GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: CALGARY (14-18) at CAROLINA (16-16)

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Defenseman Dion Phaneufrefused to allow the Calgary Flames to suffer a letdown.

One day after an offensive eruption by his team, Phaneuf snappeda tie midway through the third period and also added an assistas the Flames skated to a 4-3 victory over the CarolinaHurricanes on Friday.


Kristian Huselius, Dustin Boyd and captain Jarome Iginla alsoscored for Calgary, which provided coach Mike Keenan with his600th career win.


The Flames extended their winning streak to three gamesThursday, when Huselius and Iginla each recorded a hat trick ina 9-6 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this one,Calgary never trailed but also failed to preserve three one-goalleads until the latter stages of the third period.

Matthew Lombardi won a faceoff in the left circle, drawing thepuck back to Phaneuf, whose snap shot from the top of the circlesailed between the pads of goaltender Cam Ward at 11:48 of thesession, giving the Flames a 4-3 edge.


Carolina had tied the contest for a third time at 7:19 of thethird, when Matt Cullen split a pair of defenders just insidethe blue line, skated to the top of the slot and beat netminderMiikka Kiprusoff to the stick side with a wrist shot during apower play for his seventh tally of the season.


Fresh off his first career hat trick, Huselius opened thescoring at 4:56 of the first, picking up the puck in the neutralzone and sliding it between Ward's pads during a breakaway forhis 13th goal.


Chad LaRose drew the Hurricanes even less than a minute later,however, flipping a backhander past Kiprusoff from the doorstepoff the rebound of Cullen's shot at 5:53.


Boyd beat Ward from alone in front with 5:51 remaining in thesecond session after Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin'sclearing attempt up the middle of the ice was stopped at theblue line, giving Calgary a 2-1 advantage. But Craig Adams'snap shot from the right circle sneaked between Kiprusoff's leftarm and body 73 seconds later, knotting the contest at 2-2.

Entering with six goals in his previous four games, Iginla putthe Flames ahead during a man advantage early in the third,blasting a slap shot from above the right circle inside the leftgoalpost 25 seconds into the period for a 3-2 lead.

Defenseman Adrian Aucoin registered a pair of assists andKiprusoff made 33 saves for Calgary, which improved to 4-0-0 onits six-game road trip.


Cullen set up a pair of tallies and Ward stopped 17 shots forthe Hurricanes, who have allowed 15 goals during their currentthree-game slide.

 

NHL: CALGARY at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Calgary 1 1 2 --4
Carolina 1 1 1 --3
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Calgary, Kristian Huselius 13 (Daymond
Langkow), 4:56. 2, Carolina, Chad Larose 4 (Matt Cullen, Trevor
Letowski), 5:53. Penalties: M Smith, Cgy (holding stick), 2:22; D
Hale, Cgy (interference), 6:41; J Iginla, Cgy (high sticking), 19:36.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Calgary, Dustin Boyd 2 (Adrian Aucoin),
14:09. 4, Carolina, Craig Adams 1 (Tim Gleason, Matt Cullen), 15:22.
Penalties: D Phaneuf, Cgy (roughing), 1:37; E Staal, Car (high
sticking), 5:27; B Hedican, Car (holding stick), 8:10; M Smith, Cgy
(tripping), 18:17; E Cole, Car (tripping), 19:21.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Calgary, Jarome Iginla 21 (power play)
(Adrian Aucoin, Dion Phaneuf), 0:25. 6, Carolina, Matt Cullen 7 (power
play) (Rod Brind'Amour), 7:19. 7, Calgary, Dion Phaneuf 6 (Matthew
Lombardi), 11:48. Penalties: C Sarich, Cgy (high sticking), 6:36; O
Nolan, Cgy (interference), 13:30; D Phaneuf, Cgy (high sticking),
16:12.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Calgary 7 9 5 --21
Carolina 16 11 9 --36
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Calgary - 1 of 3, Carolina - 1 of 8. Goalies :
Calgary, Miikka Kiprusoff (36 shots, 33 saves; record: 15-11-5).
Carolina, Cam Ward (21 shots, 17 saves; record: 14-10-2). A: 15,536.
Referees: Mike Hasenfratz, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Derek Mansen,
Pierre Racicot.</div>

 

NHL: CALGARY at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
CALGARY 1 1 2 --4
CAROLINA 1 1 1 --3
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Calgary, Kristian Huselius 13 (Daymond
Langkow), 4:56. 2, Carolina, Chad Larose 4 (Matt Cullen, Trevor
Letowski), 5:53. Penalties: M Smith, Cgy (holding stick), 2:22; D
Hale, Cgy (interference), 6:41; J Iginla, Cgy (high sticking), 19:36.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Calgary, Dustin Boyd 2 (Adrian Aucoin),
14:09. 4, Carolina, Craig Adams 1 (Tim Gleason, Matt Cullen), 15:22.
Penalties: D Phaneuf, Cgy (roughing), 1:37; E Staal, Car (high
sticking), 5:27; B Hedican, Car (holding stick), 8:10; M Smith, Cgy
(tripping), 18:17; E Cole, Car (tripping), 19:21.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Calgary, Jarome Iginla 21 (power play)
(Adrian Aucoin, Dion Phaneuf), 0:25. 6, Carolina, Matt Cullen 7 (power
play) (Rod Brind'Amour), 7:19. 7, Calgary, Dion Phaneuf 6 (Matthew
Lombardi), 11:48. Penalties: C Sarich, Cgy (high sticking), 6:36; O
Nolan, Cgy (interference), 13:30; D Phaneuf, Cgy (high sticking),
16:12.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
CALGARY 7 9 5 --21
CAROLINA 16 11 9 --36
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: CGY - 1 of 3, CAR - 1 of 8. Goalies : Calgary,
Miikka Kiprusoff (36 shots, 33 saves; record: 15-11-5). Carolina, Cam
Ward (21 shots, 17 saves; record: 14-10-2). A: 15,536. Referees: Mike
Hasenfratz, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Derek Mansen, Pierre Racicot.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

CALGARY CAROLINA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
O Nolan 0 0 -1 1 J Williams 0 0 -1 3
J Iginla 1 0 +1 1 E Staal 0 0 even 3
M Smith 0 0 even 0 R Whitney 0 0 -1 3
E Godard 0 0 even 0 R Brind'Amour 0 1 -1 5
M Lombardi 0 1 -1 0 T Letowski 0 1 even 0
K Huselius 1 0 +1 4 G Wesley 0 0 even 0
D Hale 0 0 +2 1 E Cole 0 0 -1 5
D Langkow 0 1 +1 0 C Adams 1 0 even 1
E Nystrom 0 0 -1 1 D Seidenberg 0 0 even 0
C Conroy 0 0 +1 0 T Gleason 0 1 +1 2
Ro Regehr 0 0 even 2 D Tanabe 0 0 -2 0
D Phaneuf 1 1 even 3 F Kaberle 0 0 even 2
A Aucoin 0 2 +2 5 J Hamilton 0 0 even 0
A Tanguay 0 0 -1 0 C LaRose 1 0 +1 3
D Boyd 1 0 +1 2 B Hedican 0 0 +1 2
C Sarich 0 0 -1 1 C Stillman 0 0 -1 3
S Yelle 0 0 +2 0 N Wallin 0 0 -2 1
A Eriksson 0 0 -1 0 M Cullen 1 2 +1 3
M Nilson HEAD INJURY S Walker SUSPENDED NHL
D Moss ANKLE INJURY M Commodore FINGER INJURY
A Pardy HEALTHY</div>

 

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Defenseman Dion Phaneufrefused to allow the Calgary Flames to suffer a letdown.

One day after an offensive eruption by his team, Phaneuf snappeda tie midway through the third period and also added an assistas the Flames skated to a 4-3 victory over the CarolinaHurricanes on Friday.


Kristian Huselius, Dustin Boyd and captain Jarome Iginla alsoscored for Calgary, which provided coach Mike Keenan with his599th career win.


The Flames extended their winning streak to three gamesThursday, when Huselius and Iginla each recorded a hat trick ina 9-6 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this one,Calgary never trailed but also failed to preserve three one-goalleads until the latter stages of the third period.

Matthew Lombardi won a faceoff in the left circle, drawing thepuck back to Phaneuf, whose snap shot from the top of the circlesailed between the pads of goaltender Cam Ward at 11:48 of thesession, giving the Flames a 4-3 edge.


Carolina had tied the contest for a third time at 7:19 of thethird, when Matt Cullen split a pair of defenders just insidethe blue line, skated to the top of the slot and beat netminderMiikka Kiprusoff to the stick side with a wrist shot during apower play for his seventh tally of the season.


Fresh off his first career hat trick, Huselius opened thescoring at 4:56 of the first, picking up the puck in the neutralzone and sliding it between Ward's pads during a breakaway forhis 13th goal.


Chad LaRose drew the Hurricanes even less than a minute later,however, flipping a backhander past Kiprusoff from the doorstepoff the rebound of Cullen's shot at 5:53.


Boyd beat Ward from alone in front with 5:51 remaining in thesecond session after Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin'sclearing attempt up the middle of the ice was stopped at theblue line, giving Calgary a 2-1 advantage. But Craig Adams'snap shot from the right circle sneaked between Kiprusoff's leftarm and body 73 seconds later, knotting the contest at 2-2.

Entering with six goals in his previous four games, Iginla putthe Flames ahead during a man advantage early in the third,blasting a slap shot from above the right circle inside the leftgoalpost 25 seconds into the period for a 3-2 lead.

Defenseman Adrian Aucoin registered a pair of assists andKiprusoff made 33 saves for Calgary, which improved to 4-0-0 onits six-game road trip.


Cullen set up a pair of tallies and Ward stopped 17 shots forthe Hurricanes, who have allowed 15 goals during their currentthree-game slide.

 

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Defenseman Dion Phaneufrefused to allow the Calgary Flames to suffer a letdown.

One day after an offensive eruption by his team, Phaneuf snappeda tie midway through the third period and also added an assistas the Flames skated to a 4-3 victory over the CarolinaHurricanes on Friday.


Kristian Huselius, Dustin Boyd and captain Jarome Iginla alsoscored for Calgary, which provided coach Mike Keenan with his599th career win.


"It's a big win for our team, a big step in the rightdirection," Phaneuf said. "And we were playing a desperateteam. They were coming off a loss they weren't happy about. Itwas a big win for our team to be able to just keep plugging andplugging and plugging, and get the win and persevere through atough game of back-and-forth."


The Flames extended their winning streak to three gamesThursday, when Huselius and Iginla each recorded a hat trick ina 9-6 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this one,Calgary never trailed but also failed to preserve three one-goalleads until the latter stages of the third period.

"It was challenging because we were playing a very energizedteam that was desperate, and they went at it very hard tonight,"Keenan said. "We were a little bit tired, but I could see thatwe were making some mental mistakes because of fatigue."

"It was a real tough start for us because we knew they would becoming out and flying, which they were in the first period,"Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "We were able to weatherthat, and a lot of that was Miikka (Kiprusoff). He gave us achance to stay in the game, and from there, we did a better jobin the second and third periods in turning the tide a littlebit."


Matthew Lombardi won a faceoff in the left circle, drawing thepuck back to Phaneuf, whose snap shot from the top of the circlesailed between the pads of goaltender Cam Ward at 11:48 of thesession, giving the Flames a 4-3 edge.


"I had a little bit of time to get a shot off," Phaneuf said."I just tried to go five-hole, and luckily, it beat him."

"We found the way to get the winner," Calgary's Owen Nolanadded. "We're finding ways to win games. It was a differentfeel than last night, but it was still high-scoring."

Keenan credited Lombardi's ability to win the faceoff.

"It's the little parts of the game you try to improve upon whenyou can," Keenan said. "It doesn't necessarily mean you have toscore a goal. You can add a lot to hockey by winning afaceoff, blocking a shot, by making a hard hit, by contributingin many different ways.


"Those are components of the game. If things aren't going well,you can build on those components."


Carolina had tied the contest for a third time at 7:19 of thethird, when Matt Cullen split a pair of defenders just insidethe blue line, skated to the top of the slot and beat Kiprusoffto the stick side with a wrist shot during a power play for hisseventh tally of the season.


Fresh off his first career hat trick, Huselius opened thescoring at 4:56 of the first, picking up the puck in the neutralzone and sliding it between Ward's pads during a breakaway forhis 13th goal.


Chad LaRose drew the Hurricanes even less than a minute later,however, flipping a backhander past Kiprusoff from the doorstepoff the rebound of Cullen's shot at 5:53.


Boyd beat Ward from alone in front with 5:51 remaining in thesecond session after Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin'sclearing attempt up the middle of the ice was stopped at theblue line, giving Calgary a 2-1 advantage. But Craig Adams'snap shot from the right circle sneaked between Kiprusoff's leftarm and body 73 seconds later, knotting the contest at 2-2.

Entering with six goals in his previous four games, Iginla putthe Flames ahead during a man advantage early in the third,blasting a slap shot from above the right circle inside the leftgoalpost 25 seconds into the period for a 3-2 lead.

"He came down the wing and it was a slap shot to the stickside," Ward said. "It's no excuse. It was the third period ofthe game, and I've got to make that save. I need to step up andmake some saves to keep us in the game."


Defenseman Adrian Aucoin registered a pair of assists andKiprusoff made 33 saves for Calgary, which improved to 4-0-0 onits six-game road trip.


"You just play the game," Phaneuf said. "The travel makes itdifficult, but this was a big win for us."


"I don't think we're looking at four wins. We want to keepgoing," Nolan added. "We're starting to move up the standingsand it feels good winning."


Cullen set up a pair of tallies and Ward stopped 17 shots forthe Hurricanes, who have allowed 15 goals during their currentthree-game slide.


"I don't know if one break is going to get this thing turnedaround," said Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour, who had anassist. "We need consistent effort, and then the wins willstart coming. Right now, it was a good effort, just not goodenough."


Hurricanes coach Paul Laviolette agreed.


"I thought that the effort was good. The results, obviously,not good," he said. "Back to work is where we have to go. Wehave to play a cleaner, better game (Saturday at Philadelphia).It's not going to be easy. Nobody is going to give it to us.We are going to have to go and fight and work for it."