Flyers Farm Team Chronicles

More players assigned to Phantoms

2011-10-05T13:30:00.000-04:00

Defenseman Erik Gustafsson along with forwards Brayden Schenn and Harry Zolnierczyk have been assigned to the Phantoms.

The Flyers also placed Blair Betts, Oskars Bartulis, and Matt Walker on waivers yesterday. Betts was claimed by Montreal; Bartulis cleared and was assigned to the Phantoms. I can't find any information on Walker so I'm presuming, until/unless I see otherwise, that he was neither claimed nor sent down.

Final score: Penguins 3, Phantoms 1

2011-10-02T19:22:00.001-04:00

Oliver Lauridsen makes it 3-1, very late in the third period. Good job! Assist: Holmstrom.

With 14.7 seconds remaining in the third period, the Phantoms go on the PP.

But the Phantoms are unable to score with a 5 on 3 advantage in the final seconds of the period. Final score: Penguins 3, Phantoms 1.

Click here for the Phantoms' official game recap.

Third period (in progress)

2011-10-02T19:04:00.001-04:00

Another 5-on-3 disadvantage translates into another Penguins goal in the third period. 3-0 Penguins. But as one of the Phantoms had a double minor, rather than just two minutes, we're still down two players even after being scored on. Holmstrom and Marshall are in the box.

Back to 5 on 5. 8:28 left in the third period. Still 3-0 in favor of the bad guys. SOG favor the Penguins 26-13. The Phantoms have only had one shot on goal so far in this period.

End of Second Period

2011-10-02T18:30:00.001-04:00

At the end of the second period, the Penguins lead the Phantoms 2-0.

From Twitter:

@PhantomsHockey shots on goal: ADK 12 - WBS 20.Bacashihua playing well for ADK. Phantoms have been getting to Brad Thiessen but haven't broken him yet.

I was surprised to hear that we will only play in Wilkes-Barre one time this season. That's a major departure from our past history. Then again, we are in a different division from the PA teams this year, after a realignment of the AHL during the offseason.

I'm Not Amused, however, as I would rather see the Phantoms play semi-close to Philly more often than that. W-B is only SEMI-close, to be sure, but it's a darn sight nearer to Philadelphia than Glens Falls is. The distance from the former Spectrum site to the Glens Falls Civic Center is 288 miles. Wilkes-Barre and Hershey offer the opportunity to see the Phantoms live, at a distance that won't require an overnight stay in a hotel. So I'd rather have seen us continue to make numerous appearances in PA during the course of the season.

Phantoms @ Penguins, second period (in progress)

2011-10-02T18:11:00.000-04:00

The Penguins drew first blood during this period, and lead 1-0. The Pens also spent some time in this period with 6 skaters on the ice, completely missed by the referees. I guess it's preseason for the officials as well.

With 21 seconds remaining in the Phantoms' 2-man disadvantage, both of which penalties were assessed to our top penalty killers, the Penguins scored again to make it 2-0. So now we'll be at 5 on 4 briefly before returning to full strength.

Even strength now. 8:48 left in the second period.

Michael Leighton loaned to Phantoms; Phantoms preseason results so far

2011-10-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, September 28, the Phantoms opened their preseason in Saratoga vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a 3-1 win. Last night, October 1, they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Albany Devils.

They are currently in a game at Wilkes-Barre vs. the Penguins. The score is 0-0 in the first period.

Today, the Flyers announced that they have loaned Michael Leighton to the Phantoms.

Sestito has cleared waivers.

2011-09-28T15:22:00.001-04:00

Tom Sestito has cleared waivers. He does not need to pass through re-entry waivers to be recalled to the Flyers.

Tom Sestito sent down

2011-09-28T02:33:00.000-04:00

Tom Sestito was ejected from Monday night's Flyers/Rangers preseason game after delivering a hit from behind. There's no word yet on any suspension or fine from the league, but the hit was blatant enough that I'd be amazed if he doesn't get suspended for it.

On Tuesday, it was announced that he was sent to the Phantoms, though he'll have to clear waivers before being added to the roster.

I've seen the AHL partially honor other leagues' suspensions before. See: Jesse Boulerice (twice), Steve Downie. Their suspensions in the AHL weren't as long as the corresponding suspensions from other leagues, but they did have to spend some games in the press box before being allowed to join the Phantoms. So if Sestito gets sternly treated by the NHL, he might have to sit out games in the AHL, as well.

Phantoms to Host Hershey in Outdoor Classic at Citizens Bank Park on January 6

2011-09-26T15:46:00.002-04:00

MEDIA RELEASE

Phantoms to Host Hershey in Outdoor Classic at Citizens Bank Park on January 6

It is an historic and proud day for the Adirondack Phantoms who have announced they will host and play their first ever outdoor game in franchise history. The Phantoms will be part of the NHL Winter Classic week-long celebration of hockey when they play the Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA, on Friday, January 6.

"This is an extremely exciting day for the Phantoms organization and Phantoms fans everywhere," said Phantoms President Rob Brooks. "A hockey celebration and atmosphere unlike anything the AHL has ever seen will happen at Citizens Bank Park. We are extremely grateful to (Comcast Spectacor President) Peter Luukko for helping make this truly great event a reality."

It was also announced that the Philadelphia Flyers will play the New York Rangers in the NHL's annual Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, January 2. This is the fifth NHL Winter Classic but the first ever to also feature an AHL outdoor game as part of the festivities.

"The American Hockey League has a strong following in the region and it will be a terrific experience for Pennsylvania hockey fans as the historic Phantoms-Bears rivalry is renewed outdoors at Citizens Bank Park," said David Andrews, AHL President and Chief Executive Officer.

"We are thrilled to join with the Philadelphia Flyers in adding AHL hockey to their outdoor showcase."

The Phantoms and Bears will also wear specially designed jerseys honoring the significance of the Outdoor Classic, similar to the fantastic jerseys the NHL teams have worn in their Winter Classic games.

It will be an especially memorable event for the players themselves who will have the honor of getting to skate on this incredible night. Many of the players grew up with frozen ponds in their backyards where they would play for hours on end. The Outdoor Classic is an homage to those youthful hockey experiences. For these players to now get to play outdoors in front of a huge crowd at a major league stadium is truly once-in-a-lifetime stuff which all will surely remember as an all-time highlight of their careers.

"This will be a terrific opportunity for hockey fans throughout Philadelphia to see the future prospects of the Flyers in a truly unique setting," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "We're very excited to add a Phantoms regular season game to our week-long celebration of the Winter Classic being in Philadelphia. We look forward to working with both (owners) Rob and Jim Brooks in bringing the Phantoms back to Philadelphia for this truly special night."

This will be the third outdoor game in AHL history; The Syracuse Crunch hosted the Binghamton Senators on February 20, 2010 at the New York State Fairgrounds in front of 21,508 fans. The Connecticut Whale hosted the Providence Bruins on February 19, 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT breaking the league's attendance record with 21,673.

"It is exciting to have a chance to break the league attendance record," Brooks said. "In fact, that is our goal and we absolutely believe it will happen. Fans will want to be there just to soak in the magical atmosphere and to be a part of history!"

Citizens Bank Park is the major league baseball home of the Philadelphia Phillies and will have a seating capacity of approximately 40,000.

Details on how to purchase tickets for the Outdoor Classic will be available soon. One way to be guaranteed a ticket is to become a Phantoms season ticket holder.

Mark your calendars! Adirondack Phantoms Opening Night is Saturday, October 8. The Phantoms take on the Connecticut Whale to begin the third season of exciting Phantoms hockey in Glens Falls. Get great savings and have fun with your friends, family or co-workers by bringing your group of 15 or more fans to enjoy fast-paced, hard-hitting Phantoms hockey. Call the Phantoms to find out more at 518-480-3355 and check the team's website at phantomshockey.com.

Follow the Phantoms on twitter @phantomshockey and on facebook.com/adkhockey

ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS: Glens Falls Civic Center * One Civic Center Plaza * Glens Falls, NY 12801 * 518-480-3355

MEDIA CONTACT: Bob Rotruck - 518-480-3355 - brotruck@phantomshockey.com

Building the Phantoms 2011-2012 Roster

2011-09-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

Today's Waiver Wire/Flyers Cuts

On Waivers (have to clear to go to Phantoms):

PHI - Jason Bacashihua
PHI - Johan Backlund
PHI - Dan Jancevski
PHI - Jon Kalinski
PHI - Stefan Legein

Full NHL Waivers List: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=376604

Assigned to Phantoms:

FORWARDS
Jason Akeson
Tyler Brown
Shane Harper
Ben Holmstrom
Tye McGinn
Luke Pither
Mike Testwuide
Eric Wellwood

DEFENSEMEN
Marc-Andre Bourdon
Tyler Hostetter
Blake Kessel
Oliver Lauridsen
Kevin Marshall

GOALTENDER
Brad Phillips

Also, Cullen Eddy, Garrett Klotz and Garrett Roe are no longer on an NHL Pro Try-Out and will report to Adirondack as well.

http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589692

Allentown Morning Call: "Hockey arena no sure thing"

2011-02-25T15:40:00.000-05:00

Allentown's Morning Call has a less-than-optimistic article about the downtown site that's been proposed for the new arena. It's a site that has been beset by sinkholes, causing the nixing of a previous attempt at an arena on that site, as well as the demolition of an office building that the sinkholes damaged in the 90s.

Surrounding properties would also have to be purchased from their current owners, or else taken via eminent domain, and the appeals process for that could take "a couple years".

CLICK HERE to see the article itself.

Can someone please explain to me why Bellmawr, NJ was rejected as an arena location? It would have been PERFECT -- minutes away from the Voorhees practice facility, and minutes away from the Spectrum site so the entire existing STH fan base could easily make the shift and go there instead. They already had done an environmental impact study and had plans to manage the increased traffic flow to the area (as there's other developing going on there, with or without the proposed arena). They were ready for, and WANTED, an arena there. Their original plans even had a tentative location shown where the arena would go. And in the meantime, the rumors were that the team would spend the interim in Atlantic City.

But NOOOO. That made too much sense. We couldn't do THAT. Instead, we get the team moved 288 miles away, to a place where we have to reserve a hotel room if we want to see them play a home game. The AC interim move was nixed because they had concerns about poor attendance, yet we are currently 29th out of 30 AHL teams in attendance. Moreover, the intended permanent home in Allentown, from which we'd heard nothing since last summer, is only surfacing in the news to report plan changes and potential problems.

All this is making me a Very Grouchy Fan right about now. Can you tell?

Pronger questionable for Saturday; Gustafsson called up

2011-02-25T13:10:00.002-05:00

Because Chris Pronger is questionable for Saturday's game with a swollen hand, Erik Gustafsson has been recalled from the Phantoms. CLICK HERE for the story on the Phantoms site.

Allentown arena: a construction site has been chosen. Or has it?

2011-02-23T22:25:00.005-05:00

For the first time in a long time, we are hearing news of actual decisions being made in Allentown, regarding the placement of their new arena.

I don't know the layout of Allentown, so I can't offer an opinion on the suitability of the various potential construction sites. But apparently the original waterfront site, which is near their baseball stadium, has been ruled out in favor of a downtown site. Or at least it's PROBABLY ruled out. Per the Morning Call article:

"Logistically, if downtown doesn't work, then the riverfront goes back on the table. But there's a hope to get it downtown," the source said. "Until it's all signed, sealed and delivered, no one really knows what's going to happen. If they did, there would have been a press conference already."

So there you have it. It's been decided, unless it hasn't been decided, and it's a great big definite maybe. But someone actually mentioned the arena plans in a public venue, so that in itself is a measure of progress compared to hearing nothing whatsoever.

Click on the links to see coverage in Glens Falls's The Post-Star, Allentown's Morning Call, and Easton's Express-Times.

P.S. I couldn't help but notice the irony in the photo of the Brooks Brothers, taken in the Allentown press conference in 2009, which accompanied the Easton article. Notice anything about those jerseys? How about the SPECTRUM commemorative patches? Which, incidentally, go nicely with the shoulder patch depicting Phlex with the SPECTRUM.

Sigh.

Phantoms register a hat trick AND shutout in the same game!

2011-02-06T14:57:00.002-05:00

It figures last night's game was one I couldn't watch because I wasn't home. I'll have to watch the archived video, because not only did the Phantoms beat one of the league's better teams in Hamilton, they earned the W in style. Denis Hamel registered the team's second hat trick in as many weekends, and Michael Leighton earned something that no Flyers goalie has achieved yet this season, a shutout, as the Phantoms downed the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-0. Way to go!

Here is the link to the game's box score. Read it and rejoice! :-)

Article on Leighton's rehab stint with the Phantoms (including interview)

2010-12-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

CLICK HERE to read The Post-Star's interview with Michael Leighton as he starts his rehab stint with the Phantoms. We expect to see him in both games this weekend.

2010-11-30T14:09:00.000-05:00

Micnael Leighton has arrived in Glens Falls. What will happen with the Flyers/Phantoms goalie situation, once Leighton's rehab stint ends in up to 6 days, is anybody's guess. Meanwhile, Backlund will miss 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain.

If the Flyers opt to send Leighton down after the rehab stint, he would have to clear waivers. Given his history of being claimed, I will be somewhat surprised if he clears.

Hallelujah, the streak is over! Phantoms win in OT!

2010-11-12T22:08:00.001-05:00

Hallelujah! The Phantoms won 4-3 in OT! Thank you, Denis Hamel for tying the game with 1:55 left, then scoring the winner in overtime!

Must have been the prayers from the people in the house for Faith and Family Night that put us over the top. :-) I wonder if we can get them all to attend the rest of our games this year?

New coach, Same Results: Losing Streak Reaches 10 Games

2010-11-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

The results speak for themselves, and they're not saying anything pretty.

The Phantoms have welcomed John Paddock into his second stint as head coach with a 5-1 loss to the second-worst team in the league, the Toronto Marlies. In seven of the ten losses in this streak, we have given up 5 or more goals. In ALL of the losses in the streak, we've given up at least four goals. We haven't earned a standings point since an OTL on October 16.

I posted about replacing Gilbert with Paddock the day before the team pulled the trigger on precisely that move. For my next feat, I predict that trades and reassignments are going to be the order of the day. Some guys are going to be headed to the ECHL or out of the organization entirely. Speaking of which, I read a rumor a few days ago that we would see Maroon moved this week, but so far, that hasn't come to fruition. Here's hoping we get someone back who can help us, STAT. When it's crisis time and we're not even to Thanksgiving yet, you know your hockey team's having a rough year.

Phantoms Weekly Report #5, Phantoms Podcast, Transcript to Flyers Conference Call

2010-11-08T23:56:00.000-05:00

HERE is the Phantoms Weekly Report #5 from the Phantoms site.

I seem to have missed last week's podcast link, so I'll put that link in with this week's:

HERE is the Phantoms Podcast Episode #5, and

HERE is Phantoms Podcast Episode #6 on The Post-Star.

And HERE is the transcript to tonight's conference call with the Flyers, regarding the coaching changes. As beat writer Tim McManus pointed out, it's different from, and expanded in some places compared to, the transcript released by the Flyers.

Greg Gilbert relieved of coaching duties; John Paddock named interim head coach; Wellwood returns to Phantoms

2010-11-08T21:16:00.001-05:00

When the team is mired in a nine-game losing streak, and hasn't garnered a point of any kind since an overtime loss on October 16, something has to be done.

Today, the Phantoms relieved Greg Gilbert of his coaching duties. Assistant GM John Paddock will retake his place behind the Phantoms bench. He last coached the Phantoms during the 2008-09 season, the final year in Philadelphia. Former Adirondack Red Wing Joe Paterson would join the team as an assistant coach.

Click HERE to see the article on the Phantoms website.

The preliminary story in The Post-Star is HERE.

Eric Wellwood has been returned to the Phantoms on loan from the Flyers, after a callup during which he received a lot of praise. If not for the salary cap, I suspect he might have been able to stay up a little longer. See The Post-Star's Phantoms blog post HERE.

Phantoms' losing streak reaches nine, sets a franchise record

2010-11-07T21:54:00.004-05:00

I don't know what's more depressing: the way the Phantoms are playing right now, or the negative, sometimes hostile response of the fans online (as represented by the people who post comments on The Post-Star's news coverage and blog posts). But honestly, the team has performed so poorly this season, that the fans are within their rights to rant.

The Phantoms have set a franchise record with their ninth consecutive loss. They haven't earned a point since October 16, an OTL vs. Albany. That's more than ten percent of the season we've burned up in this losing streak, folks. I'm detecting another playoff-free season unless we start turning things around, and I mean NOW.

Gilbert's in the tough position of having an extremely young team with a lot of newly-minted pros, plus the loss of one top guy (Maroon) and the presence of two other top guys who've been "served notice" that if they don't straighten up and fly right, they'll be the next ones gone (Kalinski and Legein). We got a new veteran (Denis Hamel), and he's scored three times for us in two games, but it'll take a lot more than one guy to get this team on the right track.

My instinct says, "Get Gilbert out of there, and tell Assistant GM (and former Phantoms coach) John Paddock he's going back behind the bench for the remainder of the season." Paddock's Phantoms didn't exactly dominate the league in 2008-09, but at least we made the freaking playoffs. We got steamrolled by the Hershey powerhouse in the first round, but at least we freaking got to the first round.

It's a mess in Glens Falls. As much as I miss my team and wish I could see them in person, there's a part of me that's thinking, "I don't want these health issues that are keeping me from a road trip, but at least I can't travel NOW while the team can't seem to win its way out of a paper bag." Maybe the team's play will improve by the time my health does.

Phantoms Weekly Report #4

2010-11-02T14:51:00.002-04:00

Read the Phantoms Weekly Report #4 HERE on the Phantoms website.

Phantoms' losing streak continues; Denis Hamel comes to ADK; Eric Wellwood makes Flyers debut; More on Maroon's departure

2010-11-02T14:48:00.000-04:00

The Phantoms lost their seventh consecutive game on Saturday, to Rochester. Read about it, as well as Paul Holmgren's comments on Pat Maroon's status, HERE. There is also a transcript of Holmgren's interview HERE. Patrick Maroon will not be returning to the Phantoms; Holmgren is exploring other options, including trade or reassignment to the ECHL.

Maybe we can loan him out to another AHL team. (Preferably NOT one in our division, as that could come back to bite us in the caboose.) I've seen us loan players out to other teams, and then accept others on loan in return. Surely there'll be at least one other AHLer somewhere in the league who could use a fresh start in a new organization. That would be the first place I would look to send Maroon, be it by loan or by trade, with the intent of receiving said other player back in return. Whatever happened, it's a downright shame that matters had to reach this point. I thought Maroon brought a lot to the table on the ice, and this team sorely needs any and all contributions right now as they attempt to get back on track. According to THIS post, Jon Kalinski and Stefan Legein were "warned" to straighten up and fly right, or face a similar fate to Maroon's.

There IS some good news to report on the player front. Denis Hamel, an AHL veteran who had a brief (7 games) stint with the Flyers a few years ago, has been signed to a PTO. He's spent the past few years with the Bingo Sens. He has a track record of community involvement in Binghamton, including winning the AHLs Yanick Dupre Award as the league's Man of the Year, so I'm sure Senators fans will hate to see him go. I think a veteran of his on- and off-ice caliber will be a huge boon to the team right now. Read more about him HERE.

In other good news, Eric Wellwood made his NHL debut last night, as the Flyers will be without the services of Danny Briere (suspended) and Andreas Nodl (injured) for the next several games. He looked terrific. I can honestly say that no observer would have been able to guess that it was his first NHL game, if they hadn't already been aware of that fact, solely from watching him play. I thought for sure that he was about to get his first NHL assist, at one point, but the puck didn't cooperate by going into the net. Heck. On the other hand, if he keeps playing as he did last night, his first NHL points will be listed among his stats by the time he returns to the Phantoms.

Phantoms dismiss Patrick Maroon, extend losing streak to 6 games

2010-10-30T14:55:00.001-04:00

I'm entirely bewildered to log on today and see that, along with losing the sixth straight game last night, the Phantoms have dismissed Patrick Maroon. He is "pending reassignment", according to coach Greg Gilbert. That could mean anything from a loanout to a trade to a buyout, so stay tuned.

What. The. Bleep. I hate to see us lose our current top scorer, especially since goals have been supremely hard to come by in the team's first nine games. He was slated to be a mainstay of the team this year, which makes the news that much more jarring.

The Post-Star has articles here and here. The Broad Street Hockey site has THIS to say on the subject.

I'm pretty well floored by this news, to be honest. Our front office had better come up with some scoring punch ASAP to replace what Maroon would have brought to the team this year. I was expecting him to have a breakout season, or at least a make-or-break one as he's a prospect in a contract year. So much for that idea.

Significantly, both Paul Holmgren and John Paddock were in attendance in Glens Falls last night. The Flyers had a game in Pittsburgh at the same time, which (as I found out earlier this week) is actually closer to Philadelphia than Glens Falls is. In any event, it's not a small matter for Homer and Paddock to make an appearance at a Phantoms game when the Flyers are playing as well. I'm trying hard to remember if it ever happened when the Phantoms were in the Spectrum, and I can't. The Flyers brass were normally with the Flyers on their game days, not the Phantoms, even when we were only right across the street. Of course, when both teams were in Philly, they also both PRACTICED in the same building, so the Flyers brass had ready access to the farm team at nearly all times (barring road trips for one or both teams). So they wouldn't have had to make a 288-mile pilgrimage to make their point by showing up in person.

All I can say is, with the way the Phantoms are slumping, GOOD that Holmgren and Paddock watched the team with their own eyes last night. I hope they stuck around in Glens Falls for tonight's game, too (though the Flyers have a home game tonight). I *want* the front office people to see firsthand just what the Phantoms need to field a competitive team. And right now, we need plenty.

Back-to-back 5-1 losses. Ouch. Also, game recaps, podcasts and weekly report updates

2010-10-24T00:40:00.004-04:00

I haven't had the chance to listen to/watch the last couple of Phantoms games. The stream for their radio station has been down-and-out for over a week, and I haven't been home to watch the games online.

However, I can say that we lost to the Charlotte Checkers (former Albany River Ratw) at home on Friday night, 5-1. Jon Matsumoto, who was traded to Carolina over the summer, had a goal and two assists, and was the second star. I still can't figure out why the Flyers never even gave him a cup of coffee in the NHL. Then we played in Hershey on Saturday night, and lost 5-1 again. Ouch. Without having seen the past couple of games, I can't vouch for what we did well or poorly, but the scoresheets suggest that there are at least some things that we'll do well to work on in our next practices.

Sorry for the delay in posting... my health has not been ideal lately, and it's been getting in my way at times. The good news is, when I have surgery next month, it'll be all over but the recovery, but until then, I'll keep plugging away the best I can.

I have a couple of podcast links, courtesy of The Post-Star:

Phantoms Podcast, Episode 3
Phantoms Podcast, Episode 4

Here is the Phantoms Weekly Release, Week 2 from the Phantoms website.

Recaps of games that were played between the previous post and now:

October 12: Phantoms @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; Penguins 2, Phantoms 1
October 15: Syracuse @ Phantoms; Phantoms 3, Crunch 2
October 16: Albany @ Phantoms; Devils 4, Phantoms 3, OT
October 17: Phantoms @ Rochester; Americans 5, Phantoms 2
October 22: Charlotte @ Phantoms; Checkers 5, Phantoms 1
October 23: Phantoms @ Hershey; Bears 5, Phantoms 1
October 24: Phantoms @ Hershey; Bears 4, Phantoms 2

Phatoms Weekly, Week One; Phantoms website's coverage of the weekend

2010-10-11T16:21:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE for the Phantoms' website's first Phantoms Weekly report of the season.

CLICK HERE for the Phantoms' website's coverage of the weekend games.

10-9-10 Phantoms @ Albany: Phantoms 5, Devils 3, plus weekend wrap-up

2010-10-11T01:01:00.003-04:00

I wasn't able to watch the Phantoms/Albany tilt live. However, I was pleased to see that we've earned the first win of the season, defeating Albany 5-3.

Here is the coverage of Saturday's games in The Post-Star:

Phantoms' efforts pay off in victory
Phantoms Forum: Phantoms 5, Devils 3 (FINAL)
Phantoms Forum: Postgame: Phantoms 5, Albany 3

Here is the box score from the AHL's site.

10-08-10 Phantoms at Binghamtom: Senators 5, Phantoms 1

2010-10-08T23:00:00.045-04:00

From the Phantoms Facebook page:

Phantoms fall at Binghamton 5-1 in season opener. Great game for Johan Backlund in goal. Patrick Maroon scores first Adirondack goal of the year on the power play easily slamming in the nice cross-ice feed from Dan Jancevski. Next up: At the Albany Devils Saturday night at 7. Just 7 days away until the Phantoms Home Opener!

I did get to watch the entire game online; however, the audio was glitched for both the Adirondack and Binghamton feeds. So all of the fans who were logged in to AHL Live watched the game sans play-by-play until a little while after the midpoint of the game.

I haven't yet seen the box score, nor the stars of the game. However, I can say that Johan Backlund should have had a star, five goals-against notwithstanding. The Phantoms' teamwide youth (average age 22.8 years) really showed itself tonight, as there were lengthy stretches when the only Phantom touching the puck was the goaltender. We were massively outshot, and there were some parts of the game when even though the teams were even strength, the appearance was that the Senators were on the power play.

Though we did give up three PP goals, I can say that I was pleased to see the Phantoms kill off a full two-minute 5-on-3 PK. So that, and Backlund's performance in the game, were bright spots.

I am still concerned that Backlund's hip is still not quite in top form yet. The Senators got a wraparound goal, going around behind the net after Backlund made an excellent save on one post, and firing it in the open side of the net. Backlund just couldn't make the lateral move quickly enough. Mind you, a lot of goalies might have had a challenge going post-to-post on that particular goal. But the way Backlund moved made me think that his hip was among the reasons he couldn't get over there as quickly as he'd have liked. One thing's for sure -- his hip, and everything else, got quite the workout during this game. He'll be able to make a long report to the trainer on how the hip felt when he put it through its paces.

CLICK HERE for the box score from tonight's game.
CLICK HERE for The Post-Star's Phantoms blog post for the game.
CLICK HERE for The Post-Star's postgame blog post.
CLICK HERE for the game article from The Post-Star.

The Phantoms play in Albany on Saturday at 7 PM.

Phantoms officially announce the finalized roster

2010-10-08T22:10:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE for the article on the Phantoms website, announcing the final roster to start the season.

Post-Star article, including Phantoms final roster

2010-10-08T00:02:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE to read Tim McManus's article: "3 things to watch this weekend, a final roster, and where everyone went". It includes the Phantoms opening night roster, as well as a list of where the players went who were cut from the training camp roster. The following players will be on the Phantoms roster when they play the season opener tonight:

Forwards (13): Matt Clackson, Ben Holmstrom, Jon Kalinski, Garrett Klotz, David Laliberte, Stefan Legein, Pat Maroon, Greg Moore, Luke Pither, Andrew Rowe, Zac Rinaldo, Mike Testwuide, Eric Wellwood.

Defensemen (7): Marc-Andre Bourdon, Erik Gustafsson, Dan Jancevski, Joonas Lehtivuori, Kevin Marshall, Logan Stephenson, J.P. Testwuide.

Goalies (2): Johan Backlund, Brian Stewart.

Captains: Dan Jancevski (C); Greg Moore (A); David Laliberte (A).

Post-Star Weekly Phantoms Forum Podcast; Power Rankings from The Hockey News; Twitter updates

2010-10-07T18:33:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE to listen to the latest Phantoms podcast on the Post-Star site.

The Hockey News has released its AHL Power Rankings. Click HERE to see them. The Phantoms have almost nowhere to go but up, as they've been ranked 29th out of a possible 30 teams. I can't say that's a surprising way for the team to start this season, given the combination of underachievement last year plus the loss of our top scorers. However, I do believe that we've got what it takes to have a far better season this year than the subpar results of last year. Unfortunately, we've got a couple of powerhouses in the division, with Hershey and Wilkes-Barre, so challenging for a playoff spot will be as difficult of a task as ever. However, I see that Hershey has lost some of its Phantoms-killers to other teams and other leagues (Alexandre Giroux, anyone?), so perhaps that will be to our benefit.

According to beat writer Tim McManus's Twitter feed, Dan Jancevski has been named captain of the team, with Greg Moore and David Laliberte as alternate captains. Shane Harper is confirmed as sent to the ECHL affiliate in Greenville. D Cullen Eddy appears to have been sent to Greenville as well.

Per Broad Street Hockey, Nodl has been temporarily sent to the Phantoms due to roster size constraints

2010-10-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

According to THIS article on Broad Street Hockey, the Flyers had to temporarily assign Andreas Nodl to the Phantoms in order to trim their roster size to 23.

Ian Laperriere (post-concussion syndrome) and Michael Leighton (bulging disk in lower back) are not on the LTIR yet, though it's expected that both of them will eventually go on the long-term injured reserve. Assigning them to the LTIR would remove them from the active roster; the Flyers roster stands at 25, when it must be 23 by noon today.

Therefore, Nodl was sent down as a roster-trimming move, though according to Paul Holmgren, he will be recalled when the Flyers have cleared room for him on the active roster.

I sure hope he doesn't have to haul himself and all his gear 288 miles to Glens Falls, if he's going to be back on the Flyers roster in the immediate future. This is the kind of thing that makes me (and, I'm sure, the Flyers brass) miss the days when both teams operated out of the same practice facility. Callups and send-downs merely required a player to walk to the opposite side of the same building. Oh, well.

More Phantoms moves (Riopel to ECHL)

2010-10-05T17:13:00.002-04:00

According to the Twitter feed of Phantoms beat writer Tim McManus, the Phantoms have made additional roster moves to bring their roster to 23. According to THIS article in today's Post-Star, here is the Phantoms' current roster:

Goalies (2): Johan Backlund, Brian Stewart.

Forwards (13): Pat Maroon, Luke Pither, Mike Testwuide, Andrew Rowe, Greg Moore, Stefan Legein, Eric Wellwood, Ben Holmstrom, David Laliberte, Garrett Klotz, Jon Kalinski, Matt Clackson, Zac Rinaldo.

Defenseman (8): Marc-Andre Bourdon, Joonas Lehtivuori, Erik Gustafsson, Dan Jancevski, Kevin Marshall, Logan Stephenson, J.P. Testwuide, Cullen Eddy.

Today's practice lines, again drawing from the above-mentioned article, are as follows:

Lines: Maroon/Pither/Legein; Rowe/Moore/M. Testwuide; Wellwood/Holmstrom/Laliberte; Klotz/Kalinski(Rinaldo)/Clackson.

Defense: Gustafsson/Jancevski; Bourdon/Lehtivuori; Marshall/Stephenson; J.P Testwuide/Eddy.

Post-Star coverage of the roster moves, last night's Flyers preseason game

2010-10-04T17:17:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE for the Post-Star's coverage of today's Phantoms roster moves, as well as some talk about last night's Flyers preseason game.

Patrick Maroon took part in the Flyers tilt in Buffalo, and absorbed a hard hit that appeared to knock him out. He left the ice on his own; however, he missed a lot of time last season due to a concussion, so this is not the kind of thing anyone wants to see. I hope he's all right.

More players assigned to Phantoms

2010-10-04T14:13:00.004-04:00

According to the Twitter feeds of Anthony SanFilippo and Tim Panaccio, the following players have been sent from the Flyers to the Phantoms: Backlund, Bourdon, Testwuide, Holmstrom, Gustafsson, Laliberte, and Kalinski.

Andreas Nodl, meanwhile, is staying with the Flyers, as is Sergei Bobrovsky. With the possibility that Ian Laperriere and Michael Leighton will be starting the NHL season on the LTIR, that's a significant tip of the cap to both those players.

EDIT TO ADD: Backlund and Laliberte have to clear waivers in order to be sent down. I hadn't realized that Laliberte would have to clear waivers.

Phantoms lose third preseason game, 5-4, in Syracuse

2010-10-03T21:29:00.001-04:00

For the second night in a row, the online radio stream didn't work. However, I did find a couple of Syracuse Crunch-related Twitter feeds that kept me updated on the game. Such as this one:

@SyracuseCrunch Syracuse Crunch win 5-4 v. Adirondack Phantoms! Bonino named first star and Syvret gets the 2nd star.

I think we're going to regret not having Syvret on this team anymore. On the other hand, we have a huge logjam on the Flyers blueline. He probably stands a better chance of getting an NHL shot in Anaheim's system, as compared to ours.

Anyway, the Phantoms are now 0-3, or 0-2-1-0 if you want to separate OTL and SOLs from regulation losses. They were all close games on the scoreboard, which is good, but I'm looking forward to seeing the team register a W.

Phantoms Preseason Results to date

2010-10-03T14:17:00.000-04:00

The Phantoms have played two preseason games vs. Albany so far. The first one was a 2-1 OT loss to the Albany Devils on Friday night. The second one was a 4-2 loss, with the fourth Albany goal going into the empty net.

I haven't been online a lot in the past couple of days, so I'm going to have to do some legwork to track down preseason coverage. However, I did find a nice writeup on Zac Rinaldo, a Phantom who should help make this a pretty colorful season. :-) CLICK HERE for Broad Street Hockey's take on his performance so far.

The Phantoms wrap up a three-games-in-three-nights stint in Syracuse tonight. Here's to improving our preseason record with a win!

Phantoms Podcast

2010-09-30T17:37:00.003-04:00

The first Phantoms podcast can be found HERE on the Post-Star's website.

Update on the Phantoms Training Camp Roster

2010-09-30T17:20:00.001-04:00

According to THIS ARTICLE on the Post-Star site, there will be 19 players on tryout contracts joining the Phantoms who were sent to Adirondack from Flyers training camp. The roster will be as follows:

Phantoms training camp roster

Forwards (20): Greg Moore, Luke Pither, Matt Clackson, Garrett Klotz, Pat Maroon, Tye McGinn, Zac Rinaldo, Andrew Rowe, Shane Harper and Stefan Legein, Justin Bowers, Andrew Martin, David Volpe, Brett Wilson, Josh Fauth, Josh Heidinger, Guilio Scandella, Brett Watson, Chase Watson, Jason Williams.

Defensemen (14): Chad Denny, Jesse Dudas, Cullen Eddy, Dan Jancevski, Logan Stephenson, J.P. Testwuide, Brad Cole, Patrick Cusack, Thomas Dignard, Jim Driscoll, Mike Gershon, Dan Henningson, Peter MacDougall.

Goalies (3): Nic Riopel, Brian Stewart, Brad Phillips.

Cut-down day arrives: Players reassigned to Phantoms and junior teams

2010-09-26T20:33:00.002-04:00

CLICK HERE for the article about player reassignments (or releases from tryout contracts) on the Flyers site.

Flyers reduce training camp roster
Flyers trim roster by 28 players
Sunday, 09.26.2010 / 3:33 PM / News
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have reduced their training camp roster by 28 players, according to General Manager Paul Holmgren. Eighteen players have been assigned to the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. Five players have been returned to their junior teams, and five others were released from tryout contracts.

The following players were assigned to the Phantoms and will report to the team's training camp later this week: forwards Greg Moore, Luke Pither, Matt Clackson, Garrett Klotz, Pat Maroon, Tye McGinn, Zac Rinaldo, Andrew Rowe, Shane Harper and Stefan Legein; defensemen Chad Denny, Jesse Dudas, Cullen Eddy, Dan Jancevski, Logan Stephenson, and J.P. Testwuide; and goaltenders Nic Riopel and Brian Stewart.

The following players have been returned to their junior teams: D Ricard Blidstrand (Regina, WHL); F Michael Chaput (Lewiston, QMJHL); F David Labrecque (Shawinigan, QMJHL); D Brendan Ranford (Kamloops, WHL) and D Tyler Hostetter (Erie, OHL). In addition, F Justin Dowling and F Blake Gal were released from their Amateur Tryout Agreements and will also return to their junior teams, while forward Michael Ryan and defensemen Ryan Lannon and Joe Piskula were released from their Professional Tryout Agreements.

The moves leave the Flyers training camp roster at 37 players (20 forwards, 12 defensemen and five goaltenders).

Meet The Flyers taping

2010-09-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

Meet The Flyers taping

More Young'uns, on the other rink

2010-09-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

More Young'uns, on the other rink

Young'uns

2010-09-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

Young'uns

Listen to the coach! :-)

2010-09-18T09:54:00.000-04:00

Listen to the coach! :-)

Where else would I be?

2010-09-18T09:21:00.001-04:00

Where else would I be?

Phantoms site training camp coverage and radio station

2010-09-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Phantoms web page has got some coverage of Flyers Training Camp HERE.

Also, WNYQ will broadcast Phantoms games again this season. Their "Listen Live" link is now active again. I'm pretty glad about that, as I really grew to like that station and was disappointed when the cybercast went offline during the summer. HERE is the link to listen to the station.

2010 Flyers Training Camp Roster

2010-09-16T00:51:00.002-04:00

The Flyers begin Training Camp on September 17 with the unveiling of their new road jersey. They will be on the ice for the first time on September 18.

CLICK HERE for the PDF version of the Training Camp Guide.

Here is the roster, sorted by jersey number. Sorry if the formatting gets goofed up... it's a challenge to get the spacing to behave when copying and pasting from a spreadsheet. (I'm trying to look up the right technique even as I type, but I haven't found it yet.)

Nbr Last Name First Name Position
3 Bartulis Oskars D
5 Coburn Braydon D
6 O'Donnell   Sean D
8 Walker    Matt D
9 Guerin Bill RW
10 Laliberte David RW
11 Betts Blair LW
13 Carcillo Daniel LW
14 Laperriere Ian C/RW
15 Nodl Andreas RW
17 Carger Jeff C
18 Richards Mike C
19 Hartnell Scott LW
20 Pronger Chris D
21 van Riemsdyk James    RW
22 Leino    Ville    RW
24 Ryan Michael C
25 Carle    Matt D
26 Jancevski Dan    D
27 Gustafsson Erik D
28 Giroux Claude RW
29 Maroon Patrick LW
30 Backlund Johan    G
32 Moore    Greg C
33 Boucher Brian    G
34 Holmstrom    Ben    C
35 Bobrovsky Sergei G
36 Powe Darroll RW
37 Kalinski Jon    C
38 Harper Shane    RW
39 Testwuide Mike RW
40 Pither Luke C
41 Meszaros Andreas D
42 Chaput Michael C
43 Bourdon Marc-Andre D
44 Timonen Kimmo    D
45 Shelley Jody D
46 Marshall Kevin    D
47 Wellwood Eric LW
48 Briere Danny    C
49 Leighton Michael G
50 Blidstrand Ricard D
51 Rinaldo Zac    C
52 Rowe Andrew LW
53 McGinn Tye    LW
54 Legein Stefan RW
55 Hostetter Tyler    D
56 Manning Neil D
57 Stephenson Logan    D
58 Lehtivuori Joonas D
59 Dowling Justin C
60 Labrecque David    C
61 O'Connor Ryan D
62 Eddy Cullen D
63 Clackson Matt LW
64 Klotz    Garrett LW
65 Testwuide J.P. D
67 Stewart Brian    G
70 Bissonette Matt LW
71 Gal Blake    RW
72 Ranford Brendan LW
73 Morrison Adam G
74 Riopel    Nic    G
76 Dudas    Jesse    D
93 Zherdev Nikolai RW

Backlund is still rehabbing his hip, post-surgery; rookies report to Voorhees this weekend

2010-09-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

According to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly, Johan Backlund is still rehabbing his hip, 11 weeks post-surgery. He's taking shots standing up, but not in the butterfly. He hopes to be ready by the start of Training Camp on September 17.

Also, rookies report to Voorhees, NJ this weekend, and take the ice on Monday.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Phantoms 2010-11 Schedule is released

2010-08-25T17:21:00.000-04:00

CLICK HERE for the Phantoms 2010-11 schedule on the Phantoms site.

Flyers sign four to AHL conracts

2010-08-25T12:10:00.000-04:00

The Flyers have signed goaltender Nic Riopel, and defensemen Logan Stephenson, J.P. Testwuide (the brother of Mike, who is also on the roster), and Jesse Dudas to AHL contracts.

CLICK HERE for the article in the Post-Star.

The Phantoms will play the Albany Devils in Atlantic CIty this season

2010-08-24T16:16:00.001-04:00

Oh, how I wish the Phantoms were the home team in Atlantic City! With all due respect to Glens Falls, I'm a Philadelphian and I sincerely wish that the team was NOT 300-ish miles away! I wish I could see them WITHOUT having to factor in a 10-hour round trip and an overnight stay!

Anyway...

The NJ Devils are going to have several of their AHL (Albany) and ECHL (Trenton) teams' games played in Atlantic City this season.

This includes a tilt between the Phantoms and Albany. CLICK HERE for the article on BroadStreetHockey.com, or continue reading below.

Devils invade Flyers country, bring five minor-league games to Atlantic City
by Travis Hughes on Aug 24, 2010 1:56 PM EDT in On the Farm 8 comments
The Albany Devils will host the Adirondack Phantoms here at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Sunday, December 5. Photo by Travis Hughes, broadstreethockey.com
ATLANTIC CITY -- The Phantoms moved from Philadelphia to the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York back in the spring of 2009. In a triumphant return home last winter, the Phantoms took on the Norfolk Admirals in front of a very large crowd at Wachovia Center. They lost, but they did a lot of that last year anyway.
Yet again in 2010-11, the Phantoms will be coming home. It'll be a little bit different, however.
The two minor league affiliates of the New Jersey Devils, the AHL's Albany Devils and the ECHL's Trenton Devils, will play a combined five home games next season at Boardwalk Hall here in Atlantic City. In the first of these games on Sunday, December 5 at 5 PM, the Devils will host the Phantoms in what could very well be a largely pro-Adirondack crowd.
For the record, the Phantoms had to agree to play the game at a site other than Albany.
Atlantic City, Atlantic County and the Southern Jersey Shore, as you may know, sits deeply in the Philadelphia media market and is certainly considered Flyers territory. There are Devils fans here, to be sure, but anybody telling you that this area is anything but orange and black is lying to your face.
A press conference on Tuesday morning at the 81-year old Jersey Shore landmark brought out all of the dignitaries, from Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek to GM Lou Lamoriello -- any and all Kovalchuk questions were met with "we can't comment, sorry" -- to NJ's Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno.
They all spoke on the party line: we're "Jersey's Team" and we're here to claim what's ours.
You think that's an exaggeration, don't you?
"We know that the Trenton Devils, Albany Devils and New Jersey Devils are all Jersey teams," said Guadagno, who apparently didn't need to pass a geography test before being sworn into office.
"The Governor is a hockey dad and the Lieutenant Governor is a hockey mom," said Lamoriello. "So if anybody is questioning that the New Jersey Devils hockey team is in a New Jersey Devils state, just think, we finally put in the state a hockey mom and a hockey dad, so we've finally taken control of the state."
Vanderbeek extrapolated that a bit.
"We are not North Jersey's team, we are not Central Jersey's team, and we are certainly not the team in the strip of land between New York and Philadelphia," said Vanderbeek. "This is New Jersey's team and we really need and want to embrace everybody from this state. We really want to expand our reaches."
"Historically, the Flyers have been here a long time. It has been [Flyers territory here]. But at the same time, this is New Jersey. We feel strongly that it's rightfully ours. We're gonna make a concerted effort to try to gain those fans."
Well, nobody can blame them for having ambition, I guess.
"That game on February 11 with match the Devils with the Flyers, going toe-to-toe, said Matt Loughlin, the Devils radio play-by-play voice who served as master of ceremonies at the conference. "We're going to try to turn orange and black into red and black."
This whole thing seems like the part of a larger strategy for the Devils. Along with their "Jersey's Team" marketing slogan, which debuted two seasons ago, they're certainly making a concerted effort to expand their reach outside of North and Central Jersey.
If they were to move their farm team to South Jersey and get involved in the local hockey community -- the rink in AC, by the way, is the Flyers Skate Zone -- there's no disputing they could develop a fan base here. Vanderbeek knows that.
"I think you'll see that accelerate. We might get into affiliations with rinks, as far as youth hockey, further South than we're used to. We have a couple of other ideas that we'll see over the next few years as well."
"Historically, the Flyers have been here a long time. It has been [Flyers territory here]. But at the same time, this is New Jersey. We feel strongly that it's rightfully ours. We're gonna make a concerted effort to try to gain those fans."
Could that be the ultimate goal here? Do the Devils want to house one of their minor league teams at Boardwalk Hall on a permanent basis?
It really does seem like they're interested. The key word in that sentence is interested, of course, and there's no guarantee that these five games will be successful here. After all, the ECHL's Boardwalk Bullies won a Kelly Cup in 2003 and wound up leaving town just two years later. Bad marketing and poor attendance did them in.
But throughout the hour-long event this morning, both Lamoriello and Vanderbeek kept raving about the beauty of Boardwalk Hall. From the ice plant to the locker rooms to the arena itself, the gentlemen were impressed, much to the pleasure, surely, of the state, who poured $90 million into this building at the turn of the century.
The real question for residents of Southern New Jersey who would love to see hockey back in AC, however, is if these five games will impact the chances of that happening. Of course, the Devils have a commitment in Albany and would never say as much, but reading between the lines a bit, the interest is clear.
"We really hope we're part of a new renaissance here that provides entertainment for all walks of life," said Vanderbeek. A renaissance? You don't become part of a renaissance by playing five games in an otherwise empty building. Then again, they're not really stopping at five games.
"Our intent is to, a year from now, bring an exhibition -- an National Hockey League exhibition game -- into this facility here," Lamoriello said at the podium. Vasser, of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, told me after the conference that he hadn't yet heard that proposal. But, nevertheless.
"This is our toe in the water, said Vanderbeek. "We are looking forward to playing in Albany this season. At the same time, our long-to-mid-range plan will be to have at least one, if not more minor league franchises in New Jersey. It's a possibility."
Whether they admit it or not, and really, they did everything but admit it this morning, the Devils are hoping to bring one of their affiliates to Atlantic City. In an area that's historically been colored with Flyers orange, they want to change that.
The NHL defines home territory as a 50 mile radius around the city limits of the city the team plays its home games in. By definition, then, the Flyers home territory is a big 50-mile circle around Philadelphia. Atlantic City is about 52 miles away, according to my rough estimation using Google Earth, but much of the Greater Atlantic City area is clearly within that circle.
A team has the sole right to market its NHL games inside their home territory, according to the NHL's Constitution.
So in terms of marketing these games and promoting their own brand in the future within the South Jersey market, will that impact the way the Devils do business?
"No, not at all," said Vanderbeek. "It doesn't effect [how the Flyers do business].
It'll be interesting to see what becomes of these five minor league games here in Atlantic City this coming season, but even if they aren't successful, one thing is for certain. The Devils have drawn their battle lines, and they're ready for a big time fight with the Flyers over the South Jersey market.

New Phantoms Front Office Staff, including a new radio broadcaster

2010-08-24T15:04:00.000-04:00

The Phantoms have added new staff to their front office. This includes the former radio announcer of the Wheeling Nailers, a team which owned by the same Brooks Group that owns the Phantoms.

CLICK HERE to see the article on the Phantoms site.

Bob Rotruck will be the new radio announcer. Q101.7 will resume broadcasting Phantoms games, as they did last season.

Owen Newkirk is out as Phantoms broadcaster

2010-08-23T16:29:00.001-04:00

Color me mystified. The Phantoms will not be bringing back last year's radio voice, Owen Newkirk.

I just saw that news in this article on the Post-Star.

First of all, I can't for the life of me imagine why they'd want to replace a person who is that good at what he does. Second, why did they wait until approximately three seconds before the AHL schedule would be released? Why didn't they do this early enough in the offseason to allow for a proper search, for both the organization and for him, to take place before the first puck is dropped?

I was hoping that once a smaller concern than Comcast owned and operated the team, that they'd put more of a focus on the Phantoms as a centerpiece of their organization. Hence, decisionmaking like this is as surprising as it is disappointing.

Here's a nice article on the incoming prospects for the Phantoms this year

2010-08-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

I came across a nice article on the Phantoms' incoming prospects: Projecting the Newest Phantoms' Contributions.

I am AVIDLY looking forward to this year's training camp, which starts on September 17.

The Greenville Road Warriors affiliate with the Flyers and Phantoms for 2010-11

2010-08-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

ROAD WARRIORS ANNOUNCE AFFILIATION WITH PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
PostDateIcon Mon, 2010-08-16 10:37 | PostAuthorIcon Sportsologist

GREENVILLE, SC - The Greenville Road Warriors announced today that they have entered into an affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers and the American Hockey League's Adirondack Phantoms for the 2010-11 season.

"To be affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers and Adirondack Phantoms will greatly enhance what it means to be a member of the Greenville Road Warriors. The Flyers are committed to winning at every level. We hope to help them with that commitment by developing their future AHL and NHL players," said Road Warriors president and general manager Neil Smith.

As the Flyers' and Phantoms' ECHL affiliate, the Road Warriors will receive players for the purpose of developing them as professionals with the ultimate goal of reaching the NHL.

"We are pleased to be working with Greenville for the upcoming season," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "Neil Smith and Dean Stork both have a strong history of success, and we're confident they'll provide an environment that will help our prospects develop their potential."

Last season the Flyers captured their eighth conference championship as part of a dramatic run to the team's first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1997. They became just the third team in NHL history to ovgvl_phi logo comboercome an 0-3 series deficit when they defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games in the second round of the playoffs. The Flyers are coached by Peter Laviolette who has won an AHL championship with the Providence Bruins (1999) and a Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes. Laviolette began his coaching career in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers in 1997-98.

Philadelphia has been a member of the NHL since 1967 and captured back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. Famously nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies" those Flyers teams were the first non-Original Six squads to capture an NHL championship. Overall, the Flyers have been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs 35 times in their 43 seasons of play.

The Adirondack Phantoms are entering their second season of play in the AHL. Formerly the Philadelphia Phantoms, they relocated to Glenns Falls, New York prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. They won two Calder Cup championships in Philadelphia in 1998 and 2005. Adirondack is coached by former Calgary Flames head coach Greg Gilbert. The Phantoms are the second AHL team to call Glenns Falls home after the Adirondack Red Wings which competed in the league from 1979 to 1999. The current Road Warriors' president and general manager, Neil Smith, served as the Red Wings' general manager from 1985-1989 and helped guide the team to Calder Cup championships in 1986 and 1989.

The Road Warriors will play their inaugural season as the ECHL affiliate of the Flyers and the New York Rangers. The Rangers, and AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, were announced last week as affiliates of the Road Warriors.

Riley Cote retires from playing, becomes Phantoms Assistant Coach

2010-08-16T21:34:00.000-04:00

RILEY COTE NAMED ASSISTANT COACH OF THE ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS
WINGER RETIRES AS A PLAYER AFTER SIX SEASONS WITH FLYERS AND PHANTOMS

August 9, 2010

The Adirondack Phantoms, proud AHL affiliate of the Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, announced today that Flyers left wing Riley Cote has retired as a player to become assistant coach of the Adirondack Phantoms, according to Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren. Cote will join head coach Greg Gilbert and associate coach Kjell Samuelsson on the Adirondack coaching staff.

“We are pleased to add Riley to our coaching staff in Glens Falls,” Holmgren said. “Riley’s dedication, perseverance and passion for the game of hockey are beyond reproach. We believe he will be a good young coach, and his knowledge and experience will be very beneficial in the development of our young prospects.”

“We are thrilled that Riley is staying with us in this new capacity,” said Peter Luukko, President/COO of Comcast-Spectacor. “Riley started his playing career in the ECHL and worked as hard as he could until he achieved his dream of playing in the National Hockey League. As a coach, we’re confident he’ll pass along that work ethic, drive and determination to our prospects and help them become the best players they can be.”

“I am really excited about this coaching opportunity,” Cote said. “It’s time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter in my life. I will do the best job I can do to help teach and develop all the players in Glens Falls on and off the ice. I'm looking forward to a new challenge in life.”

Cote, 28, has spent the last six years with the Flyers organization. He appeared in 156 games for the Flyers over four seasons from 2006-07 through 2009-10, posting a total of 411 penalty minutes while collecting a goal and six assists for seven points.

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cote signed an AHL contract with the Phantoms as a free agent prior to the 2004-05 season and helped the club to its second Calder Cup championship. He then signed an NHL contract with the Flyers prior to the 2005-06 season and spent most of the next two years with the Phantoms until making his NHL debut against the New York Islanders on March 24, 2007. Cote earned a full-time spot with the Flyers when he made the team’s roster out of training camp prior to the 2007-08 season.

More signings for the Phantoms

2010-07-23T13:20:00.001-04:00

According to this page on Capgeek.com, the Flyers have signed Greg Moore and Dan Jancevski. We have also re-signed David Laliberte and Matt Clackson.

Danny Syvret signs with the Anaheim Ducks

2010-07-20T19:08:00.002-04:00

July 20, 2010, 08:39 AM EDT

Anaheim signs Danny Syvret (Total value N/A )

2009 Stats: 21 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 12 PIM

Draft Day Transactions: Jonathan Matsumoto traded to Carolina for 206th pick

2010-06-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

The Flyers have traded Jonathan Matsumoto to the Carolina Hurricanes for the 206th pick. We then used the pick to choose Ricard Blidstrand.

I hate the fact that the Flyers gave up on him. But I can't say this comes as a surprise. The lack of callups from the Flyers, plus the fact that I don't recall seeing his name on the "taxi squad" of potential injury fill-ins during the NHL Playoffs pretty much telegraphed this move well in advance.

Resuming blogging; Johan Backlund signs 2-year contract

2010-06-12T16:09:00.001-04:00

Apologies for the lengthy time gap between posts. There've been some, shall we say, health issues that came crashing down in December. Three specialists later, we figured out what was causing the symptoms and the treatment process is under way. Thank God.

Anyway, things still aren't entirely resolved on that front. However, as I've been feeling more like a human being again, I've decided to pick up blogging again, starting with offseason transactions.

For example, the Flyers have just signed Johan Backlund to a two-year deal. See http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20100612_Flyers_Notes___Leighton_eager_to_make_amends.html#ixzz0qcZA6wlV for details.

Phantoms vs. Hamilton Bulldogs 12-18-09: Postgame

2009-12-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

There were a lot of instances of the number 4 in this game. Hamilton went into the game with a league-leading four shutouts, and incremented that total by blanking the Phantoms 4-0. It was the fourth time this season that the Phantoms have been shut out.

This game marked John Grahame's debut with the Phantoms. He gave up a goal that he'd probably like to have back on the first shot of the game. Then, near the end of the period, Hamilton scored shorthanded on an odd-man rush that Grahame had no chance on whatsoever. The score remained 2-0 until late in the third period. Unfortunately, my flipping video stream went kaput at the start of the third period, so I saw nothing of the final frame, and eventually reverted to listening to the radio stream. So I never saw the third or fourth goals against; I do know, from the play-by-play, however, that the final goal deflected in off one of our defenders, so that sounds like another one that the netminder had no opportunity to stop.

I can't believe how much trouble this team has had scoring this season. I watched several of the guys who were on the team last season score goals in bunches -- now those same guys are, by and large, wringing sawdust (or composite dust, I guess) out of their sticks trying to find the back of the net. Maybe what some of them should do is look at videos of their goals from last season. If doing that gives them even a few small hints as to what they were doing when scoring wasn't at a premium, then it will be time well-spent.

Anyway... here are the relevant links for the game.

HERE is the box score on the AHL site.

HERE and HERE are the entries on the Post-Star Phantoms blog.

HERE is the Post-Star's coverage of the game.

HERE is the Phantoms site's game article.

Tonight, the Phantoms play in Worcester. It will be our second and final time meeting the Sharks this season; our first time was the heartbreaker of a last-minute loss at the Phantoms' home opener. Freaking Worcester scored with 11 seconds left to win that game. Time for some REVENGE. Go Phantoms!

Jon Kalinski has been returned to the Phantoms

2009-12-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

The Phantoms website is reporting that Jonathon Kalinski has been returned to the Phantoms.

There for a while, we had enough Phantoms called up that we were able to field an entire five-man unit of promoted players. Oskars Bartulis and Ryan Parent are currently the Flyers' third defensive pairing, and we had Jon Kalinski, David Laliberte, and Andreas Nodl as one of our forward combos. Considering that goaltender Brian Boucher is also a Phantoms alumnus, when those guys were on the ice together, we had six Phantoms graduates out there for the Flyers. :-) I always enjoy when things like that happen. I love seeing our alumni in NHL jerseys, particularly when said jerseys bear a Flyers crest on the front.

In any event, the Flyers are gradually getting healthy again, resulting in some of the Phantoms' top guys being returned to Glens Falls. I hope this translates into the Phantoms having less difficulty finding the back of the net. We had a scoring outburst over last weekend, but we need to be more consistent about putting goals in. Here's to seeing last weekend's goal-fest continue unabated, starting tonight vs. Hamilton.

Playing Catchup: Phantoms Weekly Reports 9, 10, 11, 12

2009-12-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

I've been somewhat under the weather lately, and not posting much on here OR on my personal blog. But now I'm doing better, so my goal is to get back up to speed ASAP and just pick up posting from there.

So to get everyone caught up to how things have been going, let me get up-to-date on the Phantoms Weekly Reports on the Phantoms site.

Phantoms Weekly Report #9

Phantoms Weekly Report #10

Phantoms Weekly Report #11

Phantoms Weekly Report #12

In other news, the Phantoms drew 13,127 for their game at the Wachovia Center. It was great to see our players in person, rather than on a computer screen, and it was doubly great to be able to do so among the many fellow fans I spent so many years attending games with. I got to chat with a lot of people whom I hadn't seen since last April, when the final pro hockey game was played in the Spectrum. We even had our own announcer, as the Trenton Devils let Keith Jones come down to Philly to announce the game. The Phantoms made a good showing, and the only thing lacking from that night was a win. We lost a hard-fought game 2-1 in OT to Norfolk.

We have had some significant roster changes in the past few days. Among them: Johan Backlund, who'd been called up to the Flyers due to an injury to Ray Emery, was sent back to the Phantoms. Backlund was returned to Glens Falls because Michael Leighton, a former Flyer/Phantom (albeit briefly for both teams), was claimed off waivers to back up Brian Boucher while Emery recovers from abdominal surgery. The day prior to the Flyers' claim of Leighton, they signed goaltender John Grahame to a PTO for the Phantoms. Today, to ease the goalie surplus in Adirondack, Nic Riopel was returned to his junior team.

Meanwhile, other players who've been called up as injury fill-ins and returned include Jared Ross, Andreas Nodl, and David Laliberte. Oskars Bartulis was called up, and played so well that he was signed to a one-way deal with the Flyers. Jonathon Kalinski was also called up, and remains on the Flyers roster.

Danny Syvret, who scored one GWG with 1.6 seconds remaining in OT and another with 0.1(!!!!) seconds remaining in regulation time, was almost called up as an injury fill-in. But he couldn't get to Pittsburgh in time to meet the team, and one of the Flyers' injured D (Coburn) was cleared to play, so Syvret's recall transaction was negated.

There. I think that's pretty much all the news that's fit to print for the time being. GO PHANTOMS!

P.S. One more bit of coverage from the Phantoms' game in Philadelphia... Tim McManus interviewed me and another former Phantoms Season Ticket Holder who have continued to follow the team after the move to Glens Falls. Read the article HERE.

Homecoming Night

2009-12-04T18:38:00.000-05:00

Not only is our team back for the evening, so is our announcer Keith Jones!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Phantoms at Binghamton Senators, 11-26-09: Postgame

2009-11-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

Um, OUCH. Wow, the Phantoms had a rough go of it in Bingo, losing 7-0 to the Senators on Thanksgiving night.

I'll get the postgame coverage in here during the weekend.

In the meantime, in Friday afternoon's Flyers game, Jared Ross was injured because of a check from behind. Jonathon Kalinski was recalled from the Phantoms. He'll join the Flyers in Atlanta on Saturday.

The Phantoms have the second of a 3-games-in-3-nights on Friday night at home vs. the Hershey Bears, followed by a game on Saturday vs. the Bears in Hershey.

Ross and Nodl are called up to the Flyers

2009-11-22T07:48:00.000-05:00

Due to injuries to Blair Betts and Darrol Powe, both of whom will miss 4-6 weeks with shoulder injuries, Jared Ross and Andreas Nodl have been called up to the Flyers. Read the article on the Phantoms' website HERE.

Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: Postgame

2009-11-21T23:59:00.016-05:00

Neither the Flyers nor the Phantoms had a good day, as they both came out on the wrong end of 3-1 scores on the road. In the Phantoms' case, the opposing team was the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

HERE is the box score from the AHL's site.

There aren't Post-Star blog posts about the game but HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms site.

Phantoms vs. Toronto Marlies, 11-18-09; Postgame

2009-11-20T22:56:00.002-05:00

Revenge is a dish best served cold, as they say. This time, it was served on ice. The Phantoms were shut out by the Marlies when the teams met in Toronto recently. Tonight, the Phantoms returned the favor and shut the Marlies out 2-0 3-0 in Glens Falls.

HERE is the box score from the AHL's site.

HERE and HERE are the Post-Star's blog posts about the game.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms site.

David Laliberte recalled; Phantoms Weekly Report

2009-11-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

Per THIS ARTICLE on the Phantoms website, David Laliberte was recalled to the Flyers due to an injury to Arron Asham. Laliberte will accompany the Flyers on their West Coast road trip.

Also, HERE is the Phantoms Weekly Report from the Phantoms website.

Phantoms vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 11-14-09: Postgame

2009-11-14T23:59:00.003-05:00

Well! This was a nice bit of good news. Not only did the Phantoms win the game 3-2, but Nic Riopel chalked up his first professional win into the bargain. WTG, Phantoms!

(I *still* don't like shootouts, but I do like wins so I'll take the two points.)

HERE is the box score from the AHL's site.

HERE and HERE are the Post-Star's blog posts about the game.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms site.

Phantoms vs. Binghamton Senators, 11-13-09: Postgame

2009-11-13T23:34:00.003-05:00

Ouch. The Phantoms had a rough go of it at home on Friday the 13th. It was a "we must have walked under a ladder while breaking a mirror and spilling salt" sort of night. Binghamton clobbered us 5-0. I was hardly online at all during the day, so the pregame post never got sent. However, here's all the postgame news that's fit to print, so to speak:

HERE is the box score on the AHL's site.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE and HERE are the blog posts from the Post-Star Phantoms blog.

HERE is the game recap on the Phantoms site.

Expect Bartulis in tonight's Flyers lineup

2009-11-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

According to Ryan Bright's Twitterfeed, "OKT is out of the lineup tonight, meaning Oskars Bartulis will play in his first NHL game".

Oskars Bartulis recalled to Flyers; Phantoms Weekly Report

2009-11-11T14:05:00.001-05:00

Due to injuries to Flyers defensemen Ryan Parent and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Oskars Bartulis has been recalled to the Flyers.

Also, HERE is the Phantoms Weekly Report from the Phantoms site.

Phantoms @ Albany River Rats, 11-7-09: Postgame

2009-11-07T23:59:00.014-05:00

HERE is the box score on the AHL's site.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE is the post on the Post-Star Phantoms blog.

HERE is the game recap on the Phantoms website.

Phantoms @ Albany River Rats, 11-7-09: Pregame

2009-11-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

The Phantoms are in Albany, with the intent of gaining some ground in the Time Warner Cup race, not to mention that wee detail of benefiting in the standings from defeating a divisional rival.

We've gotten out offense untracked in the past couple of games, and that has been nice to see. Here's to seeing us keep the win streak going!

I can't live blog the game tonight, but you can follow its audio/video online at ahllive.com, or via the link to WNYQ on the sidebar. Also check the Twitter feed on the sidebar for updates.

Go Phantoms!

Phantoms Weekly Report (Week 6)

2009-11-05T14:07:00.000-05:00

HERE is the latest Phantoms Weekly Report on the Phantoms website.

Phantoms @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 11-04-09: Postgame

2009-11-04T23:59:00.001-05:00

Well, THAT turned into a nice comeback win. The Phantoms scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take a 4-2 victory. :)

HERE is the box score on the AHL's site.

HERE and HERE are game articles from the Post-Star.

HERE is the post on the Post-Star Phantoms blog.

HERE is the game recap on the Phantoms website.

Phantoms @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 11-04-09: Pregame

2009-11-04T11:09:00.001-05:00

I won't be able to watch the entire game online, so I will post comments afterward.

Phantoms defenseman Logan Stephenson is suspended for 1 game because of his late-game-fight in Sunday's contest. That's why David Sloane was recalled from K-zoo.

Go, Phantoms!

Lukas Kaspar is leaving for Europe

2009-11-03T17:15:00.002-05:00

The two most recent Twitter posts from Tim McManus, the Phantoms' beat w1riter, have this to say:

Breaking news: Lukas Kaspar has left the Phantoms for a team in Europe. Flyers terminanting his contract today, sources tell the [Post-Star

and two hours later:

Flyers have confirmed that they terminated Kaspar's contract on Tuesday. They declined further comment.

Good luck to him. I suspect the timing could be a bit better for us, between the flu running through the locker room and losing David Laliberte to a callup. If necessary, I expect we will see help on offense arriving from the ECHL.

Phantoms recall David Sloane from ECHL

2009-11-03T14:27:00.000-05:00

According to THIS post on the Phantoms site, the Phantoms have called up defenseman David Sloane from the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL.

Laliberte update

2009-11-02T17:33:00.001-05:00

He is in his second NHL game, and is playing on the first PP unit. :-) How impressive is *that*?

Phantoms vs. Syracuse Crunch, 11-01-09: Postgame

2009-11-01T23:59:00.019-05:00

HERE is the box score from the AHL's website.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star.

HERE, HERE and HERE is the coverage on the Post-Star's Phantoms blog.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms website.

Phantoms vs. Syracuse Crunch, 11-01-09: YEAH!!! Matsumoto scores SH Penalty Shot goal!

2009-11-01T18:07:00.001-05:00

I am doing the Mummer's Strut in my dining room, as Jon Matsumoto just scored on a penalty shot during a Phantoms penalty kill. 2-0 Good Guys! :)

P.S. Unless I've lost the ability to count, THIS box score is showing that we have only got 17 skaters dressed. The flu is running rampant through the locker room.

Phantoms vs. Syracuse Crunch, 11-01-09: Pregame

2009-11-01T16:51:00.002-05:00

I won't be able to live-blog the game in depth.

You can listen to the game audio online for free, either on WNYQ's stream or at AHL Live.

For a fee, you can watch the game on AHL Live.

Tim McManus, the Phantoms' beat writer, posts in-game Twitter updates HERE and blogs HERE.

From the above-mentioned Twitter feed, I see that Jared Ross has dressed and is warming up with the team, as is Johan Baclund. Kalinski is not on the ice, however, and Michael-Lee Teslak has been returned to Elmira.

We owe the Crunnch a good crunching after they lambasted us 6-1 in Syracuse a few weeks ago.

Go Phantoms!

Here comes another stork with a delivery for yet another Phantom! :-)

2009-10-31T23:11:00.001-04:00

From Tim McManus's Phantoms Twitter feed:

PSPhantoms: Jared Ross missed Saturday's game in Toronto for birth of child. His status is uncertain for Sunday. Kalinski out w/flu.

So that's Kalinski and Backlund with the flu, so far. I wish a speedy recovery to them both.

And, of course, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Ross on the new addition to their family! :)

LALIBERTE with an assist!

2009-10-31T14:08:00.001-04:00

David Laliberte strikes again, this time with an assist on James van Riemsdyk's goal! The score is currently 4-1 Flyers.

AAAAAAH LALIBERTE SCORES!!!

2009-10-31T13:35:00.001-04:00

SCOOOOOOORE! I just about broke my husband's arm while celebrating David Laliberte's first career NHL goal! ;-)

WTG!
2-0, Flyers!

Laliberte is warming up with the Flyers

2009-10-31T12:35:00.001-04:00

David Laliberte is warming up with the Flyers. He's wearing #9.

Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies 10-30-09: Postgame

2009-10-31T11:52:00.001-04:00

(This post will be brought up-to-date as the content I plan to link to becomes available.)

HERE is the box score for this game from the AHL's site.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star site.

HERE and HERE are the game coverage from the Post-Star's Phantoms blog.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms website.

Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies 10-30-09: Third Period

2009-10-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

I had a slight reboot situation that resulted in my missing a large chunk of the third, including the third Marlies goal. Sounds like Hamilton got his second tally of the night.

I'm noticing the Beaulieu line out there more than I did in the last few games. Partly that's from some regulars' being absent. But I also think that hard work gets rewarded.

Drat. Game over. 3-0, Marlies is the final score. The combination of flu and the shuffling of our best scoring line due to a callup can't have helped our offense.

Hopefully, we'll see more success at home Sunday.

Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies 10-30-09: Second Period

2009-10-30T20:31:00.002-04:00

Apparently, we were assessed the first THREE penalties. Fortunately, as we already trail by a pair of goals, we have killed all three infractions.

Beaulieu is on a line with Clackson and Klotz; he makes a nice, if unsuccessful, diving attempt to keep the puck in the TO end.

AGAIN we're shorthanded. Clackson goes. I can't see who Matsumoto is out with. Then Legein and Beaulieu go on the ice with Mormina & Marshall.

As the penalty expires, we get matching minors so we're at 4 on 4.

BAH. Too many men on the ice = SH again. Kaspar sits. We're at 4 on 3 briefly, then we'll go to 5 on 4.

We have yet to get a PP and we're halfway through regulation time.

Finalmente! We get a PP! Maroon comes close to halving the deficlt, but no joy.

Back to even strength and HELLO, EARTH TO REF, Hamilton just slew-footed our goalie! Ref lets it go. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

At the end of the second period, the score remains 2-0, TO.

Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies 10-30-09: First Period

2009-10-30T19:43:00.002-04:00

This game's box score can be found HERE on the AHL's site.

Legein is replacing Laliberte, who has been called up, on the Matsumoto line. Riopel is starting, with the called-up Teslak as backup. Backlund is sick. Flu is hitting both the Phantoms & Marlies

We give up the first goal as the forward Hamilton cashes in his own rebound.

At the time of the second TO goal, we are being outshot 12-3. Not what any of us had in mind, I'm sure. :(

Rob Bellamy is in his first game of the season after being injured in training camp. Logan Stephenson is in the lineup, following the loss of Randy Jones on recall waivers.

We have also been assessed the first two penalties of the game. Dingle got two nice SH scoring chances.

At the end of the first period, TO leads 2-0 and is outshooting the Phantoms 14-4.

Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies 10-30-09: Pregame

2009-10-30T18:43:00.000-04:00

I won't be able to live blog the game in depth, as my main computer's hard drive died yesterday. (Again! Third freaking time since April! &*@^#!*&@^#) I will, however, take some in-game notes and post observations later.

For live game streaming, visit the WNYQ link, on the right-hand sidebar, for a free feed from the Phantoms' flagship radio station. Also, you can go to AHL Live for live game audio (free) or video streaming (fee). You can also follow Tim McManus's Twitter feed, which can e accessed via the sidebar on this blog.

GO PHANTOMS!

Laliberte gets called up to the Flyers

2009-10-30T17:54:00.000-04:00

All the Phantoms fan in me can say to this news is, "Wow!"

PSPhantoms: Phantoms best line gets broken up as David Laliberte gets called to Flyers to take Danny Briere's place.

For THIS, I'll bring my camera to tomorrow afternoon's Flyers game. If David Laliberte is in the lineup, I want to take game pictures.

More on Randy Jones

2009-10-29T23:59:00.001-04:00

The Phantoms website has THIS article detailing the loss of Randy Jones to a waiver claim.

Per various Twitter posts: Jones claimed by LA, Kings, Teslak called up due to Backlund's illness

2009-10-29T13:59:00.002-04:00

I see a post on Twitter from Tim McManus, the Phantoms beat writer, that says:

PSPhantoms: Teslak called up becuse Backlund is ill. He may not make trip to Toronto.

Meanwhile, I am still waiting to see a news article link, regarding the claiming of Randy Jones by the Los Angeles Kings, but several Philly hockey reporters have posted on Twitter about it.

tpanotch: La Kings claim randy jones.

tpanotch: "that,s the risk you take." holmgren on losing jones.

DNFlyers: I have confirmed though that Randy Jones was claimed by the Kings. Was this a handshake deal with Ron Hextall / Dean Lombardi?

FlyersOnTheFly: RT @LAKingsHockey: The #LAKings have claimed defenseman Randy Jones off waivers from the #Flyers.

Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! I was afraid this would happen. A player of his caliber, for only half his salary, was just too good for other NHL teams to pass up.

Sigh. :(

Jones on recall waivers; Phantoms recall Teslak

2009-10-28T18:26:00.003-04:00

According to THIS article on the Post-Star's Phantoms blog, the Flyers have put defenseman Randy Jones on recall waivers. If another team claims him, the Flyers will be responsible for half his salary for the remainder of his contract. Otherwise, he will be added to the Flyers roster.

Also, the Phantoms have recalled goaltender Michael-Lee Teslak from Elmira.

Phantoms Weekly Report (Week 5)

2009-10-27T17:17:00.000-04:00

HERE is the link to the latest Phantoms Weekly Report on the Phantoms website.

Flyers recall Oskars Bartulis

2009-10-26T21:35:00.002-04:00

According to THIS announcement on the Phantoms site, the Flyers have recalled defenseman Oskars Bartulis.

My first thought is to wonder if one of the three guys who have been rotating in the Flyers'7th D spot -- Ryan Parent, Danny Syvret, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen -- will be making his way north.

If not, the Phantoms still have enough D on hand that there'll be a healthy scratch, even with Bartulis in the Flyers lineup.

Phantoms at Albany River Rats, 10-24-09, Postgame

2009-10-25T02:35:00.001-04:00

HERE is the box score of this game from the AHL's site.

HERE and HERE are the posts from the Phantoms blog on the Post-Star site.

HERE is the game article from the Post-Star site.

HERE is the game recap from the Phantoms' site.

Here are the video links to the fights during the game: