Saturday, January 20, 2007

ALBANY, NY - Albany River Rats left wing Cody McLeod scored a natural hat trick in the first period on Saturday night to power his club to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms at the Times-Union Center in Albany. John Slaney scored for the Phantoms to pick up his 499th career American Hockey League point.

McLeod's feat lifted the River Rats to a 3-0 lead at the first intermission. He picked up his first goal just 57 seconds into the game when he deflected a shot by Shane Willis past Martin Houle. The second goal came at 8:23 after he was able to get around the Phantoms blueliners. McLeod walked in and lifted a shot over Houle's glove to make it 2-0.

McLeod completed the hat trick at 18:29 of the opening frame after Houle had stopped a chance in front. McLeod pulled the puck out of the scrum and cleaned up the garbage, flipping it home for the 3-0 advantage.

Matt Murley made it a 4-0 game 44 seconds into the second period with a power play tally. Ryan Bayda played a shot from the left side that Houle stopped, but the rebound came right to Murley on the right post. He tucked it in the open net.

Philadelphia broke the shutout bid of goaltender Justin Peters with a third-period power play goal by Slaney. He got a piece of a Nolan Baumgartner shot to cross up Peters and put the Phantoms on the board. The goal put Slaney one point away from becoming the first defenseman in AHL history to score 500 points in league play.

Houle took the loss with 23 saves on 27 Albany shots. Peters earned the win with 24 saves on 25 Philadelphia chances.

The Phantoms return home to close out the weekend on Sunday, when they'll host Norfolk on Peter Forsberg Bobblehead Day at the Spectrum at 5:05 PM. The first 4,000 fans will take home a Peter Forsberg bobblehead courtesy of Toyota. Philadelphia then hosts Hershey this Wednesday night, January 24 at 7:05 PM.

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 1 at Albany River Rats 4 - Status: Unofficial Final

Jan 20, 2007 - Times Union Center

1st Period

Scoring - 1. Albany, C. McLeod (3) (S. Willis, K. Aucoin) 0:57
2. Albany, C. McLeod (4) (M. Flood, T. Conboy) 8:23
3. Albany, C. McLeod (5) (S. Willis, K. Aucoin) 18:29

Penalties - N. Dimitrakos Phi (boarding) 4:32, B. Kane Phi (hooking) 13:37, N. Baumgartner Phi (slashing) 14:33, R. Cote Phi (unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00

2nd Period

Scoring - 4. Albany, M. Murley (11) (R. Bayda, M. Angelidis) 0:44 PP
Penalties - D. Printz Phi (roughing, fighting) 2:46, D. DaSilva Alb (goaltender interference, fighting) 2:46, S. Ruzicka Phi (charging) 3:42, S. Willis Alb (slashing) 3:42, T. Voce Phi (slashing) 7:40, E. Meloche Phi (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct - abuse of officials 40.4, game misconduct - abuse of officials 40.5) 9:18

3rd Period

Scoring - 5. Philadelphia, J. Slaney (3) (N. Baumgartner, M. Cullen) 11:37 PP
Penalties - J. Slaney Phi (hooking) 1:35, P. Dwyer Alb (tripping) 10:59, T. Conboy Alb (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct) 19:26

PHI Shots: 4 8 13 TOTAL: 25
ALB Shots: 13 8 6 TOTAL: 27

Power Play Conversion
Philadelphia Phantoms 1-2. Albany River Rats 1-7.

Goaltenders

Philadelphia Phantoms
Houle 6-9-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:56 SV: 23 GA: 4

Albany River Rats
Peters 6-14-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:55 SV: 24 GA: 1

Start : 5:03 PM
End : 7:24 PM

Attendance : 6427

Referee I: David Banfield (85)
Referee II:

LINESMAN I: Jim Harper (59)
LINESMAN II: Mike Emanatian (69)