Antero Niittymaki

Antero Niittymaki made 36 saves and rookie Ben Eager had a goal and an assist to lead the Phantoms to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the AHL last night. Making his 12th consecutive start in net for the Phantoms, Niittymaki stopped 12 shots in the first period, 11 in the second and 13 in the third to earn his third shutout of the season. Niittymaki has 10 career shutouts as a Phantom and 18 as a pro. Jon Sim and Dennis Seidenberg also scored, and R.J. Umberger contributed two assists for the Phantoms, who have won three straight road games.

Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves and Andre Savage had three assists as the Phantoms held on for a 4-3 victory over Cleveland last night at the First Union Spectrum. John Slaney and Mark Greig each added a goal and an assist for the Phantoms, who led 3-0 after two periods. Niittymaki won his third straight start as the Phantoms defeated the Barons for the first time in four tries.

John Slaney had two goals and two assists to lead the Phantoms to a 4-0 victory over the Providence Bruins in the AHL last night. Antero Niittymaki made 31 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, a franchise record. Boyd Kane and Ben Stafford also scored as the Phantoms won their third straight game and moved two points ahead of the idle Bridgeport Sound Tigers for first place in the AHL's East Division. The Phantoms also closed within two points of the Hartford Wolf Pack for the Eastern Conference lead.

Defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Randy Jones scored 26 seconds apart early in the second period to help the Phantoms to their fourth straight win, 4-1, over the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL last night. Rookie Ben Eager also scored late in the second period, when the Phantoms scored three times. Antero Niittymaki won his third straight start by stopping 29 of 30 shots. After losing their first two games of the season, the Phantoms have now won four in a row. Dan Ellis finished with 20 saves for Hamilton, which has dropped three of its last four games and suffered its first home defeat of the year.

Denis Hamel scored in overtime and the Binghamton Senators erased an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Phantoms, 4-3, last night in the AHL. Hamel beat goaltender Antero Niittymaki with 1 minute, 4 seconds left. Binghamton tied the game, 2-2, early in the third period, when Brandon Bochenski's shot beat Niittymaki through a screen. Late in the period, with the score still tied, Antoine Vermette beat Niittymaki to give Binghamton a 3-2 lead.

The Phantoms scored the final three goals of the game to rally for a 4-4 tie against the Syracuse Crunch in an AHL game last night. After falling behind by three goals less than three minutes into the third period, the Phantoms rallied thanks to goals by Nick Deschenes, Kirk Furey and Peter White. Deschenes and fellow rookie James Laux each finished with a goal and an assist as the Phantoms improved to 11-2-2 in their last 15 games. Antero Niittymaki, reassigned from the Flyers yesterday, stopped 34 of 38 shots.

Jon Sim continued his recent scoring spree with two goals to lead the Phantoms past the Manchester Monarchs, 4-2, in the AHL last night. The win restored the Phantoms to first place in the tightly contested East Division race with 78 points. Binghamton has 77 points, Norfolk 76 and Wilkes-Barre 75. Sim scored twice for the third straight game and has 11 goals in his last eight games. Tony Voce and Joni Pitkanen also scored to help the Phantoms win for the eighth time in their last 10 road games.

Ian MacNeil and B.J. Abel each scored as the Phantoms skated to a 2-2 tie with the Albany River Rats in an exhibition game yesterday afternoon at Continental Airlines Arena. Antero Niittymaki started in goal for the Phantoms and stopped 10 of 11 shots before Neil Little came on and turned aside 18 of 19 attempts. The Phantoms' next preseason game is 4 p.m. Saturday vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Polonia Bank Flyers Skate Zone in Northeast Philadelphia. The team will wrap up exhibition play on Oct. 3 at 7:05 p.m. against its parent club, the Flyers, at the Wachovia Spectrum.

Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves and Andre Savage had three assists last night as the Phantoms held on for a 4-3 AHL victory over the Cleveland Barons at the First Union Spectrum. John Slaney and Mark Greig each added a goal and an assist for the Phantoms, who have won 10 of their last 15 games. Niittymaki won his third straight start and the Barons lost their 13th straight game. The Phantoms scored on their first shot of the game, when Slaney netted his fourth goal of the year on a power play with less than four minutes gone.

The Flyers already knew Martin Biron was going to be their starting goalie next season. It was their backup who remained a question mark, given Antero Niittymaki's mild interest in playing in Europe. Yesterday, that became a moot point as the Finnish goalie signed a two-year contract with the Flyers worth $2.45 million. He made $1 million last season. "He gave up a year of unrestricted free agency to sign with us," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "We believe that Antero is a very good young goalie," he said.

The last time the Flyers won a Stanley Cup, it came at the expense of the Buffalo Sabres. That was 1975. The teams have met seven times in the postseason since, with the next meeting set to begin Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center. Here is a rundown of the postseason history between the two teams: 1975: Stanley Cup finals, Flyers win, 4-2 The Flyers won their second consecutive Cup, finishing off the Sabres, 2-0, in Game 6 in Buffalo. Game 3 was the legendary Fog Game.

Though all signs point to the Flyers signing controversial goalie Ray Emery, general manager Paul Holmgren yesterday said both sides are still negotiating. Because Emery played in Russia last season, the team that signs him can announce they have an agreement before July 1, when the free-agent signing period starts. Holmgren isn't prepared to make that announcement. "We're still talking," he said. "I can't say we've decided 100 percent yet. " Holmgren said he has talked with potential free agent Marty Biron and his agent "at length," and he was not ready to close the door on signing him. But the door seems to be almost shut, and if you read between the lines, Emery looks to be the Flyers' guy. For one, he is expected to sign a one-year deal for about $1.5 million, significantly less than Biron, who is seeking a four- or five-year contract that figures to land him about $4 million per season.

It was fan appreciation night at the Wachovia Center last night, so the more fortunate among the paying customers were handed prizes during breaks in the action, courtesy of Flyers management. Except for one mistake, though, it was the otherwise crisp performance by goalie Marty Biron in a 4-1 victory over the torrid Nashville Predators that the fans hope will be the gift that keeps on giving. Whether Biron's play will lead to more wins as the postseason approaches, or will prove to be no more than a positive note during the goalie's erratic season, remains to be seen.

Goalie Antero Niittymaki was shelled in a 5-1 defeat by Calgary last night, but the Flyers' biggest loss may have occurred when center Danny Briere left late in the second period and did not return. The question is: Will he return this season? It is the fourth time Briere has suffered a groin or abdominal injury this season; he has undergone two surgeries and was playing in just his third game after being sidelined since Dec. 2. All told, he has played in 12 games this season.

WASHINGTON - The Flyers keep stressing there's no need to rush into a decision between goalies Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki. With the 24 games remaining in the regular season, coach John Stevens still seems to be waiting for one of the two netminders to get hot enough to lay clear claim to the job. And that might not be such a bad idea assuming Biron or Niittymaki has a spark inside that's going to take their game to another level....

The Flyers will continue to use goalies Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki the rest of the season. But it has become clear that the order has changed. Biron, who was the main reason the Flyers reached the Eastern Conference finals last season, will now have to play his way back into the No. 1 spot. Until further notice, Niittymaki is the main man. After yesterday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, Flyers coach John Stevens said Niittymaki would start tomorrow against visiting Ottawa.

Jeff Carter regained the NHL goal-scoring lead, Simon Gagne rediscovered his scoring touch, and backup goalie Antero Niittymaki continued his superb play against the Florida Panthers. It all helped the Flyers outlast the Panthers, 3-2, in a shoot-out last night at the BankAtlantic Center. Gagne scored the winning goal in the shoot-out, while Niittymaki made three shoot-out saves and was brilliant in regulation and the overtime period. "I haven't been that good in the shoot-out this year, but we've been practicing it a bit and I got my timing back," said Nittymaki, who made 32 saves in regulation and overtime.

When the Flyers finish off a six-game road trip tonight in Washington and return to the Wachovia Center on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, fans will have to be prepared to see shuffled lines and new faces. With the number of injuries suffered since the club headed off to play Chicago on Dec. 26, the wounded list has grown to nine players. "I don't remember it ever being like this," general manager Paul Holmgren said after yesterday's practice in Voorhees.

Alex the Great came to the Wachovia Center yesterday but was upstaged by Nitty the Mitty. As in Walter Mitty, the fictional character immortalized in James Thurber's story more than a half century ago. Mitty was an ordinary person who fantasized about extraordinary personal triumphs. Nitty - Flyers backup goalie Antero Niittymaki - can relate. In the Flyers' hard-to-comprehend 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals, Niittymaki's performance seemed more fantasy than real life.

Most NHL coaches like to think of the season in quarter segments, and last night was the end of the first one for the Flyers. So what surprises, good and bad, did it bring for John Stevens? Well, the most obvious were the poor start and the number of injuries, but almost as much of a surprise to Stevens has been the play of Jeff Carter. "We hoped he would emerge and take it to another level and it looks like he is starting to do that," Stevens said. Going into last night, Carter, 23, was second in the league in goals scored and has been one of the team's best defensive forwards.