Ben Stafford scored two goals 51 seconds apart to help Philadelphia to a 4-2 win over visiting Hershey at the Wachovia Center on Friday night, allowing the Phantoms to tie an AHL record with their 16th consecutive victory.
Philadelphia can surpass the 1984-85 Skipjacks’ mark with another win over the Bears, as the teams meet Saturday night at the Giant Center.
Dennis Seidenberg and Freddy Meyer gave the Phantoms a 2-0 lead, but Brett Clark had cut the Bears’ deficit in half before Stafford struck at 17:56 and 18:47 of the second period.
Antero Niittymaki made nine of his 19 saves in the third period to preserve the victory, Philadelphia’s 15th straight against Hershey.
Attendance was 11,064.
Elsewhere on Friday:
Adam Hauser made 28 saves as Manchester won its ninth in a row and 16th out of 17, blanking Portland, 6-0… Simon Gamache had a goal and two assists as Milwaukee rebounded from Wednesday’s loss to defeat Edmonton, 4-1… Utah scored four times in the third period to take a 5-3 win in Houston, the Grizzlies’ first regulation win of the season… Antoine Vermette had two assists and scored 2:43 into overtime to give Binghamton a 4-3 win over Rochester… Richard Seeley and Justin Mapletoft scored 2:47 apart as Bridgeport struck three times in the third period to defeat Hartford, 3-1… Chris Kelleher and Michel Ouellet each recorded a goal and two assists in the third period as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ran its points streak to 13 games (8-0-3-2) with a 3-2 win over Syracuse… Carlo Colaiacovo recorded three assists for St. John’s in a 5-1 victory at Hamilton… Travis Roche scored two goals to help Chicago beat Grand Rapids, 3-1… Chuck Kobasew had two goals and an assist and Brent Krahn made 27 saves as Lowell defeated Worcester, 4-0… Keith Aucoin picked up a goal and an assist for Providence in a 2-1 win over Norfolk… Shane Joseph scored with 3:57 to go in regulation, lifting Cleveland past Cincinnati, 3-2… Nikita Alexeev registered a goal and two assists as Springfield edged Albany, 4-3.
Philadelphia’s 16-game winning streak:
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | Oct. 22 | vs. Hamilton | W, 5-3 |
| 2 | Oct. 23 | at Hershey | W, 3-2 (OT) |
| 3 | Oct. 27 | vs. Bridgeport | W, 5-0 |
| 4 | Oct. 29 | at Hamilton | W, 4-1 |
| 5 | Nov. 3 | vs. Cincinnati | W, 4-2 |
| 6 | Nov. 5 | vs. Hershey | W, 4-1 |
| 7 | Nov. 7 | vs. Cincinnati | W, 3-1 |
| 8 | Nov. 12 | vs. W-B/Scranton | W, 3-2 (SO) |
| 9 | Nov. 13 | at Binghamton | W, 3-2 |
| 10 | Nov. 14 | vs. Norfolk | W, 3-2 (OT) |
| 11 | Nov. 17 | vs. Binghamton | W, 2-1 (SO) |
| 12 | Nov. 19 | vs. Bridgeport | W, 3-1 |
| 13 | Nov. 20 | at Albany | W, 4-3 (OT) |
| 14 | Nov. 21 | at Providence | W, 4-3 (OT) |
| 15 | Nov. 24 | vs. Providence | W, 4-1 |
| 16 | Nov. 26 | vs. Hershey | W, 4-2 |
