from the slot, but the puck looks like it might have rolled on him or something because the shot kind of drifted off to the left.

Bellamy, Sirianni, and Beaulieu are our fourth line.

Four minutes into the period, that one shot on goal by the Sound tTgers remains the only time that a puck was credited with reaching the net.

Paddock seems to be just rolling the lines in order early on.

NICE keep-in, Oskars! Ditto for a nice move by Curry to bat a puck away from our net, a shift later. I ike to see our D doing good things. Maybe having a dose of Kukkonen helped everyone turn it up a notch... if not from having the chance to play alongside someone with a lot of experience, then because of the knowledge that they will have to make the top six D or sit out. Oh, NICE hit by Beaulieu in the Bridgeport end. He buried someone down at the half-boards.

Crud. With 12:11 left and the SOG 1-1, Bridgeport scores on their second shot on goal. And of course I have a group of eight Sound Tigers fans behind me when it happens, arrrgh. But said group was kind of in the wrong row, so during the ensuing stoppage of play they shifted over to their actual group of seats. 1-0, Bridgeport.

Ah, a Flyers update. They're playing across the street right now, and we ony get updates when things are going well for the Orange and Black. Lupul scored to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead over Montreal.

The Phantoms get the first PP of the game, for the first time in a while. Matsumoto's line is out with Curry and Syvret. The SOG at the time of the infraction was 2-2. Maroon is stationed at the crease's edge, but his attempt to cash in a rebound didn't quite work.

Next up is Kalinski's line, with Ratchuk and DeSantis (four of our five skaters are rookies). After them, Matsumoto's line and Curry/Cyvret came back out. We're trying, but we aren't creating a lot of opportunites this time around. At the endof the PP, SOG were 3-3.

Matsumto and Maroon get a 2-on1. Matsumoto's shot goes of the glass. Drat. Next shift, Beaulieu and Sirianni get the two-on-1 and crash the net. But we didn't get the puck ON net. In fact, with under four minutes remaining in the period, the SOG are still 3-3, the same as they were when our PP ended. That's a good five minutes since anyone gave one of the goaltenders something to do.

Curry gets hold of the puck at the top of the slot, and his attempted shot on goal is causing a scramble down in front of the Sound Tigers crease. Fans down at that end of the ice gave a big AWWWW, so one fo the several attempts must have JUST missed its mark.

With 2:39 left in the period, SOG are 4-4 now. So there's been a wee bit of activity in the offense department. We also have a PK right now, with Clackson sitting. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Guenin, and Syvret are out for us. Halfway through the infraction, we successfully clear the puck and change lines: Raduns, Kane, Bartulis, and Curry. Next up, Nodl, Kalinski, Guenin, Syvret.

The penalty is over, and SOG are Sound Tigers 7, Phantoms 4. There's less than one minute remaining in the period.

At the end of the period, SOG are Sound TIgers 8, Phantoms 4. Ths core is 1-0, Bridgeport.

Phantoms vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2-27-09: Pregame Comments

2009-02-27T18:46:00.002-05:00

The good news: Josh Gratton and Jonathon Kalinski are healthy enough to resume playing, and both of them have been assigned to the Phantoms.

The bad news: Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen, who were being waived for the purpose of being sent to the Phantoms, were claimed this morning by Montreal and Vancouver, respectively. So that's a pair of boosts to our roster that were cancelled out before they even happened. Phooey.

Jared Ross is called up to the Flyers, as Daniel Briere is not quite game-ready. (Either that, or our salary cap situation is not quite league-ready. Take your pick.) Lasse Kukkonen has also returned to the Flyers, as his original assignment to us was a 14-day conditioning stint. The Flyers might waive him again in order to assign him to the Phantoms for real, but that isn't going to happen until Timonen returns to the lineup; he's currently battling the flu.

So that's the state of our callups and send-downs as I know it. We need a scorecard to keep track of the scorecard, the way things have been going lately.

I can see that Munroe will be our starter, as he just led the team out of the tunnel for the pregame warmup. The team is wearing special Spectrum-themed third jerseys, which wil be auctioned off in April.

I didn't see Gratton warm up with the team before the game. Jonathon Kalinski, however, was on the ice during the warmup. So was Jason DeSantis, who's been the odd man out on the blueline during the games when Kukkonen was in our lineup.

Phantoms at Hershey Bears 2-21-09: Third Period and OT

2009-02-21T20:34:00.003-05:00

During the second intermission, I am looking at the box score. It appears that the assists will be changed on Maroon's goal. The AHL's website indicates that Nodl and Ross are now credited with assists on the goal.

Matsumoto, Laliberte, Guenin,and Syvret start the frame for us. Here is a familiar phras, e: Guenin blocks a shot. :)

However, the pesky Bears do score on a knuckle-puck during the second half of Kane's double minor, so the score is now 4-3, Phantoms.

Hershey is really pressing now. They want that tying goal. We are going to have to get the heck out of our zone. SOG in the period have all gone to the Bears: 5-0.

Come on, guys, we really need to get out of our end for more than a few moments. Blah, we only got half a line change complete before getting called for icing, so we have got some really tired people out there for a defensive-zone draw. Between that and the INTERFERENCE call that Koharsky missed, the Bears score and tie the game. :swear: I can deal with the icing call, but the missed infraction when we have half-dead guys on the ice really burns my biscuits. 4-4.

As we get old waiting for a faceoff -- not sure if something is amiss or if this is a regular promo timeout -- there are about 11 minutes remaining in the third period and we are being outshot 11-1 in this period. Not what I want to hear. Let's go, Phantoms!

And we promptly shoot on goal. :)

CURSE WORDS. I hate the lack of video replay in the AHL. Ko-FREAKING-harski waved off a goal that appeared to have crossed the goal line. Tellingly, there was no video replay provided for the fans on this play... that makes me wonder if the replay would have shown that the ref messed up. We remain tied 4-4.

Now in the final five minutes or so of the period, it's the Phantoms who are pressing hard. But we have a slight break in the action as Munroe needs to have his mask fixed.

GUENIN blocks a shot at a really crucial time. However, the farging Delay of Game rule comes back to bite usm as Matsumoto's clearing pass goes over the glass. We will spend the rest regulation shorthanded, provided we kill the penalty and make it to OT.

With 30 seconds remaining, Munroe freezes the puck and we are able to changel ines. WHEW.

The third period is over, and we are going into OT. Egad, this game is hard on the blood pressure. Matsumoto's penalty expires at the end of regulation, so it won't bleed into the OT frame. We are at 4 on 4 for the extra frame. For his third-period heroics, especially inthat late PK, I think the team owes Munroe a dinner.

Mayotte makes a nice save on Raduns and freezes the puck, about halfway through the OT. However, these last couple of minutes of overtime are being spent in front of Munroe a bit too much for my liking. Ah,here we go, down to the other end and we have a flurry in front of Mayotte... unfortunately we don't cash it in. Eventually, we ice the puck with 4.7 seconds left in OT. We have already gone to shootout twice this season with Hershey, and it appears that we are close to doing so for a third time.

No dice. BLAST. WHile the bleeping stupid arenavision was showing a "Let's go Bears" graphic, the darn Bears score off a rebound from the faceoff. Farg. 5-4 Bears in OT with 1.1 seconds left. Rats, Nobody picked up Aucoin on the doorstep.

Our next games are at home on Friday and Saturday.