Things could only go up for the Phantoms back on November 29th when they lost 9-0 to the rival Hershey Bears. So heading into one of those typical AHL three-game weekends, the Phantoms decided to start a little win streak.
It started off Friday night when they played host to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Spectrum. Jared Ross broke a scoreless tie early in the second period to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead. The rough stuff started a few minutes later, as two fights would break out less than two minutes apart from one another. Claude Giroux then took a holding penalty at 7:19, and on the ensuing power play, 20-year-old Artem Anisimov scored his 9th goal of the season to tie things up.
Philly would retake the lead shortly after however on Ross’ second goal of the night and his 8th of the year. The good guys would head into the locker room with a 3-2 advantage, but the Wolf Pack would quickly tie things up on the power play as Anisimov scored his second of the game. The Phantoms wouldn’t look back, however, and quickly reeled off three goals in five minutes, including the game-winner from highly-touted rookie Claude Giroux.
On Saturday night, the Phantoms took to the Spectrum ice once again against the Binghamton Senators as Patrick Maroon led the club to victory with a five point night. His hat trick and two assists complimented another quality performance by Ross, who notched a goal and an assist.
The team would leave their friendly South Philly confines for a late afternoon tilt on Sunday against in-state rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but the change in scenary would not change the outcome on the scoreboard. After falling behind 1-0 early on a Connor James power-play goal, the Phantoms put the pedal to the metal and scored four unanswered goals en route to the 4-1 victory. It was the same crew doing the damage for Philly as Giroux scored twice on two assists from Ross and Maroon also scored his 11th. The win improved the Phantoms to 15-11-0 on the season, good for third in the East Division, while WBS dropped to 13-10-1 and fourth place with the loss.
With all the good vibes flowing, the team decided to give back to the community a little bit, while at the same time poking some fun at their parent club. Scott Hartnell wiill be a good sport and help the Phantoms out with their “Scott Hartnell Glove and Mitten Toss.” From phantomshockey.com:
It was one of those moments that a player wants to forget as quickly as possible. But now that his glove toss from Tuesday night’s game has come and gone and no harm came of it, Flyers winger Scott Hartnell will be helping the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, create some goodwill out of the moment. Hartnell will be lending a Helping Hand to the Phantoms during a great charitable evening on Sunday, December 14th when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins visit the Wachovia Spectrum at 5:05 PM.On that evening, the Phantoms will stage the Scott Hartnell Glove And Mitten Toss. Hartnell will be on hand as he and the Phantoms collect new gloves and mittens for those in need this holiday season. All fans are asked to bring a new pair of gloves or mittens…
