PHILADELPHIA – Two Philadelphia players recorded hat tricks as the Grand Rapids Griffins fell 7-4 to the Philadelphia Phantoms at the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday in the first game of a two-day set. Darren Helm scored two goals for the Griffins, who fell to 2-2 during their franchise-record eight-game road trip.

The Griffins and Phantoms were tied 4-4 after 40 minutes of play, but a three-goal third period dropped Grand Rapids to 42-20-6-6 on the season. Daniel Larsson stopped 29 shots in the loss, while Jean-Sebastien Aubin turned aside 23 shots for the Phantoms (37-29-2-4). The two teams will resume the two-game series tomorrow at 5:05 p.m.

Helm provided the Griffins with the first goal of the game 3:45 into the first period. He took control of the puck at the blue line and skated onto the right wing before unloading a wrist shot into the top-left corner of the net for an unassisted goal.

One second after a penalty to P.J. Atherton had expired, Rob Sirianni took a cross-crease pass from Jared Ross and deposited it into the net to tie the game 1-1 with 10:08 remaining in the first period. The Phantoms took a 2-1 lead 3:24 later when Jonathan Matsumoto broke in all alone and scored a short-handed goal.

The Griffins tied the game on a short-handed goal of their own 46 seconds into the second period. Helm stole the puck at his own blue line and beat everyone up the ice. He faked to his backhand and then went to the forehand, beating the Phantoms’ goalie and notching his second goal of the night.

At 5:36 of the second, the Phantoms became the first team to score two shorthanded goals in one game against the Griffins this season. After a faceoff in the Grand Rapids zone, Ross took a shot that deflected off a leg and trickled past Larsson and into the net for a 3-2 Philadelphia lead.

Grand Rapids tied the game once again with 6:27 left in the stanza. Francis Lemieux took the puck up the right side and dropped it into the slot where Evan McGrath ripped it past Aubin. Lemieux scored a goal of his own 2:01 later, but Matsumoto scored his second of the night 26 seconds after that to knot the game at 4-4.

Sirianni’s second goal of the night came 25 seconds into the third period and it gave Philadelphia a 5-4 lead. He completed the hat trick at the 9:47 mark of the third. Matsumoto finished his own hat trick with 2:31 remaining in the game.

Three Stars: 1. PHI Sirianni (Hat trick); 2. PHI Matsumoto (Hat trick); 3. GR Helm (2 goals)