Icecaps, Phantoms familiar foes this fall

The St. John’s IceCaps didn’t face the Adirondack Phantoms at all during the 2011-12 American Hockey League season, but things have certainly changed this fall.

The IceCaps and Phantoms — the farm team of the Philadelphia Flyers, square off tonight in Glens Falls, N.Y., in what will be their fourth meeting in an AHL regular season that is just a little over a third completed.

However, unless the teams meet up in the Calder Cup playoffs, it will be the last time they’ll see each other until next fall. Tonight’s contest is the last of the four on their mutual dance card.

It is also the third game of what will be an eight-game road trip for St. John’s, albeit one that will be split up by a four-day Christmas break.

St. John’s plays the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday night in a game that will be televised on Rogers Sportsnet, then plays the Toronto Marlies Sunday before beginning the holiday hiatus.

GAMEDAY

The matchup: St. John’s IceCaps (13-14-0-1, 11th overall in the Eastern Conference) at Adirondack Phantoms (10-14-1-0, 15th and last in the East)

Game time: 9 p.m. NL time, at Glens Falls Civic Centre in Glens Falls, N.Y.

TV/radio/online: Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on 930AM and online (stjohnsicecaps.com) with Brian Rogers calling play-by-play

IceCaps’ leading scorers: Derek Meech (3 goals, 12 assists) and Spencer Machacek (6 goals, 9 assists), Zach Redmond (7 goals, 7 assists), Paul Postma (5 goals, 8 assists) ...

Phantoms’ leading scorers: Brayden Schenn (11 goals, 15 assists), Sean Couturier (7 goals, 13 assists), Erik Gustafsson (3 goals, 11 assists) ...

Notable lockout assignments to the Phantoms: Schenn, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, appeared in 54 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season (12-6-18) ... Couturier, selected eighth overall by the Flyers in 2011, played in 77 games for Philly last season (13-14-27) ... Gustafsson appeared in 30 games for the parent club last season ...

IceCaps notes: The IceCaps are 2-1 against the Phantoms this season, splitting a pair of season-opening games at Mile One Centre in October, and beating the Phantoms 3-2 Nov. 28 in Glens Falls ... Before embarking on this most recent road trip (five games away from home prior to Christmas, and three games after Christmas), the IceCaps were mired in a five-game losing streak. But wins over Springfield and Providence last week has St. John’s on a modest two-game win streak ... Goaltender Mark Dekanich stopped 40 shots Sunday as the IceCaps blanked the Bruins 4-0 ... That game saw the return of St. John’s captain Jason Jaffray to the lineup after five games sidelined with a shoulder injury. With Jaffray’s return, and the addition of Ryan Schnell and Ray Kaunisto from Colorado of the ECHL, the IceCaps returned Joey Sides to the Eagles on Monday ... Big forward Ray Sawada has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in his last seven games ... The IceCaps have scored on the power play twice in each of the past two games ...