 |
Power
Play |
4TH
- 20.8 |
Penalty
Killing |
10TH
- 84.0 |
FORWARDS |
JARED
ROSS |
23-39-62
(+6) |
STEFAN
RUZICKA |
19-31-50
(-6) |
KYLE
GREENTREE |
24-24-48
(-7) |
DEFENSEMEN |
OSKARS
BARTULIS |
1-20-21
(+10) |
LARS
JONSSON |
5-13-18
(-12) |
DENIS
GAUTHIER |
3-15-18
(+16) |
GOALTENDERS |
SCOTT
MUNROE |
18-8-2
(4 SO)
2.29 GA
.918 PCT |
|
MARTIN
HOULE |
2-2-0
(0 SO)
2.85 GA
.892 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Philadelphia
vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
|
1 |
MAY
1 |
PHILADELPHIA
5 - WB/SCRANTON
2 |
SEED
2 |
2 |
MAY
3 |
PHILADELPHIA
4 - WB/SCRANTON 5 (OT) |
SEED
1 |
46-27-4-3
(99) |
3 |
MAY
5 |
WB/SCRANTON
3 - PHILADELPHIA
2 |
47-26-3-4
(101) |
| |
4 |
MAY
7 |
WB/SCRANTON
8 - PHILADELPHIA
4 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
9 |
PHILADELPHIA
1 - WB/SCRANTON 3 |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
10 |
WB/SCRANTON
at PHILADELPHIA |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
13 |
PHILADELPHIA
at WB/SCRANTON |
|
|
WB/Scranton
Leads Series 4-1 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW
|
| by
Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Philadelphia,
PA - The battle for Pennsylvania’s hockey supremacy
has taken another turn as the Philadelphia Phantoms and
the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins prepare to do battle
in the AHL's East Division finals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
has already dispatched the AHL's other Pennsylvania-based
team, the Hershey Bears in five games, while the Phantoms
won a hard-fought seven game series with the Albany River
Rats. Here is a look at how this series shakes up.
 |
Series overview
The Phantoms won the season series 7-3, but will go into
the series as slight underdogs. The Penguins will have
home ice in this series for winning first place. The Phantoms
finished in second only two points behind the Pens. Philadelphia
finished the season on a slight slump due to call-ups
to the Phantoms parent club, the Philadelphia Flyers,
but held their own as the season came to an end. The Phantoms
outscored the Pens 25-18, and were an efficient 22.2 percent
against them, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was a solid
16.7 percent against Philly. The Phantoms are tenth out
of sixteen teams in the playoffs in both special teams
categories, but were the fourth on the power play during
the season. The 'Pens are first overall after being twentieth
during the season.
The 'Pens outscored Hershey 22-10, while the Phantoms
were scored 12-11 by Albany.
Philadelphia – The Phantoms got past the first
round of the playoffs for the first time since Philly
won the Calder Cup in 2004-05 behind current Flyers Head
Coach John Stevens, their second in team history. That
year the Phantoms beat the 'Pens in five games in the
division finals The task this time will me much harder
against a confident Penguins team.
The Phantoms currently do not have a player in the top
20 in scoring, but Jared Ross leads the team with 3 goals
and 1 assist. Seven different players have scored so far
for the Phantoms. Ryan Potulny has two goals and was clutch
against Albany. None of the Phantoms defenseman have goals
so far.
Goaltender Scott Munroe has been the Phantoms best player
so far with a 1.29 goals against average and a .952 save
percentage.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton - The Penguins played great
against Hershey, but they will be tested even more so
against the Phantoms.
Tim Brent leads all playoff scorers with 5 goals and 6
assists (11 points). Teammate and rookie defenseman Alex
Goligoski is tied for second in the league with 8 points.
Chris Minard is having a great playoffs himself with 5
goals and 1 assist.
Rookie goaltender John Curry had a stellar season finishing
fifth overall in goals against (2.23) and tied for thirteenth
in save percentage (.915). So far so good this post-season
as Curry has a 1.97 goals against average and a .931 save
percentage. Prediction: Penguins in 7. This will be another
terrific series that should go the distance. The longer
the series goes, however, the better it could be for Philly
having already gone through a long series. The Phantoms
special teams must play the way they did during the season
or this series could end quickly in the same manner that
Hershey bowed out to the Pens offense. Still, the 'Pens
look very solid this playoff season. If Philly is to win,
it better be in six. Needless to say if the series goes
back to Scranton for a Game 7 give the edge to the 'Pens.
Contact the author at bjennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
|
Game
1 |
Philadelphia
5 - WB/Scranton 2 |
| by Brian Jennings -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Philadelphia
Leads Series 1-0 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA - The Philadelphia Phantoms got two goals and one assist from Stefan Ruzicka, and scored the first three goals of the game against goaltender John Curry as the Phantoms took Game 1 of the best-of-seven series 5-2 to take a 1-0 series lead.
The Phantoms scored the first three goals of the game by Jonathan Matsumoto, Jared Ross, and Ruzicka to take a 3-0 lead 5:23 into the second period. Thirteen was a lucky number for the Phantoms on this night as Ross and Ruzicka scored only 13 seconds apart. Connor James got the Penguins back to within two at 7:23 of the second, but Ruzicka scored on the power play with only 13 seconds left in the second period to give them a 4-2 lead heading into the second period.
Tim Brent scored his sixth goal of the playoffs at 13:11 of the third, but that was as close as the Penguins would get all night. Former St. Cloud State star Andres Nodl, who signed a pro contract just prior to the playoffs, got his first ever playoff goal with the empty net with only 24 seconds left in the game.
Game 2 will be also be in Scranton on Saturday night. Games 3 and 4 will be in Philadelphia on Monday and Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
2 |
Philadelphia
4 - WBS 5 (OT) |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Series
Tied 1-1 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA - Someone on the Philadelphia Phantoms must
have been paying too close attention to the Phantoms parent
club, the Philadelphia Flyers, because they did in Game
2 the one thing that the Flyers had done during their
recent playoffs, that's blow a lead.
The Phantoms held a 4-1 lead heading into the third period
but could not hold on to the lead as the Wilkes-Barre
Scranton Penguins got the game-tying goal with only 46
seconds left in the game, and got the game-winner in overtime
5-4 to tie the series at 1-1.
While most teams would take a split in another teams building,
this one will surely sting, especially if the Penguins
come back to win the series. All looked well for the Phantoms
by getting off to a 1-0 lead thanks to Ryan Potulny's
third goal of the playoffs to give the Phantoms a 1-0
lead.
The Penguins Chris Minard would tie the game at one in
the second period with his sixth goal of the playoffs
on the power play, the Penguins only special teams goal
on the night (1-7). Boyd Kane got the next two for the
Phantoms 1:07 apart, the first one on the power play as
well. The Phantoms would go 2 for 7 on the night.
Lars Jonsson got his first of the playoffs only 10 seconds
later to give what looked like a commanding 4-1 leading
heading into the third period. Tim Brent however continued
his hot streak scoring his seventh goal of the playoffs
at 3:36 to cut the Phantoms lead to 4-2.
Luca Caputi scored his second of the playoffs almost 10
minutes later to make it 4-3. Then, with the goaltender
pulled, Kurtis McLean picked a good time to score his
first goal of the playoffs to tie the game at 4-4. Then
the Penguins other hot goal scorer, Minard, scored only
2:07 into overtime and sent the 5,604 fans into a frenzy,
and the Phantoms back to Philadelphia shaking their heads
after blowing a chance to go up 2-0 in the series.
The Phantoms however go back home Monday and Wednesday
nights to redeem themselves to try and take control of
the series once again. In the mean time, it's Scranton
with the momentum shift in the series and hope to continue
their new-found fortune.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
3 |
WB/Scranton 3 - Philadelphia 2 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
WVB/Scranton
Leads Series 2-1 |
Philadelphia,
PA - In Game 2, it was the Philadelphia Phantoms
who blew a three-goal lead in the third period in an overtime
loss to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The shoe didn’t
quite fit in Game 3 as the Penguins had themselves a 3-0
lead heading into the third period but this time they
hung on for a 3-2 victory to take a 2-1 series lead.
Scranton scored three times in the first period thanks
to goals by Alain Nasreddine's second goal of the playoffs
and Connor James's goal 12 seconds later at 10:28 to shock
the home crowd of 4,131, and the Phantoms. Defenseman
Alex Goligoski scored with only 2:54 left in the first
period to give the Penguins a comfortable 3-0 lead as
Wilkes-Barre dominated Philly 19-2 in the shot department.
Neither team scored in the second period as both teams
only had five shots each in the period to keep the game
at 3-0.
Finally the Phantoms woke up with probably their best
period of the playoffs outshooting Scranton 17-3. Stefan
Ruzicka scored his fourth of the playoffs on the power
play at 7:58 to get the Phantoms closer at 3-1. Than 32
seconds later Jonathan Kalinski, a late addition to the
Phantoms squad, scored to make the game 3-2. Unfortunately
for the Phantoms, that would be as close the team would
get to take the 3-2 lose thanks to John Curry who was
stellar in net for the Penguins.
Game 4 will be Wednesday night in Philly as the Phantoms
attempt to even the series at 2-2.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
4 |
WB/Scranton 8 - Philadelphia 4 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
WB/Scranton
Leads Series 3-1 |
Philadelphia,
PA - If the Philadelphia Phantoms had any thoughts
of winning their series against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton
Penguins, they might have left the Wachovia Center as
the Penguins took control of Game 4 by defeating the Phantoms
8-4, and now has a commanding 3-1 series lead heading
into Friday night's Game 5 back in Scranton.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead and put the Phantoms in a
hole early thanks to goals by Tim Brent, who is becoming
a leading candidate for playoff MVP with his eighth goal
of the playoffs, five minutes into the first period on
the power play. Mark Ardelan would extend the lead 10:22
later.
That goal seemed to have awaken the Phantoms, at least
temporarily, as Darroll Powe got his first of the playoffs
with 2:16 left in the first period. Jared Ross tied the
game at 2-2 with his fifth of the playoffs only 19 seconds
into the second period on the power play. It looked like
the game might have a chance at being a long one with
the Phantoms tying the game, but from there on in, it
was all Penguins.
It took only eight seconds after Ross's goal to dampen
the mood as Ryan Stone scored to give the Penguins the
lead again at 3-2. Dustin Jeffrey scored his first of
the playoffs to give the Pens a 4-2 lead and the route
was on.
Boyd Kane did get his fourth of the playoffs to cut the
lead to 4-3, but Scranton scored the game's next four
goals of the game to put a stranglehold on the game, and
possibly the series. The Penguins scored five of their
eight goals in the second period alone. The Phantoms did
outshoot Wilkes-Barre 12-4 in the third period, but could
only muster one goal in the period.
Stone had two goals and an assist to be named the star
of the game. Brent and Ardelan were named the second and
third stars, respectively.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
5 |
Philadelphia 1 - WB/Scranton 3 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
WB/Scranton
Wins Series 3-1 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA - Following the lead of the NHL parent club,
the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Philadelphia
Phantoms 3-1 and finished off the their arch rivals to
win the series 4-1 and move on to the conference finals.
With the exception of Game 1, the Penguins took control
of the game early and made the most of their opportunities.
The first period Scranton did what they do best and controlled
play for the most part of the period outshooting Philly
13-7, and scored the game's first goal thanks to Dustin
Jeffrey with 46 second left in the period to take a 1-0
lead.
This time the Phantoms woke up in the remaining two periods.
Philly would tie the game at 1-1 on Darren Reid’s first
goal of the playoffs. Chris Minard however shifted momentum
back to Scranton with a goal 5:20 later to give the Penguins
the go ahead goal heading into the third period.
The Phantoms held Scranton to only two shots in the third
period, but allowed a goal by Tim Wallace that seemed
to have taken the sails out of any momentum Philly hoped
to gain. Than Phantoms were shut down the rest of the
night with only six shots in the third period and all
the Penguins had left to do was celebrate another series
victory.
The Penguins head into the conference finals as the favorite
to make the Calder Cup finals as they will now face the
Portland Pirates starting Wednesday night in Scranton.
Portland eliminated the Providence Bruins in six games.
Only two series are still in play in the league with Rockford
leading Chicago 3-2 and Syracuse leading Toronto 3-2 as
well. If both teams in the lead win their respective series
it will mean that the Penguins will be the only division
winner to have moved on to the final four in the AHL.
Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Power
Play |
20TH
- 15.2 |
Penalty
Killing |
5TH
- 84.7 |
FORWARDS |
TIM
BRENT |
18-43-61
(+11) |
KURTIS
McLEAN |
22-32-54
(+14) |
NATHAN
SMITH |
22-28-50
(-6) |
DEFENSEMEN |
ALEX
GOLIGOSKI |
10-28-38
(+15) |
MARK
ARDELAN |
7-20-27
(-2) |
BEN
LOVEJOY |
2-18-20
(+16) |
GOALTENDERS |
JOHN
CURRY |
24-12-3
(3 SO)
2.23 GA
.915 PCT |
|
DAVID
BROWN |
9-7-1
(0 SO)
2.34 GA
.913 PCT |
|
|
|
