Philadelphia Phantoms Blank Norfolk Admirals 1-0, Inch Closer to Snagging Playoff Spot - AHL

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Phantoms goaltender Martin Houle made 23 saves to shut out the Norfolk Admirals and anchor a 1-0 win at the Wachovia Spectrum on Wednesday night.  Pete Zingoni scored the goal for the Phantoms, who moved within a point of clinching a playoff berth for the first time since their 2004-05 Calder Cup championship season. 

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The only goal of the night came 4:56 into the game while the Phantoms were on their first power play.  Jared Ross was in the right circle and played a puck that hit Pete Zingoni’s skate and bounced to his stick.  Zingoni pushed the puck past Marc Denis for his 20^th goal of the season, which gave Philadelphia the 1-0 lead that would stand for more than 55 minutes.

 

The Phantoms outshot the Admirals 39-23 on the night, but the shot margin was 37-15 when Norfolk went on a power play with 8:08 to play.  The Ads put seven shots on goal during that man-advantage, but Houle turned away all of them.

 

Denis was almost as stellar at the other end, stopping 38 of 39 shots in taking the loss.  It was Houle’s second career shutout of the Admirals – he also did it with a career-high 39 saves on March 29, 2006 when the Phantoms won 5-0 at the Spectrum.

 

 The evening ended with the Phantoms on the playoff doorstep and with the East Division even tighter than it was this morning.  Manchester beat Bridgeport 5-1, which combines with the Philadelphia win to reduce the Phantoms magic number to one point.   In Wilkes-Barre, the Albany River Rats beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-3 in a shootout.  As a result, the Phantoms and Penguins are tied for first place in the East Division with 92 points apiece, with Albany sitting three points back in third place.

 

Norfolk Admirals 0 at Philadelphia Phantoms 1 - Status: Final
Apr 2, 2008 - Wachovia Spectrum
1st Period
Scoring - 1. Philadelphia, P. Zingoni (20) (J. Ross) 4:56 PP
Penalties - S. Ruzicka Phi (high-sticking) 1:05, D. Tyrell Nor (holding the stick) 4:09, M. Egener Nor (hooking) 8:45, N. Guenin Phi (interference) 11:10, V. Mihalik Nor (interference) 18:44

2nd Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - J. DeSantis Phi (interference) 2:00, N. Guenin Phi (holding) 9:07, D. Koci Nor (holding) 17:37

3rd Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - D. Schneider Nor (holding) 10:10, N. Guenin Phi (holding) 12:52, M. Egener Nor (slashing) 16:28

NOR Shots: 7 6 10 TOTAL: 23
PHI Shots: 14 13 12 TOTAL: 39

Power Play Conversion
Norfolk Admirals 0-5. Philadelphia Phantoms 1-6.

Goaltenders
Norfolk Admirals
Denis 9-16-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:53 SV: 38 GA: 1 [L]


Philadelphia Phantoms
Houle 2-3-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 23 GA: 0 [W]



Start : 7:03 PM
End : 9:14 PM
Attendance : 5967
Referee I: Ryan Fraser (14)
Referee II:
LINESMAN I: Leo Boylan (97)
LINESMAN II: Matt McNulty (26)

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