By Brian Smith
Philadelphia Phantoms Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phantoms came within one minute and 39 seconds of a victory Friday night, but couldn't quite finish off the Manitoba Moose in a 2-1 overtime loss before a crowd of 8,677 at the Wachovia Spectrum.

The game was scoreless for more than two periods until the Phantoms finally broke through with 14:40 left in the third frame. John Slaney put a drive on net from the left point that was blocked in front. But it bounced to Matt Ellison on the right post, and he was able to get his stick on the skipping puck and slam it past goaltender Sebastien Centomo for the 1-0 lead.

With 2:49 remaining in regulation, Manitoba went on a 4-on-3 power play after Tony Voce was called for hooking. The Moose pulled Centomo to put themselves at a 5-on-3 advantage, and it paid off when Jason Jaffray shoveled one home on the backhand to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to overtime. Ryan Bayda then came through for the Moose 1:28 into the extra session when he knocked home a rebound.

"It was an energized hockey game," said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. "Both teams played hard, I thought. Manitoba, they check us hard. But sometimes it's the little bit more that makes a difference. A little more fight on finding loose pucks in front of the net or a little more urgency in front of our net, and you shut things down."

Jamie Storr turned in a stellar effort between the pipes, stopping 29 of 31 Manitoba chances. Centomo was also quite solid at the other end, making 28 saves on 29 Phantoms shots.

The extended affair was the fourth consecutive overtime game for the Phantoms and also marked the team's first overtime loss of the season. Philadelphia was the only team in the AHL that had yet to lose in overtime this season. With the OTL point, the Phantoms have earned six out of a possible eight points in their last four games.