Game Story: Lehigh Valley - 1 at W-B/Scranton - 5 (4/7/24)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins routed the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5-1 on Sunday, completing a perfect 3-for-3 weekend and extending their win streak to a season-high five games.
The story of the season for the Penguins has been overcoming injuries and call ups and finding ways to win with what they have, and that continued Sunday afternoon as the team got goals from five different skaters including a shorthanded tally and two power play markers in another team-effort for two points.
Jack Rathbone and Avery Hayes tallied a goal and an assist each, while the Penguins also got goals from Vinnie Hinostroza, Mathieu De St. Phalle and Lukas Svejkovsky.
Joel Blomqvist was stellar in net once again, stopping all but one of the 36 shots he faced - a Jacob Gaucher rebound tally late in the third period with Phantoms goaltender Felix Sandstrom (23 saves) pulled for the extra attacker.
The victory didn't come without yet another injury, as defenseman Ty Smith fell to the ice after an awkward play in open ice as it appeared Phantoms' captain Garrett Wilson swept the back of Smith's leg out from under him. Smith left the game and didn't return after needing to be helped off the ice without putting any weight on his injured leg.
Post-Game EXTRA!
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach JD Forrest
On the perfect 3-for-3 weekend, five wins in a row and the timeliness of the win streak
"It's a nice little streak at a good time. [We're] just trying to keep pace with some of the teams ahead of us and create some separation. I think it's been good timing as far as that goes. And a lot of different guys stepping up. But I don't think it's anything... like, I mean, it's all in the rear view. And then the next game is the important one."
On Ty Smith's injury, the awkwardness of the play and Garrett Wilson's involvement in that collision/not collision
"It was, it was... I gotta say, like, we had Garrett Wilson here. And he plays a hard game of hockey, for sure. And, you know, it wasn't anything that he did. Ty just... he was getting out of the way and he just had an awkward fall. And you look back and Wilson actually... he didn't.. he didn't really touch him. He was going at him and he kind of veered off. So there's there's no blame there on Wilson. The way that Ty fell just wasn't great. But it wasn't.. there wasn't any real contact. There's nothing really there. It's just an unfortunate incident, that's all you can call it."
GAME STORY
The story of the first frame was penalties.
After the Penguins failed to convert on the game's first power play opportunity in the opening minutes of the game, they found themselves shorthanded three straight times throughout the middle portion of the period.
Thanks to Blomqvist and the penalty killers, not only did the Penguins prevent the Phantoms from scoring but they also gave the Pens a 1-0 lead with 6:31 left before the first intermission.
Avery Hayes won a race to a loose puck and slid a pass across to Rathbone for a quick shot to the top corner. It marked Rathbone's eighth of the season, and gave Hayes three points in his last four games.
The officials continued giving the Phantoms power play chances, and they generated a trio of shots on goal late in the period in short succession. But Blomqvist made a spectacular trio of saves to keep the Penguins ahead 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton began the middle frame with 1:53 of carryover power play time, and wasted no time in extending their lead to 2-0 just 11 seconds into the second period.
Ty Smith took the opening face-off and sent it to the left wing for Radim Zohorna, who initially misplayed the puck but caught up to it along the left-wing wall - sending a hard pass to the top of the crease where a speedy Hinostroza got to the net and tipped the puck in past Sandstrom for his 15th of the season.
Midway through the period, a very dangerous trip/slew foot from Phantoms' captain Garrett Wilson on Smith sent the Penguins' leading scorer down to the ice awkwardly - requiring the game to be stopped as Smith needed to be helped off the ice.
Smith wasn't putting any weight on the leg he awkwardly bent backward and fell on after the slew foot, and he didn't return to Sunday's game.
The Penguins pressed on, extending their lead to 3-0 early in the third period on De St. Phalle's first career AHL goal. A bouncing puck came up the left wing wall, and Xavier Ouellet met the puck on the edge of the left-wing circle - one-timing the puck to the net where De St. Phalle was in position and able to re-direct it past Sandstrom.
The game's physicality picked up from there, as there were post-whistle scrums at most of the stoppages in the final 12 minutes of play - culminating with a fight between Matthew Quercia and Wilson with just over six minutes left.
Lehigh Valley pulled Sandstrom for the extra attacker with just under six minutes left to play, and eventually were able to break Blomqvist's shutout bid on a 6-on-5 goal from Gaucher with 5:03 left, but that's as close as they would get.
Hayes hit the empty net on the following shift, and Svejkovsky added a late power play tally to complete the scoring in the Penguins' decisive 5-1 win.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lineup Notes
Phantoms Scratches: Alexei Kolosov, Adam Karashik, Will Zmolek, Zayde Wisdom, Matthew Brown and Ryan Johansen
Lines/Pairings:
Adam Brooks - Tanner Laczynski - Cooper Marody Brendan Furry - Rhett Gardner - Samu Tuomaala Garrett Wilson - Jacob Gaucher - Elliot Desnoyers Evan Polei - JR Avon - Matt Miller
Emil Andrae - Helge Grans Victor Mete - Louie Belpedio Hunter McDonald - Ethan Samson
Felix Sandstrom (Backup: Cal Petersen)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes
Joel Blomqvist got the start in net for the Penguins Sunday against the Phantoms. Ludovic Waeber, who picked up his first win in a Penguins uniform Saturday in Bridgeport, served as the team's backup.
Jansen Harkins joined the AHL Penguins on a conditioning loan, and began the game centering the team's second line.
Penguins Scratches: Taylor Gauthier (week-to-week, lower body), Marc Johnstone (longer term, upper body), Vasily Ponomarev (longer term, lower body), Joona Koppanen (longer term, lower body), Logan Pietila, Peter Abbandonato (longer term, lower body), Max Cajkovic, Jonathan Gruden (week-to-week, upper body), Sam Houde (out for season, upper and lower body) and Owen Headrick
Lines/Pairings:
Vinnie Hinostroza - Radim Zohorna - Austin Rueschhoff Corey Andonovski - Jansen Harkins - Avery Hayes Evan Vierling - Raivis Ansons - Lukas Svejkovsky Matt Filipe - Matthew Quercia - Mathieu De St. Phalle
Ty Smith - Taylor Fedun Xavier Ouellet - Dmitri Samorukov Jack Rathbone - Scooter Brickey
Joel Blomqvist (Backup: Ludovic Waeber)
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
2:56: LV - (PP) Marody, minor (slashing) 8:10: WBS - (PP) Hinostroza, minor (high-sticking) 11:54: WBS - (PP) Harkins, minor (hooking) 13:29: WBS - SHG Rathbone (8) - Hayes 17:28: WBS - (PP) Andonovski, minor (tripping) 19:52: LV - (PP) McDonald, minor (high-sticking)
2nd Period
0:11: WBS - PPG Hinostroza (15) - Zohorna, Rueschhoff 0:33: WBS - (PP) Zohorna, minor (holding) 10:17: LV - (PP) Wilson, minor (hooking) 19:44: LV - (PP) Samson, minor (tripping)
3rd Period
4:37: WBS - De St. Phalle (1) - Ouellet 8:28: WBS - (PP) Andonovski, minor (roughing) 8:28: WBS - Andonovski, minor (roughing) 8:28: LV - McDonald, minor (roughing) 11:30: LV - Andrae, minor (slashing) 11:30: WBS - Hinostroza, minor (slashing) 11:30: WBS - (PP) Hinostroza, minor (roughing) 13:37: WBS - Quercia, major (fighting) 13:37: LV - Wilson, major (fighting) 14:57: LV - Gaucher (8) - Desnoyers 15:31: WBS - ENG Hayes (3) - unassisted 17:56: LV - (PP) Furry, minor (goaltending interference) 19:02: WBS - PPG Svejkovsky (2) - Vierling, Ansons
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 0 - 1 = 1 W-B/Scranton 1 - 1 - 3 = 5
Shots
Lehigh Valley 8 - 10 - 18 = 36 W-B/Scranton 3 - 12 - 13 = 28
Goalies
LV: Felix Sandstrom (23 saves - 27 shots) WBS: Joel Blomqvist (35 saves - 36 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-6 WBS: 2-for-7
Penalty Kill
LV: 5-for-7 WBS: 6-for-6
