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Phantoms Rout Barons 6-3

(CLEVELAND, March 29, 2003) - Ladislav Kohn, Mike Siklenka and Patrick Sharp all recorded a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Phantoms cruised to a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Barons this afternoon at Gund Arena.

Defensemen Brad Tiley and David Harlock each added two assists, while Mark Greig, Mike Lephart and Peter Vandermeer scored the other goals for Philadelphia, which started the game around 14 ½ hours after ending Friday’s 3-2 overtime win in Cincinnati. The Phantoms are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games overall and have captured five of their last eight road games.

Goaltender Neil Little made 23 saves to improve to 6-1-1 in his last eight starts. The Phantoms attempted a season-high 49 shots on goal and recorded their highest offensive output since a 6-5 overtime win over Milwaukee on Nov. 22.

With the win, Philadelphia (76 points) remained in a tie for ninth place in the Western Conference with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which defeated Syracuse 5-2. The Phantoms also pulled within one point of eighth-place Utah and two points away from Milwaukee, which is in seventh.

Making his ninth consecutive start, Cleveland goaltender Seamus Kotyk made 43 saves in defeat. The Barons lost their eighth straight game overall and their sixth in a row at home.

Philadelphia took control early in the game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Greig opened the scoring at 4:38 when he took a cross-ice pass from Kirk Furey, put a move on a Barons defenseman and beat Kotyk for his 30th goal of the season. Greig extended his current point streak to eight games and reached the 30-goal plateau for the fifth time in his pro career.

Lephart doubled the lead at 8:50 with his sixth goal of the season. Tiley and Ian MacNeil worked the puck to Lephart at the far post and the second-year right wing took a couple of whacks at the puck before placing it past Kotyk for his first score since Feb. 8 at Hershey.

Kohn widened the gap to 3-0 with 6:36 to go in the first period - nine seconds after Cleveland’s Kevin Mitchell was sent off for high sticking. After taking a pass from Harlock, Jim Vandermeer took the initial shot on the play and Kohn followed in the rebound for his 12th of the year and fourth as a Phantom.

Graig Mischler’s 10th of the year put Cleveland on the board with six minutes left in the period, but Philadelphia responded with a pair of goals in the second to move ahead 5-1. Peter Vandermeer tallied his fourth of the season at 3:28 when Kotyk couldn’t control a shot by Siklenka. Andre Savage also picked up an assist on the play.

Siklenka later made it 5-1 at 11:38 - this time eight seconds after an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Cleveland’s Chad Wiseman. Sharp and Kohn set up Siklenka’s sixth of the season and first since Feb. 7 vs. Hamilton. Philadelphia finished with 23 shots during the second stanza, which is a season high for a period.

Tavis Hansen cut the deficit to 5-2 at 9:38 of the third period with his 20th of the season, but Sharp answered with a power-play goal, his 13th, at 12:47. Harlock and Kirby Law assisted on the play. Pat Rissmiller’s 13th goal capped the scoring with 4:33 remaining.

Philadelphia now plays four of its final five games at home, beginning on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. vs. the Norfolk Admirals. The Phantoms then host Syracuse on Wednesday and Hershey on Friday before playing at Hershey next Saturday and ending the season at home vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday, April 6.

Phantoms Notes: Philadelphia’s previous season high for shots in a game was 42, accomplished on Feb. 21 vs. Albany and matched on Friday at Cincinnati … The Phantoms’ previous season high for shots in a period was 19, set in the third period of their first visit to Cleveland on Feb. 11 … Greig had his seven-game assist streak come to an end … Philadelphia won the season series 2-1-1 and posted its first career win at Cleveland in three tries vs. the Barons … Sharp has 11 points (2G, 9A) in his last 10 games … Greig has 14 points (4G, 10A) in his last eight games … Philadelphia is 21-0-2 when scoring four goals or more … The Phantoms' three power-play goals is a season high.

Saturday, March 29, 2003