The Adirondack Phantoms took a 2-1 victory over the Springfield Falcons on Friday night at The Nest in Springfield, snapping the Falcons win streak at three games.
The game, as the score indicates, was really an evenly played, defensive battle.
The difference in the game was a Martin St. Pierre turnover on a Falcon power play, in which Jonathan Kalinski of the Phantoms intercepted St. Pierre’s pass and took off on a clean breakaway from his own blue line and ate Danny Taylor alive.
Worse yet, the shorthanded goal came with just 26 seconds left in the first period.
All the scoring took place in the first period. Both teams had six days off, and while neither club played poorly in the opening stanza, neither team was able to take charge of the game either.
Garrett Klotz, a recent addition to the Phantoms lineup, notched the first goal of the game at 2:37 of the period. Klotz headed to the Springfield net on a two on one, elected to keep the puck and take the shot. The shot rolled up Danny Taylor’s arm and shoulder and fell just inside the cage.
The Falcons power play (12th in the AHL at the start of the night) tied the game at 8:17 when Cam Atkinson converted for his fourth goal of the season. Atkinson took a beautiful cross ice combination feed from Martin St. Pierre and Nick Drazenovic to knot the game at one.
The play was hard nosed, but for the most part clean. The Phantoms served eight minors, while the Falcons served six. There were no major penalties in the game. Shots on goal for the night reflected the defensive nature of the game: Adirondack – 24, Springfield – 21.
The Falcons are now off until next Friday night, when they host the Portland Pirates.