Game 55 Recap: V Is For Varone - Phantoms Outlast Comets
UTICA - There were two unbeaten streaks on the line Wednesday night in Utica as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms kicked off a three-game road trip with a seesaw battle against the Comets.
In a back-and-forth game, the Phantoms would twice go ahead by a goal in the first half of the game only to find themselves trailing the Comets heading into the third period.
Phil Varone (three goals, one assist) was unable to be stopped, as he tallied a goal in each period and added an assist - completing the hat trick on what turned out to be the go-ahead goal with 5:04 left in regulation. His 55 points (17 goals, 38 assists) are most in the entire American Hockey League in scoring.
Greg Carey and T.J. Brennan also scored third period goals to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead, but Utica battled all night long - tying the game at 4-4 before Varone's game-winner. Cole Bardreau added an empty net goal to seal the deal in the 6-4 victory.
John Muse stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced, improving to an impressive 7-1-0 in the AHL this season.
With the win, the Phantoms have extended their unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) while Utica's impressive 16-game unbeaten streak entering the game (13-0-3) comes to an end.
Looking Ahead: The Phantoms remain on the road this weekend, taking on the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night and the Binghamton Devils on Saturday.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Tyrell Goulbourne Cole Bardreau - Corban Knight - Colin McDonaldDanick Martel - Mikhail Vorobyev - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Radel Fazleev - Mike Vecchione - Chris Conner
T.J. Brennan - Max LamarcheWill O'Neill - James de Haas Travis Sanheim - Phil Myers
John Muse - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Anthony Stolarz, Sam Morin (injured), Matt Read (veteran), Alex Krushelnyski (healthy), Mark Friedman (healthy) and Reece Willcox (injured)
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
4:39: LV - Varone (15) - Brennan, de Haas 12:22: UTI - Dziurzynski (3) - Wiercioch, Cassels
2nd Period
11:24: LV - Varone (16) - O'Neill 12:39: UTI - Carcone (11) - Boucher, Brodeur 18:00: UTI - Carcone (12) - Bouncher, Chaput
3rd Period
1:34: Carey (22) - Varone, Myers 4:57: UTI - (PP) D'Aoust, bench minor (too many men) 6:02: LV - PPG Brennan (12) - Vecchione, Sanheim 7:43: LV - (PP) Aube-Kubel, minor (tripping) 12:26: UTI - Wiercioch (8) - Molino, MacEwen 14:56: LV - Varone (17) - Sanheim 19:16: LV - ENG Bardreau (5) - Myers
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 1 - 1 - 4 = 6 Utica Comets 1 - 2 - 1 = 4
Shots
Lehigh Valley 9 - 6 - 10 = 25 Utica Comets 10 - 14 - 16 = 40
Goalies
LV - John Muse (36 saves - 40 shots) UTI - Thatcher Demko (19 saves - 24 shots)
Power Play
LV: 1-for-1 UTI: 0-for-1
Penalty Kill
LV: 1-for-1 UTI: 0-for-1
Attendance: 3,917
