A few things to prepare you for when the Devils and Phantoms take to the ice at Glens Falls Civic Center:
-Season: This is the 12th and final meeting between the Northway rivals, with the Devils holding on to a 6-5 lead. Last meeting was April 1st in the North Country, a resounding 9-5 victory by Adirondack. If the Devils win or tie at the end of regulation, they clinch the 2nd annual Time Warner Cable Cup. A Phantoms victory would tie the series at 6 all, but Adirondack would take the Cup based on standings points (or goal differential then home wins if the tiebreakers went that far).
-Standings: The Phantoms are in 8th place in the East Division with a record of 29-37-4-6 and 68 points, just one point behind Albany. The Devils are in 7th with a 32-39-1-4 mark and 69 points, just 2 points behind 6th place Syracuse.
-Scoring: Adirondack is lead by Denis Hamel with 47 points (25 G, 22 A) and Erik Gustafsson with 45 points (5 G, 40 A). With Michael Leighton back in Philly on re-entry waivers, looks like Johan Backlund will be making the start tonight. Still awaiting who will back him up with the other 2 goalie prospects (Nic Riopel in Greenville and Brian Stewart in Bakersfield) starting in the ECHL playoffs. On the visiting side…Matt Anderson still on top of the leaderboard with 53 points (22 G, 31 A), still behind him is Adam Henrique with 49 points (25 G, 24 A). After an outstanding showing in a shootout win on Sunday, I wonder if Dave Caruso will get another start in goal considering everyone is playing for pride. But Mike McKenna did promise a little salute to the Phantom faithful if he took #1 star honors so…we will have to see.
Game time: 7 PM. Final home game for Adirondack, and it’s Day 6 of 9 Days of Devils. I’ll be making the trek up and providing all the entertainment (and hopefully this time more of it in my vantage point).
Thoughts Inside The Box 