Adirondack Phantoms

Lore & Background

The Adirondack Phantoms were created after Comcast Spectacor announced in 2008 that the Wachovia Spectrum, the Phantoms' home since 1996, would be demolished for the Philly LIVE project. On February 4, 2009, Comcast Spectacor agreed to sell the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh. The AHL's board of governors approved the move to Glens Falls on April 28, 2009, making the Phantoms the second AHL team to play there, after the Adirondack Red Wings (1979–1999).

The team played three special games in Philadelphia during their tenure. On December 4, 2009, they lost 2–1 in overtime to the Norfolk Admirals at the Wachovia Center. On January 21, 2011, they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4–2 at the Wells Fargo Center. On January 6, 2012, they hosted the Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Park in the third annual AHL Outdoor Classic, winning 4–3 in overtime; this was the first outdoor AHL game included in the Winter Classic festivities.

In March 2011, plans were announced for the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Phantoms were initially scheduled to move there for 2013–14, but construction delays pushed the move to 2014–15, when the franchise became the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Reader's Guide

The Adirondack Phantoms represent a transitional period for a franchise that relocated twice within Pennsylvania and New York. Their existence was driven by the demolition of the Spectrum in Philadelphia, which forced the team to move to Glens Falls. The team's five seasons in Glens Falls were marked by several notable returns to Philadelphia for special games, including an outdoor game at Citizens Bank Park as part of the NHL Winter Classic festivities. The franchise's move to Allentown in 2014–15, delayed by construction, ended the Adirondack Phantoms name and began the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Key players included Jason Akeson, who holds career records for goals (58), assists (114), and points (172), and goaltender Michael Leighton, who holds career wins (43) and shutouts (7). The team had four head coaches during its existence: Greg Gilbert, John Paddock, Joe Paterson, and Terry Murray. The Phantoms' tenure in Glens Falls was the second AHL stint for that city, following the Adirondack Red Wings.

Did You Know?

• The Adirondack Phantoms were the second AHL team to play in Glens Falls, after the Adirondack Red Wings (1979–1999).
• They played an outdoor game at Citizens Bank Park on January 6, 2012, winning 4–3 in overtime against the Hershey Bears.
• Jason Akeson holds the team's career records for goals (58), assists (114), and points (172).
• Michael Leighton holds the team's career goaltending records for wins (43) and shutouts (7).

Origins: From the Spectrum to the Adirondacks

The Adirondack Phantoms trace their lineage to 1996, when they first took the ice as the Philadelphia Phantoms, the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. For more than a decade they called the Wachovia Spectrum home. That era ended abruptly in 2008, when Comcast Spectacor announced the arena would be demolished to make room for Philly LIVE, a project encompassing a luxury hotel and entertainment district. On February 4, 2009, Comcast Spectacor struck a deal to sell the franchise to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh. Just two months later, on April 28, the AHL's board of governors granted approval for the team to relocate to Glens Falls, New York, where they would begin the 2009–10 season at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The small upstate city had previously hosted an AHL franchise—the Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999—making the Phantoms the second professional hockey team to call Glens Falls home.

Three Homecoming Nights in Philadelphia

Even after the move, the Phantoms kept a living thread to their former city by hosting three special home games back in Philadelphia. The first came on December 4, 2009, at the Wachovia Center, where they fell 2–1 in overtime to the Norfolk Admirals. They returned on January 21, 2011, and dispatched the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4–2 at the Wells Fargo Center. The most storied visit arrived on January 6, 2012, when the Phantoms hosted the Hershey Bears in the third annual AHL Outdoor Classic at Citizens Bank Park. Remarkably, that same ballpark had hosted the NHL Winter Classic between the Flyers and the New York Rangers just four days earlier. The Phantoms edged the Bears 4–3 in overtime, and the event marked the first time an outdoor AHL game was woven into the Winter Classic weekend festivities.

The PPL Center and the Road to Allentown

In March 2011, plans were unveiled for the PPL Center, a new arena in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, occupying the full block bounded by Seventh and Eighth streets and Hamilton Boulevard and Linden Street. Demolition at the construction site got underway in January 2012, and by February of that year it was announced the Phantoms would return to Pennsylvania for the 2013–14 season. Construction delays, however, pushed the timeline back by a full year, and the franchise ultimately took the ice as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms beginning with the 2014–15 campaign. That shift closed the five-season Adirondack chapter in Glens Falls. The team's geographic journey—from the Spectrum in Philadelphia, to the Glens Falls Civic Center, and finally to Allentown—mirrored the broader pattern of minor-league hockey continually searching for new markets and modern facilities.

Franchise Records and the Faces That Defined the Era

The Phantoms' five seasons in Glens Falls produced a compact but memorable set of franchise records. Forward Jason Akeson stands as the all-time leader in goals (58), assists (114), and points (172), and also owns the single-season points mark with 64 in 2013–14. Goaltender Michael Leighton dominated the crease, amassing 43 career wins and 7 shutouts while setting single-season records for goals-against average (2.22), save percentage (.926), wins (28), and shutouts (5). Ben Holmstrom logged a franchise-best 256 career games. The team cycled through three captains—Jared Ross, Dan Jancevski, and Holmstrom—and four head coaches spanning Greg Gilbert, John Paddock, Joe Paterson, and Terry Murray, each shaping a brief but distinctive stretch in the Flyers' minor-league story.

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