Friday, February 9, 2007

ROCHESTER, NY - The Philadelphia Phantoms scored three straight goals in the second period and held on for a 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans on Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Eric Meloche earned first-star honors with the game-winning goal.

After a scoreless first period, Rochester opened the scoring 5:30 into the middle frame. Anthony Stewart came in on a two-on-one with Clarke MacArthur, and Stewart finished it off with a top-shelf wrister to give the Amerks a 1-0 lead.

But the Phantoms responded with two quick goals. First it was Darren Reid taking advantage of an opportune rebound at the 8:21 mark. Reid centered the puck from behind the net and continued around to the left while Denis Tolpeko fired a shot. Goaltender Craig Anderson stopped the offering, but the rebound to the left side intersected Reid's path and he fired it home.

Just over 90 seconds later, Pete Zingoni gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. Niko Dimitrakos tossed a puck in front from the left side that bounced off the stick of Boyd Kane and came to Zingoni. He got off a quick wrister before being knocked to the ice, and it beat Anderson at 9:53.

With just 2:15 left, Meloche buried the eventual deciding goal. He picked up a puck in the slot and snapped a shot past Armstrong for the 3-1 advantage.

In the third period, Drew Stafford made things interesting when he scored at 13:47. But the Phantoms held off a furious charge from the Americans over the final six minutes to take the victory.

Martin Houle earned the win with 26 saves on 28 shots, while Anderson stopped 30 of 33 in absorbing the loss.

The Phantoms now head north into Canada, where they'll visit the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night at 7:00. The game will be carried live on the Internet audio stream at 610wip.com, with Mike Thornton providing the play by play.

Philadelphia returns to the Wachovia Spectrum next Friday, Feb. 16 when they host the Portland Pirates on Country Craze Night at 7:05. National recording duo Rushlow Harris will perform on the ice after the game. Individual tickets for all Phantoms games, including $8 tickets for children 14 and under anywhere in the building, are on sale now at phantomshockey.com or by calling 800-298-4200.

BOXSCORE

Philadelphia Phantoms 3 at Rochester Americans 2 - Status: Final
Feb 9, 2007 - Blue Cross Arena

1st Period

Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - F. Cabana Phi (interference) 3:14

2nd Period

Scoring - 1. Rochester, A. Stewart (8) (C. MacArthur) 5:30
2. Philadelphia, D. Reid (13) (D. Tolpeko, M. Ellison) 8:21
3. Philadelphia, P. Zingoni (10) (J. Slaney, N. Dimitrakos) 9:53
4. Philadelphia, E. Meloche (6) (M. Davis) 17:45 PP
Penalties - G. Jacina Roc (hooking) 2:57, E. Meloche Phi (slashing) 10:28, B. Smith Roc (slashing) 10:28, M. Houle Phi (tripping) 11:00, M. Ryan Roc (high-sticking) 16:18

3rd Period

Scoring - 5. Rochester, D. Stafford (20) (M. Ryan) 13:47
Penalties - D. Morrison Phi (holding) 3:34, D. Larman Roc (holding) 6:19, J. Slaney Phi (cross-checking) 7:07

PHI Shots: 12 14 7 TOTAL: 33
ROC Shots: 11 8 9 TOTAL: 28

Power Play Conversion
Philadelphia Phantoms 1-3. Rochester Americans 0-4.

Goaltenders

Philadelphia Phantoms
Houle 6-13-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 26 GA: 2

Rochester Americans
Anderson 18-8-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 57:41 SV: 30 GA: 3

Start : 7:36 PM
End : 9:53 PM

Attendance : 7611

Referee I: Jeff Smith (49)
Referee II:

LINESMAN I: Jeff Walker (17)
LINESMAN II: Chris Woodworth (28)