Ad SJSports Online
High School Links

Ice Hockey Links

Ice Hockey Spotlight:
Phantoms Top Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
League's Top Team Dispatched 3-2

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

By Brian Smith
Philadelphia Phantoms Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA - Tony Voce and Marc Cavosie each registered a goal and an assist to lead the Philadelphia Phantoms to a 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Wachovia Spectrum on Wednesday night.

After a scoreless first period, Tony Voce started things off with a power play goal just 1:01 into the second. Captain John Slaney orchestrated the play with a nifty pass to Cavosie down the right wing boards. Cavosie then dished the puck to Voce in the low slot, and the Philly native backhanded home his ninth of the season.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton evened it up on the power play at 8:02 when Jonathan Filewich stepped out in front and shoveled in the tying goal. But the Phantoms regained the lead just 31 seconds later when Brent Kelly knocked the rebound of a blue line bomb from Stephen Wood, making it a 2-1 game.

Philadelphia took a two-goal lead into the second intermission thanks to a Marc Cavosie power play goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the second period. Cavosie fired a cannon from the high center slot that caromed off the left pad of Penguins goaltender Dany Sabourin and into the back of the cage.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton cut the deficit back to a goal while on the power play at the 4:39 mark of the third period. Erik Christensen was in front on the left post and scored on a one-timer off a feed from Sean Collins. But that was as close as the Penguins would get.

Jamie Storr took the win for Philadelphia with 29 saves on 31 shots faced. One of those scoring attempts came on a penalty shot with 4:41 to go in the second, as Storr held the fort on a Ryan Stone bid. Dany Sabourin absorbed his fourth regulation defeat of the year with 22 saves on 25 shots. The win was the first for the Phantoms in six games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and was just the eighth regulation loss of the season for the Penguins.

NHL veteran referee Dan Marouelli, one of four NHL referees who will officiate games at the Winter Olympics, worked the game as part of a program where the four officials are polishing their skills in the AHL's one-referee system in preparation for using that same protocol in Torino.


Copyright South Jersey Sports Online Inc.