By Al Cohen
Philadelphia Phantoms Correspondent

The Philadelphia Phantoms rallied from a three-goal third-period deficit with four goals over a span of 4:04 to post a 5-4 victory over the Rochester Americans tonight at Blue Cross Arena.

Philadelphia trailed 3-1 after two periods and fell behind by three goals with 11:34 remaining when Radoslav Hecl netted his sixth goal six seconds after Phantoms defenseman Ian Forbes was sent off for cross checking.

Jamie Wright, who finished with a season-high three points, began the comeback with 5:55 to play when he slapped in a centering pass from Andre Savage. Defenseman Brad Tiley also picked up the first of three assists for himself on the play.

Savage and Tiley helped make it a 4-3 game at 16:06 during a 5-on-3 situation, as Mark Greig deposited his 23rd goal of the year. Less than two minutes later and with Philadelphia still on a power play, Patrick Sharp knotted the score at 4-4 with a slap shot from the point. Wright and Chris Bogas set up the rookie's sixth goal with 2:08 to go.

Philadelphia continued the pressure and took it first lead with 1:51 left on Ian MacNeil's eighth of the season. Tiley and Sharp assisted on the game-winner as the Phantoms set a club record for the fastest four goals in a game, breaking the previous mark of 5:22 set vs. Albany on Nov. 6, 1998.

Goaltender Antero Niittymaki made 27 saves for the Phantoms, who improved to 1-1-1 on their season-high five-game road trip. Philadelphia also completed a four-game season sweep of the Americans and extended its unbeaten streak vs. Rochester to 10 games (8-0-2), not including eliminating the Amerks from the playoffs in each of the last two years.

Mika Noronen finished with 22 saves for Rochester, which is 0-6-5 at home since its last win there on Dec. 22.

Rochester's Karel Mosovsky entered the game scoreless on the season and without a point in his last 32 games, but tallied twice in the opening period to give Rochester a 2-1 lead. His first came 2:40 into the contest when he slammed home a pass from Riley Nelson, with the second assist going to Bartovic.

White answered 86 seconds later with his 20th goal of the year and 14th as a Phantom. After taking feeds from Wright and Greig, White had his initial shot stopped by Noronen, but the veteran center kept hacking away at the rebound until he was able to flip it over the fallen netminder to make it 1-1 at 4:06.

Mosovsky netted his second goal during the first power play of the game. With Kirby Law serving a slashing minor, Bartovic got the puck to Kevin Bolibruck for a shot on net. The rebound kicked out to Mosovsky, who slid it into the inside right corner with 7:11 to go in the period.

The Phantoms were sent to the penalty box six times during the second period and found themselves with a two-man disadvantage for 59 seconds midway through after Ben Stafford received a hooking minor and MacNeil was assessed a high-sticking major. After fighting to kill off both penalties, Philadelphia fell behind 3-1 just as MacNeil was re-entering the ice.

Joe Ritson tallied his first career AHL goal on the play by batting in the rebound of a shot by Peter Ratchuk. Doug Houda also assisted on the goal with 3:27 left in the middle period.

Philadelphia continues its season-high five-game road trip Saturday at 8:05 p.m. against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. The Phantoms conclude the trip at 5:05 p.m. on Monday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (CN8) before returning home to face the Portland Pirates on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

Phantoms Notes: Tiley tied a franchise record with three assists in a period. Savage also accomplished the feat back on Oct. 18 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ... Wright has a four-game goal-scoring streak and nine points (4G, 5A) in eight games as a Phantom ... White recorded his eighth career 20-goal season ... Defenseman Wade Skolney returned to the lineup after missing 11 games due to a shoulder injury ... Peter Vandermeer played in his 400th game as a pro ... The Phantoms are also 4-0-1 in their last five regular-season visits to Rochester.