GAMEDAY: Game 17 - Hershey (8-9-1) at Lehigh Valley (9-5-2) 7:15 p.m. ET
ALLENTOWN, PA -- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-5-2) are back from a brief Thanksgiving hiatus and back in action Friday night against their Atlantic Division rival Hershey Bears (8-9-1) at 7:15 p.m. ET.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes
The Philadelphia Flyers called up goaltender Anthony Stolarz prior to Friday night's game, and with no goalie returning from Philadelphia the Lehigh Valley Phantoms needed to add goaltender Austin Lotz from their ECHL affiliate in Reading.
In other roster news, the Flyers reassigned forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel to Lehigh Valley and in turn called up forward Tyrell Goulbourne from the Phantoms.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics):
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Carsen Twarynski - Mike Vecchione - Chris Conner David Kase - Mikhail Vorobyev - Connor Bunnaman Taylor Leier - Cole Bardreau - Colin McDonald
T.J. Brennan - Mark Friedman Philip Samuelsson - Phil Myers Zach Palmquist - Reece Willcox
Carter Hart - Austin Lotz
Scratches: James de Haas, German Rubtsov (injury) and Radel Fazleev
Hershey Bears Roster Notes
Bears' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Shane Gerisch - Mike Sgarbossa - Steven Whitney Sergei Shumakov - Jayson Megna - Riley Barber Liam O'Brien - Garrett Pilon - Maximilian Kammerer Mason Mitchell - Brian Pinho - Beck Malenstyn
Aaron Ness - Connor Hobbs Lucas Johansen - Tyler LewingtonTobias Geisser - Logan Pyett
Ilya Samsonov - Vitek Vanecek
GAME STORY
FIRST PERIOD
It was all Hershey early in the first period. Jayson Megna skated in on Carter Hart alone and drew a penalty as Zach Palmquist was called for hooking just 35 seconds into the game. Lehigh Valley’s PK did a terrific job collapsing in front of Hart who stopped five Hershey shots in the two-minute man-advantage. Hershey kept the offensive pressure on though and got on the board a short time later when Beck Malenstyn (Hobbs, Pinho) knocked home a rebound for the early lead.
Mike Vecchione (Vorobyev, McDonald) tied the game with a snapshot with just under 8 minutes to go in the first period. The Phantoms got the opening they needed when Beck Malenstyn was called for interference. With time winding down in the Lehigh Valley man-advantage, the Bears failed to clear the puck from the zone and Vecchione made them pay.
How the Bears win - Hershey needs to maintain puck possession and offensive-zone pressure like the first .
How the Phantoms win - Lehigh Valley needs continue to get the odd-man rushes and draw some more PP opportunities
SECOND PERIOD
In the second period Lehigh Valley got off to a hot start. Hershey’s Maximilian Kammerer was called for hooking, and this time, the Phantoms wasted little time in making the Bears pay.
Samsonov saved Phil Varone’s initial shot, but the puck was sent across the crease by Chris Conner to Greg Carey who notched his first of two goals in just over two-and-a-half minutes.
Carey’s second goal came after Varone won a face-off in the offensive zone. The puck trickled to Nicolas Aube-Kubel who redirected it to Carey and went blocker-side for his 11th of the season.
Just past the midway point of the period, the Bears got one back as a three-on-one turned into a goal for Jayson Megna. Megna controlled the puck down the right side, with Mason Mitchell crashing towards the net and Malenstyn on the left. Malenstyn and Mitchell created enough of a distraction for Megna’s shot to go just under Hart’s blocker.
How the Bears win - Figure out how to solve the Lehigh Valley PK - Hershey is 0-for-3 so far due in part to Lehigh Valley collapsing in front of Hart (the Phantoms blueliners do the same on defense, so if Hershey utilizes the wings, it could prove effective).
How the Phantoms win - Limit penalties and turnovers - after the hot start to the period, the Phantoms were unable to keep the pedal down, but if Hart stays solid, Lehigh Valley should be just fine.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period was all Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms got three goals and a huge effort from Hart. Early in the period, Steve Whitney had a solo breakaway, but Hart was able to turn Whitney’s attempt away, and he continued to come up big when called upon down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Phil Myers recorded his fifth goal of the season just after time expired on Lehigh Valley’s third PP of the game. With time running down on the slashing penalty to Mason Mitchell, Palm carried the puck behind the Hershey net, dropped it to Vecchione who found Myers on the point for the shot.
Minutes later, Varone put the game on ice with with his seventh goal of the season. Greg Carey collected the puck after the Bears were unable to clear it, and sent it across the crease to Varone. Carey and Varone both ended the night with three points.
With just 15 seconds to go, Vorobyev intercepted a Mike Sgarbossa pass and skated in alone for the game’s final goal, giving the Phantoms a 6-2 victory over their in-state rival.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
0:35: LV - (PP) Palmquist, minor (hooking) 3:38: HER - Malenstyn (2) - Hobbs, Pinho 10:14: HER - (PP) Malenstyn, minor (interference) 12:01: LV - Vecchione (5) - Vorobyev, McDonald
2nd Period
2:14: HER - (PP) Kammerer, minor (hooking) 2:25: LV - PPG Carey (10) - Conner, Varone 5:01: LV - Carey (11) - Aube-Kubel, Varone 7:09: LV - (PP) Twarynski, minor (hooking) 9:24: LV - (PP) Aube-Kubel, minor (high-sticking) 12:01: HER - Megna (4) - Hobbs
3rd Period
7:01: HER - (PP) Mitchell, minor (slashing) 9:02: LV - Myers (5) - Vecchione, Palmquist 14:10: LV - Varone (7) - Carey 14:32: HER - (PP) Lewington, minor (unsportsmanlike) 16:06: HER - (PP) Hobbs, minor (cross-checking) 19:02: LV - (PP) Kase, minor (hooking) 19:45: LV - SHG Vorobyev (3) - unassisted
BOXSCORE
Hershey 1 - 1 - 0 = 2 Lehigh Valley 1 - 2 - 3 = 6
Shots
Hershey 11 - 11 - 9 = 31 Lehigh Valley 7 - 10 - 12 = 29
Goalies
LV: Carter Hart (20 saves - 22 shots) HER: Ilya Samsonov (14 saves - 17 shots)
Power Play
HER: 0-for-4 LV: 2-for-5
Penalty Kill
HER: 3-for-5 LV: 4-for-4
Attendance: 7,146
