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Reid, Matsumoto lead Phantoms to victory

Darren Reid notched a pair of power play goals, and Jonathan Matsumoto added a goal and an assist to pace the Philadelphia Phantoms to a 4-3 victory over division rival Norfolk on Friday at the Wachovia Spectrum in the season opener for both teams.

The Phantoms also received multiple-point nights from Kyle Greentree and Jussi Timonen, who each posted two assists.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 3:13 mark of the 2nd period, on goals by Pete Zingoni, Reid, and Matsumoto, the latter two coming with the man-advantage.

Norfolk’s comeback attempt was led by Kyle Wanvig, who tallied two shorthanded goals, the second pulling the Admirals within a goal with just 1:03 remaining in the game. Wanvig scored 21 goals last season for Chicago and Springfield, and none of them were shorthanded.

Rookie Chris Lawrence, playing in his first professional game, scored Norfolk’s other goal on the night.

The teams combined for 17 power plays on the night, with Philadelphia going 3 for 10 and Norfolk 0 for 7.

Brian Boucher stopped 26 of 29 shots to secure the win in the Philadelphia net.

Karri Ramo made 26 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort for the Admirals.


ROCHESTER 6, SYRACUSE 4
Rochester jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Syracuse by the game’s halfway point and withstood a furious comeback by the Crunch to secure a 6-4 win on opening night at the Blue Cross Arena.

Anthony Stewart led the Americans offensively with two goals and an assist. Dan Collins also posted a three-point night for Rochester, tallying a goal and two helpers.

The Crunch entered the 3rd period in a 5-1 hole, but they received goals in the stanza from Joakim Lindstrom, Derek MacKenzie, and rookie Derick Brassard, who was selected 6th overall by Columbus in the 2006 draft.

However, Andrej Sekera connected on the power play for the Americans at 11:00 of the 3rd period to close the scoring.

In all, Rochester went 4 for 11 on the power play, while the Crunch were held scoreless on five opportunities.


SPRINGFIELD 3, PORTLAND 2
The Falcons scored goals within the first minute of both the 2nd and 3rd periods on their way to a 3-2 victory over the Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Stephane Goulet, Zack Stortini, and Viacheslav Trukhno found the back of the net for Springfield, who won in Kelly Buchberger’s debut as an AHL head coach.

Jason King tallied both of the Pirates’ goals on the evening, with Andrew Ebbett picking up the lone assist on both markers.

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made stopped 34 of the 36 shots sent his way to preserve the victory for the Falcons.