By Kevin Kurz
Philadelphia Phantoms Correspondent

The Philadelphia Phantoms tied a franchise record with their ninth straight victory, as they defeated the Binghamton Senators at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, 3-2.

R.J. Umberger scored the game-winner for the second straight night, as his goal in a shootout on Friday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lifted Philadelphia to a victory.

Tonight, Umberger gave Philadelphia a two-goal cushion just 54 seconds into the second period as he found a bouncing puck in the goal crease and whacked it past goaltender Ray Emery. Tony Voce managed to get the puck out in front from behind the net with a couple of Binghamton defenders draped on him before Umberger put it in. The goal gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead at the time.

Binghamton kept the pressure on the Phantoms for the rest of the second period, outshooting Philadelphia by a 15-7 margin over the 20-minute span. The Senators cut into the lead before the break, as Pat Kavanagh deflected a shot by Greg Watson over Neil Little at 9:43 to make it a 3-2 game.

It would be all the Senators would get past Little, however, as the Phantoms have put together their longest winning streak since Dec. 6-27, 1997.

The Phantoms, who entered the game with the league's top power play, tallied a couple of man advantage goals in the first period after Binghamton took an early lead.

First, it was Patrick Sharp who easily tapped the puck into the net at the 5:18 mark of the first period on a feed from defenseman Freddy Meyer. It was Sharp's fifth goal of the season, with four of those coming on the power play. Sharp has at least one point in 10 of the Phantoms' 11 games this season.

A hooking call to the Senators' Jesse Fibiger led to Voce getting his first goal since Oct. 27 with just 32 seconds left in the frame, as the Phantoms went to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. Joni Pitkanen registered the lone assist on the score by Voce.

At the end of the game, there was a fight involved between Pitkanen and Jason Spezza, two highly touted young players that rarely drop the gloves. Ben Eager got involved in the altercation, earning himself a game misconduct as the third man in.

Philadelphia returns home on Sunday night at 6:05 p.m. to face the Norfolk Admirals. The Phantoms and Senators will meet again on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 11:05 am at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia's annual School Day Game.

Phantoms Notes

Little has won his only three starts of the season, surrendering just five goals overall. ... Binghamton outshot the Phantoms for the game, 35-20. ... Eric Meloche and Boyd Kane were injured scratches. ... Umberger has a three-game scoring streak (1G, 2A).