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Phantoms Edge Cleveland 4-3

(PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 17, 2003) - Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves and Andre Savage had three assists as the Philadelphia Phantoms held on for a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Barons tonight at the First Union Spectrum.

John Slaney and Mark Greig each added a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which led 3-0 after two periods. The Phantoms have won 10 of their last 15 games to move two games over .500 (19-17-1-3) for the first time since they were 2-0 on Oct. 18.

Niittymaki won his third straight start as Philadelphia defeated the Barons for the first time in four tries since they moved to Cleveland last season. The Barons, who beat Philadelphia on Oct. 27, lost their 13th straight game and extended their road winless streak to 12 games (0-11-1).

The Phantoms made their first shot of the game a good one as Slaney netted his fourth goal of the year at the 3:57 mark of the opening period. On the power play, Savage worked the puck to Greig at the near side of the net and the team captain paused and found Slaney in the far circle. Slaney wound up and blasted a shot past Cleveland goaltender Vesa Toskala to make it 1-0.

David Harlock doubled Philadelphia’s lead with 3:52 to go in the first period. Savage won a face-off in the Barons zone and kicked it back to Harlock, who then sent a wrister into the top right corner of the net for his second of the year and first since Nov. 15 vs. Bridgeport.

Ian MacNeil got into the scoring column 3:16 into the second period to widen the gap to 3-0. Bruno St. Jacques took the initial shot on the play and the puck rebounded out to Slaney. The four-time AHL All-Star wristed the puck back through traffic and MacNeil deflected it past Toskala for his seventh of the season.

Tavis Hansen ruined Niittymaki’s shutout bid 1:36 into the third period when he netted his 11th goal of the year. Chad Wiseman and Patrick Rissmiller assisted on the play. The Barons then cut it to 3-2 at the 5:06 mark during a power play when Miroslav Zalesak’s centering pass deflected off Jeff Nelson’s skate and in. David Cloutier also assisted on Nelson’s third of the year.

But Philadelphia responded with a power-play goal of its own, 13 seconds after Rissmiller was sent off for hooking. Greig tallied his 19th of the season from the doorstep on the play, with assists going to Savage and Peter White at 7:20.

Graig Mischler’s power-play goal, his fifth, narrowed the gap to 4-3 with five minutes remaining and the Barons pulled Toskala with 1:27 to play but could not score the equalizer.

“We had a 3-0 lead but we weren’t happy with the way the game went,” said Phantoms head coach John Stevens. “We allowed the Barons back in. It was a good thing Niittymaki was sharp tonight and we held on. It was nice to get a couple of power-play goals, but we shouldn’t have given two up.”

Philadelphia plays at Norfolk on Saturday at 7:30p.m. before returning to the First Union Spectrum on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to face the Utah Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m. The Phantoms then visit Norfolk again next Friday and host the Grand Rapids Griffins at the First Union Center on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:05 p.m.

Phantoms Notes: Slaney’s goal snapped an 0-for-23 skid on the power play … Greig has 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last seven games … Philadelphia is 12-0-1 when scoring four goals or more ... The Phantoms' 15 shots tied a season low and their two shots in the third period is a season low ... St. Jacques had missed the last 11 games with a shoulder injury.