GAME STORY: 2019-20 Season - Binghamton at Lehigh Valley 1/17/20

ALLENTOWN, PA --  The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (17-19-5) not only ended Binghamton's eight-game winning streak Friday night, but extended their own win streak to four games with a 4-1 victory.

Isaac Ratcliffe led the way with a goal and an assist, while the Phantoms also got goals from German Rubtsov, Nate Prosser and Kurtis Gabriel in the win. J-F Berube backstopped another strong game, stopping 25 of 26 shots.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Line rushes:

German Rubstov - Morgan Frost - Andy Andreoff Greg Carey - Cal O'Reilly - Pascal Laberge Isaac Ratcliffe - Mikhail Vorobyev - Maksim Sushko Max Willman - Kyle Criscuolo - Kurtis Gabriel

Tyler Wotherspoon - Nate Prosser James De Haas - Reece Willcox Eric Knodel - Chris Bigras

J-F Berube - Felix Sandstrom

Phantoms Scratches: Andy Welinski, Carsen Twarynski, David Kase, T.J. Brennan and Chris Stewart

GAME STORY

After a rather uneventful first period, the Phantoms and Devils reconvened for the middle frame in a scoreless tie.

While Lehigh Valley didn't muster up much of an attack in the opening 20 minutes -- credited just four shots on goal -- the home team turned things around in the second period.

While the two goals they managed to score weren't pretty - an Isaac Ratcliffe redirect in front and a flubbed pass from Devils goalie Gilles Senn that German Rubtsov put into an empty net - the Phantoms controlled large portions of the period, forcing the Devils into taking a pair of stick infractions.

The power play unit didn't convert on either man advantage in the period, but it's easy to see that chemistry is forming now that the team has had some stability with their roster and special teams units.

Taking the 2-0 lead into the third period, there's a tendency for teams to ease off the proverbial gas pedal. There wasn't any of that Friday night for the Phantoms, who extended their lead to 3-0 early in the period after Kyle Criscuolo forced a turnover and Ratcliffe pounced on the puck in the offensive zone before feeding Nate Prosser for his first goal of the season.

Binghamton tallied on the final second of a power play to end J-F Berube's shutout bid, but Kurtis Gabriel capped the final score with his third of the season to complete the 4-1 final score.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

12:33: LV - (PP) Rubtsov, minor (high-sticking) 16:21: BNG - (PP) White, minor (holding the stick)

2nd Period

6:17: BNG - (PP) Melchiori, minor (slashing) 9:53: LV - Ratcliffe (3) - Knodel, Sushko 12:19: BNG - (PP) Seney, minor (slashing) 16:48: LV - Rubtsov (2) - unassisted 17:03: LV - (PP) Vorobyev, minor (tripping)

3rd Period

3:32: LV - Prosser (1) - Ratcliffe, Criscuolo 7:58: LV - (PP) Ratcliffe, minor (hooking) 9:57: BNG - PPG Schnarr (2) - Melchiori, Schmelzer 16:15: LV - Gabriel (3) - Sushko, Vorobyev 16:47: BNG - (PP) Tennyson, minor (tripping)

BOXSCORE

Binghamton  0 - 0 - 1 = 1 Lehigh Valley 0 - 2 - 2 = 4

Shots

Binghamton  7 - 9 - 10 = 26 Lehigh Valley 4 - 12 - 8 = 24

Goalies

BNG: Gilles Senn (20 saves - 24 shots) LV: J-F Berube (25 saves - 26 shots)

Power Play

BNG: 1-for-3 LV: 0-for-4

Penalty Kill

BNG: 4-for-4 LV: 2-for-3