Game 56 Recap: Streak Busters - Syracuse Slides Past Phantoms
SYRACUSE - The general consensus from players and coaches following Friday night's game is that the season is shifting towards that tight-checking, low-scoring style accustomed to postseason hockey.
Through 48 minutes of regulation, there were still zeroes on the scoreboard in Syracuse.
"That was a playoff game," head coach Scott Gordon said after the Phantoms' 2-1 loss to Syracuse. "Both teams played well. They got the last shot that went in."
Michael Bournival tallied both Syracuse goals in the win, sandwiched between a shorthanded tally by Matt Read that - for the moment - shifted momentum back to Lehigh Valley's side with 6:08 left in regulation. In the end, it was a bouncing puck goal for Bournival's second of the night with 3:43 left to play that was the difference.
Both goaltenders needed to come up with big stops at crucial moments, and it was very much a goaltender's duel between Syracuse's Eddie Pasquale (31 saves) and Dustin Tokarski (29 saves).
"Their goaltender played well, and there's going to be times where you're going to have to get dirty goals," Gordon said. "And we didn't get them tonight."
Looking Ahead: The Phantoms finish their three-game road trip through New York Saturday night when they take on the Binghamton Devils at 7:05 p.m ET.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Matt Read Cole Bardreau - Corban Knight - Colin McDonaldRadel Fazleev - Mikhail Vorobyev - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Tyrell Goulbourne
T.J. Brennan - Max LamarcheWill O'Neill - Mark Friedman Travis Sanheim - Phil Myers
Dustin Tokarski - John Muse
Scratches: Anthony Stolarz, Sam Morin (injured), Chris Conner (veteran), Alex Krushelnyski (healthy), James de Haas (healthy) and Reece Willcox (injured)
POST-GAME REACTION
POST-GAME RECAP
It was a back-and-forth first ten minutes of action between the Phantoms and Crunch to kick off Friday night's action. Both teams brought their skating legs, and it created a great pace to the first half of the period.
Penalties started to slow up the flow of the game near the midway mark of the period. The two teams traded power plays, but it was missed opportunities for both teams on a pair of man advantage opportunities that sent the two teams to the second period in a scoreless tie.
Things opened up a bit to start the middle frame.
Colin McDonald had a breakaway from the blue line, but his forehand to backhand move was stopped by Crunch goaltender Eddie Pasquale. In all, the Phantoms fired seven of the first eight shots on goal in the middle frame in the opening six minutes.
The Phantoms continued to control play, but were unable to get one past Pasquale - including on a late-period power play.
Syracuse responded with a late flurry of pressure, nearly breaking the scoreless tie in the final minute of the period when Dominik Masin got a puck at the left point and had an open lane to skate to the net. Masin elected to deke and go backhand from a bad angle, and Dustin Tokarski was able to make a sprawling save to keep it a 0-0 game heading to the third.
It took 48 plus minutes to get the game's first goal, but the home team took advantage of some extended zone time and took a 1-0 lead.
After the Crunch got a cycle going, Mitchell Stephens and Erik Condra teamed up to get a puck to Michael Bournival who beat Tokarski from the left-circle low to the glove side.
It looked as though the Crunch might extend their lead moments later on a power play with Max Lamarche off for hooking, but instead it was the Phantoms scoring shorthanded to tie the game up at 1-1.
Matt Read told Inside AHL Hockey after the game that his momentum was taking him away from the penalty kill box in the defensive zone, but that he thought the pass might be coming across the top between the defensemen. Read got a stick on the pass, and split the defense on his way to a breakaway. One quick move and a shot that eluded Pasquale made it anyone's game again on Read's seventh of the season.
In the end, the bad ice contributed to the game-deciding goal in the waning moments. Bournival, from a bad angle down low, shuffled the puck on net and it bounced around in Tokarski's crease and goaltender equipment before somehow finding its way in.
The Phantoms pressured with Tokarski off to the bench for the extra attacker, but were unable to find an equalizer before time expired.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
9:43: SYR - (PP) Masin, minor (hooking) 11:57: LV - (PP) Sanheim, minor (hooking) 15:01: SYR - (PP) Cernak, minor (interference) 16:52: LV - (PP) bench minor, too many men (served by Carey)
2nd Period
15:22: SYR - (PP) Yan, minor (boarding)
3rd Period
8:53: SYR - Bournival (14) - Condra, Stephens 9:16: SYR - (PP) Masin, minor (tripping) 11:57: LV - (PP) Lamarche, minor (hooking) 13:52: LV - SHG Read (7) - unassisted 17:16: SYR - Bournival (15) - Condra, Bodie
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 0 - 1 = 1 Syracuse 0 - 0 - 2 = 2
Shots
Lehigh Valley 7 - 14 - 11 = 32 Syracuse 7 - 8 - 16 = 31
Goalies
LV - Dustin Tokarski (29 saves - 31 shots) SYR - Eddie Pasquale (31 saves - 32 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-4 SYR: 0-for-3
Penalty Kill
LV: 3-for-3 SYR: 4-for-4
Attendance: 5,803
