Saturday, February 10, 2007

HAMILTON, ONTARIO - The Philadelphia Phantoms power play had a two-for-three night, but two quick third-period goals were the difference for the Hamilton Bulldogs in a 4-2 win at Copps Coliseum on Saturday night. Stefan Ruzicka and Matt Ellison tallied for the Phantoms.

Hamilton took a 1-0 lead 11:14 into the opening period on a goal from Andrei Kostitsyn. But the Phantoms drew even less than five minutes later when Ruzicka notched his power play goal off assists from John Slaney and Ryan Potulny.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-1 lead 3:54 into the second period on Ellison's goal, set up by Boyd Kane and Nolan Baumgartner. The lead stood through most of the period, but Kyle Chipchura knotted it up again with 3:19 remaining in the second period.

Francis Lemieux recorded the game-winner with 12:07 gone in the third period when he snapped a shot from the left-wing faceoff circle during a rush into the zone. Less than two minutes later, at 13:49, Cory Urquhart provided insurance when he jumped on a blocked shot between the circles and fired a shot past the stick side of John DeCaro.

DeCaro, who was making his AHL debut, absorbed the loss with 29 saves on 33 shots. Jaroslav Halak earned the win with 21 stops on 23 Philadelphia chances.

The Phantoms will wrap up their three-game road trip tomorrow afternoon when they visit the Toronto Marlies at 4:00 at Ricoh Coliseum.

Philadelphia returns to the Wachovia Spectrum next Friday, Feb. 16 when they host the Portland Pirates on Country Craze Night. 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 2 at Hamilton Bulldogs 4 - Status: Unofficial Final
Feb 10, 2007 - Copps Coliseum

1st Period

Scoring - 1. Hamilton, A. Kostitsyn (19) (C. Urquhart) 11:14
2. Philadelphia, S. Ruzicka (12) (R. Potulny, J. Slaney) 16:06 PP
Penalties - N. Guenin Phi (elbowing) 0:29, E. Meloche Phi (cross-checking) 3:31, R. Cote Phi (fighting) 11:28, R. O'Byrne Ham (fighting) 11:28, D. Milroy Ham (holding) 15:48, T. Grant Phi (interference) 19:54

2nd Period

Scoring - 3. Philadelphia, M. Ellison (7) (B. Kane, N. Baumgartner) 3:54 PP
4. Hamilton, K. Chipchura (8) (J. Ferland, D. Jancevski) 16:41
Penalties - N. Guenin Phi (fighting) 3:04, J. Cote Ham (instigating, fighting, misconduct) 3:04, L. Jonsson Phi (diving 64.2) 4:35, M. D'Agostini Ham (hooking) 4:35, M. Davis Phi (cross-checking) 17:12

3rd Period

Scoring - 5. Hamilton, F. Lemieux (3) (D. Milroy, D. Jancevski) 12:07
6. Hamilton, C. Urquhart (1) (M. D'Agostini, A. Kostitsyn) 13:49
Penalties - B. Kane Phi (slashing) 3:45, D. Milroy Ham (tripping) 14:14

PHI Shots: 7 9 7 TOTAL: 23
HAM Shots: 15 9 9 TOTAL: 33

Power Play Conversion
Philadelphia Phantoms 2-3. Hamilton Bulldogs 0-5.

Goaltenders

Philadelphia Phantoms
DeCaro 0-0-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:38 SV: 29 GA: 4

Hamilton Bulldogs
Halak 14-11-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 56:39 SV: 21 GA: 2

Start : 7:08 PM
End : 9:27 PM

Attendance : 6263

Referee I: Jeff Smith (49)
Referee II:

LINESMAN I: Kevin Ferguson (31)
LINESMAN II: Todd Dawdy (65)