Game 49 Recap: Phantoms Rout Rival Hershey
ALLENTOWN - Corban Knight had a pair of goals and an assist in just his second game back from an injury that sidelined him for 11 games as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms skated to a 5-1 victory over their in-state rivals.
The Phantoms also got multi-point games from Travis Sanheim (1G, 1A) and Cole Bardreau (2A). Lyon pitched a shutout through two-and-a-half periods before the Bears finally got a goal from Dustin Gazley. Hershey’s PP, which has been potent of late, went 0-for-3 without Chris Bourque, who is in South Korea for the Olympics. Lyon’s 30-save performance earned him third star honors.
With the win, the Phantoms inched closer to the top of the Atlantic Division standings as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were dealt a 4-0 loss in Providence tonight.
Looking Ahead: The Phantoms are back in action Saturday night at home against Rochester. The Bears return home and face Atlantic Division foe Hartford on Saturday.
Phantoms Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Cole Bardreau - Corban Knight - Colin McDonaldTyrell Goulbourne - Mike Vecchione - Chris Conner Oskar Lindblom - Mikhail Vorobyev - Matt Read
Will O'Neill - Mark Friedman James de Haas - Max Lamarche Travis Sanheim - Reece Willcox
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Sam Morin (injured), Phil Myers (injured), Steven Swavely (healthy), Danick Martel (injured), Radel Fazleev (healthy), Alex Krushelnyski (healthy) and T.J. Brennan (injured)
Phantoms Lineup Notes
Alex Lyon was back between the pipes for Lehigh Valley Friday night after picking up the win Wednesday. Dustin Tokarski, expected to start Saturday vs. Rochester, served as Lyon's backup.
Defenseman James de Haas was called up from Reading prior to Friday night's game. Phil Myers and T.J. Brennan are both on the injured list.
Bears Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Riley Barber - Travis Boyd - Liam O'BrienAnthony Peluso - Tyler Graovac - Mathias Bau Nathan Walker - Wayne Simpson - Dustin Gazley Mason Mitchell - Zach Sill - Garrett Mitchell
Connor Hobbs - Aaron NessLucas Johansen - Colby Williams Tyler Lewington - Jonas Siegenthaler
Vitek Vanecek - Pheonix Copley
POST-GAME REACTION
POST-GAME RECAP
A holding penalty against Nicolas Aube-Kubel just over five minutes into the game gave Hershey their first powerplay of the evening and the first in quite some time without Chris Bourque. But Alex Lyon and the Lehigh Valley PK units were able to kill the penalty.
Minutes later, Lehigh Valley flipped the script when Jonas Siegenthaler headed to the box to serve his own holding penalty, but Hershey’s PK rose to the occasion with Nathan Walker leading the charge and Vitek Vanecek making the save on the lone Phantoms shot in the man-advantage.
With time winding down in the first period, Corban Knight made a huge effort just inside the blueline and carried the puck below the goal line where he flipped it towards the net. Nicolas Aube-Kubel put stick to puck and deflected it past Vitek Vanecek with 5.5 seconds left in the first period to put the Phantoms on top 1-0.
In the second, Garrett Mitchell was assessed a minor for high-sticking, Lehigh Valley wasted little time making the Bears pay. Travis Sanheim unleashed a huge shot from just inside the blueline that blistered past everyone including Vanecek to make it 2-0 Lehigh Valley. That goal was Sanheim’s first for the season in just his seventh game for the Phantoms.
Less than two minutes later, Vanecek left the crease to chase down a puck behind the net, but his pass was intercepted by Cole Bardreau who found Knight streaking towards the net. Knight then knocked the puck home past Vanecek who was attempting to get back into the crease, giving the Phantoms a 3-0 lead.
Shortly after that goal, former Bear Chris Conner took a pass from Will O’Neill and raced into the o-zone alone, beating Vanecek for a 4-0 lead. That goal ended Vanecek’s night as Troy Mann opted to finish out the game with Pheonix Copley.
But Copley didn’t fare much better as another goal from Knight made it 5-0. Colin McDonald carried the puck below the goalline and made a perfect backhanded pass right to Knight for the score.
Lyon’s shutout bid was stymied by the speedy Gazley with 8:46 left to play in the game. Colby Williams dropped the puck off to Gazley who skated through traffic for the score, ending Hershey’s three-period scoreless streak.
The Phantoms then cruised to victory thanks in part to a perfect 4-for-4 on the PK. They were 1-for-4 on the man-advantage.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
5:21: LV - (PP) Aube-Kubel, minor (holding) 16:54: HER - (PP) Siegenthaler, minor (holding) 19:54: LV - Aube-Kubel (14) - Knight, Sanheim
2nd Period
5:02: HER - (PP) Mitchell, minor (high-sticking) 5:36: LV - PPG Sanheim (1) - Carey, Varone 7:07: LV - Knight (8) - Bardreau, Willcox 9:29: LV - Conner (12) - O'Neill 11:06: HER - (PP) O'Brien, minor (roughing) 17:07: LV - Knight (9) - McDonald, Bardreau
3rd Period
3:53: LV - (PP) Bardreau, minor (slashing) 11:14: HER - Gazley (6) - Williams, Boyd 13:06: LV - (PP) Knight, minor (slashing) 16:39: HER - (PP) Hobbs, minor (holding) 17:58: HER - O'Brien, ten-minute misconduct 17:58: HER - Siegenthaler, minor (roughing) 17:58: LV - Vecchione, minor (roughing) 17:58: LV - (PP) Vecchione, minor (roughing)
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 1 - 4 - 0 = 5 Hershey 0 - 0 - 1 = 1
Shots
Lehigh Valley 8 - 13 - 4 = 25 Hershey 9 - 5 - 17 = 31
Goalies
LV - Alex Lyon (30 saves - 31 shots) HER - Vitek Vanecek (12 saves - 16 shots in 29:29) and Pheonix Copley (8 saves - 9 shots in 30:21)
Power Play
LV: 1-for-4 HER: 0-for-4
Penalty Kill
LV: 4-for-4 HER: 3-for-4
Attendance: 8,442
