AHL: Phantoms Drop Third Straight
A six-game homestand that started with much promise ended up being a wash for the Adirondack Phantoms. After winning the first three games of the homestand, the Phantoms have lost three in a row. Last night, Adirondack fell 3-2 to the Albany Devils.
The Phantoms, who were playing without either
Marc-Andre Bourdon (flu) or
Zac Rinaldo (bruised foot) in the lineup, put forth a better all-around effort last night than they did in Friday's loss to Binghamton. The team played with a little more discipline, and also generated power play goals by
Erik Gustafsson and
Tye McGinn.
Gustafsson's goal got the Phantoms back in the game after they fell behind 2-0. On the play, he ripped a shot through traffic past Albany goalie Keith Kinkaid. McGinn's goal came late in the third period, trimming a 3-1 deficit back to one goal. It was a bit of a fluky play, as the power forward banked the puck in off the goaltender from behind the net.
Unfortunately, the Phantoms paid dearly for a few letdowns and their largely punchless offense could only manage two goals on the last-place Devils despite generating 46 shots on goal.
Brayden Schenn played a much better game than Friday night, but was held without a point for the third straight game.
Sean Couturier had one assist.
Goals against in the first or final minute of a period can be tough to overcome psychologically. Last night, the Phantoms gave up a goal with three seconds left in the first period and then another 30 seconds into the middle stanza. Just like that, a scoreless deadlock turned into a 2-0 deficit and the Phantoms had to chase the game. They never got caught up again.
Rookie goaltender
Cal Heeter got the start in goal for the Phantoms. He turned back 31 of 34 shots. The first goal, at 19:57 of the opening period, was a rebound goal by Albany's Joe Whitney. The second goal, at 0:30 into the middle stanza, was a controversial play in which Jacob Josefson directed the puck in off his skate but the officials ruled it was not a distinct kicking motion.
The final Devils goal, at 4:16 of the third period, was one that Heeter should have stopped. Mattias Tedenby put a low-percent on the net and the goaltender misplayed it. The puck hit off Heeter's stick and sneaked over the goal line to give Albany an insurance goal.
The extra goal proved to crucial for the Devils. The Phantoms staged a late push in the final 76 seconds after McGinn's goal but never found the equalizer.
The Phantoms (9-11-0-0) are off until next Friday, when they begin a grueling weekend slate. They will pay a visit to the Rochester Americans on Friday, return to Glens Falls for a Saturday night against Syracuse Crunch and then head to Providence on Sunday for a 4 o'clock game against the Bruins.
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ECHL: Noebels Hat Trick Powers Titans; Hovinen Struggles
Powered by three goals and an assist from rookie
Marcel Noebels, the Trenton Titans captured a home 7-6 shootout win over the Elmira Jackals on Saturday night. The Flyers' ECHL affiliate also got goals from Steven Schultz and Justin Taylor. Schultz later scored the lone goal of the five-round shootout.
Noebels, who started season by recording points (two goals, seven assists) in each of the first eight games, entered Saturday night's game mired in a nine-game point drought. He relaxed after bagging an even strength goal midway through the opening period and went on to tally two additional goals; the last of which was a wrist shot trickler through the five-hole of Elmira goalie Maxime Clemont.
The night didn't go nearly as well for rookie goaltender
Niko Hovinen. Making his first start since Nov. 17, Hovinen was not sharp physically or mentally. He stopped just six of nine shots and was pulled by head coach Vince Williams after the first period.
The first Elmira goal was not the big Finn's fault. The defense left Hovinen to fend for himself, and Chaz Johnson was left alone at point blank range. The second and third goals were more concerning to Williams.
Jean Bourbeau scored a rebound goal in a play where a routine initial shot was not handled cleanly and the goaltender did not make enough of a second effort to recover. With 2:12 remaining in the first period, Williams was equally displeased with the way Hovinen played a goal by former Phantoms forward Andrew Rowe.
After the game, Williams was
blunt in his assessment of Hovinen's performance, telling The Trentonian that he felt he had choice but to make a goaltending switch.
"I didn’t think on the last two goals...it’s one thing if the rebound is laying there, but (I want to see) a little more fight in it. I don’t think there was enough fight in the last two goals. There’s a compete factor on loose pucks in front of you,” Williams said to reporter Mike Ashmore.
The coach also dismissed any suggestion that Hovinen's poor performance was the result of rust from lack of playing time.
“I don’t know what rust means, he’s a professional hockey player,”Williams told the newspaper writer. “He’s a professional hockey player. He’s a third- or fourth-year pro [including his time in Finland's SM-liiga]. I just felt the last two goals, we needed a little bit more fight.”
New Jersey Devils prospect Scott Wedgewood entered the game at the start of the second period. He stopped 19 of 22 shots over the remainder of regulation and overtime and then turned aside all five shots he faced in the shootout.
Williams announced after the game that Wedgewood, who has been the more reliable of the two first-year Trenton goalies, would also get to make his pre-planned start in Sunday's 3:00 p.m. rematch with Elmira.
Rookie forward
Andrew Johnston ("complications from upper-body injury") is eligible to come off of the IR list during the week. He will miss Sunday's game.
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Results Roundup: Flyers in Europe
* KHL: Despite the mediocre record of his Donbass Donetsk team,
Ruslan Fedotenko has had his share of success this season in playing a shutdown center role against top opposing players.
Earlier this season, he outplayed Evgeni Malkin head-to-head and even registered a hat trick. A few days ago, Fedotenko did yeoman work against SKA's high-scoring top line, which features Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Thoresen. Things didn't go as well for the team yesterday against Dynamo Moscow, featuring Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Bäckström.
Dynamo dispatched Donbass, 4-2. Ovechkin had one of those games where he decided no one was going to deny him. When he gets like that, it's tough for any opponent to contain him. Ovechkin recorded a hat trick; one at even strength, one of the power play and the final one into an empty net.
Fedotenko skated 19:46 worth of ice time. He did not record a point in the game. His line was out for three of the four SKA goals. However, he won 7-of-9 faceoffs in the third period as Donbass tried to mount a comeback from a 3-0 deficit. The team got back within one goal, courtesy of Tuomas Kiiskinen and Evgeny Dadonov, but could not tie the game. Ovechkin's final goal put the game away.
* KHL: In the early Sunday morning hours in the U.S. and Canada, HC Lev Prague downed Amur Khabarovsk, 3-2.
Jakub Voracek was credited with one assist and three shots on goal in 13:16 of ice time.
* KHL:
Ilya Bryzgalov was the star of the game in CSKA's win over Amur on Thursday, but Rastislav Stana returned to the net on Sunday. Bryzgalov was scratched as the third goaltender in CSKA's 3-2 shootout win over Sibir Novosibirsk. Stana turned back 35 of 37 shots in regulation and overtime plus two of three in the shootout.
* SM-liiga: Last-place Ilves Tampere got shut out again, falling to Pelicans Lahti in a shootout after a scoreless 65 minutes of regulation and overtime. In the course of the game, frustrations boiled over for
Max Talbot. Late in the second period, Talbot got hit from behind dangerously close to the boards. There was no penalty call. The Flyers forward, who was also displeased with an earlier maginal penalty call against him, barked at the officials, but skated away. As soon as the period ended, he resumed arguing. The officials waved him away and then tagged him with a game misconduct.
* EIHL:
Tom Sestito had one assist and no penalty minutes in a 3-2 home loss to the Cardiff Devils. The two teams rematch in Wales today.
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Results Roundup: Flyers junior and collegiate prospects
* OHL:
Nick Cousins assisted on the lone Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds goal in a 2-1 loss to the Owen Sound Attack. He was also taken off on high-sticking and slashing minors. The latter was converted into a game-winning power play goal by Chris Bigras.
* OHL:
Derek Mathers had no penalty minutes or points as the Peterborough Petes dropped a 5-2 decision to the Sarnia Sting. The Petes fell to 6-20-2-1 on the season.
* WHL: Another game, another victory for the Portland Winterhawks. On Saturday, the team had little trouble with the Everett Silvertips, winning 5-2.
Taylor Leier did not figure in the scoring.
* NCAA:
Shayne Gostisbehere had a huge game on Saturday, scoring his fifth goal of the season and registering a pair of assists. His last two points were crucial as he scored a goal and assisted on the game-tier as Union battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the third period to earn a 4-4 tie against Princeton. This was a disappointing weekend for Union, however. Coming off a listless shutout loss on Friday against Quinnipiac, Union hoped for better than a comeback tie on Sunday.
* NCAA:
Reece Willcox was plus-one, was credited with one blocked shot and registered three shots on goal in a 3-1 win over St. Lawrence.
* NCAA:
Anthony Stolarz was the backup goaltender in UN-O's 3-2 loss to Minnesota. Senior goalie John Faulkner started both games this weekend.
* NCAA:
Michael Parks remained sidelined with a leg injury. North Dakota defeated Colorado College 3-2 on Saturday night.
* NCAA:
Nick Luukko earned an assist and was plus one as Vermont tied Maine, 2-2. Vermont won the first meeting on Friday night.
* J20 SuperElit:
Fredric Larsson had two shots on goal, was plus-one and had four blocked shots as Brynäs beat Västerås, 7-2. Larsson's team is now three points behind first-place Skellefteå.
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