GAMEDAY: Game 19 - Lehigh Valley (10-6-2) at Laval (8-12-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
LAVAL,QC -- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (10-6-2) begin a three-game weekend through Canada with a Friday night face-off against the Laval Rocket (8-12-2).
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes
Goaltender Alex Lyon was reassigned to Lehigh Valley, relieving Austin Lotz of his PTO last weekend backing up Carter Hart.
Tyrell Goulbourne also joined the Phantoms' roster prior to the team's departure to Canada for the weekend, giving the team three extra forwards for the three-in-three weekend.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Connor Bunnaman - Mike Vecchione - Chris Conner Taylor Leier - Mikhail Vorobyev - David Kase Tyrell Goulbourne - Cole Bardreau - Colin McDonald
T.J. Brennan - Mark FriedmanPhilip Samuelsson - Phil Myers Zach Palmquist - James de Haas
Carter Hart - Alex Lyon
Scratches: German Rubtsov (injury- out for the season), Radel Fazleev, Carsen Twarynski, Alex Krushelnyski and Reece Willcox
Laval Rocket Roster Notes
Daniel Audette - Jake Evans - Byron Froese Alex Belzile - Michael McCarron - Alexandre Grenier Hunter Shinkaruk - Lukas Vejdemo - Nikita JevpalovsMichael Pezzetta - Hayden Verbeek - Alexandre Alain
Victor Mete - Brett LernoutKarl Alzner - Max Lamarche Adam Plant - David Sklenicka
Charlie Lindgren - Michael McNiven
Scratches: Michal Moravcik, Ryan Culkin, Gustav Olofsson, Cale Fleury, Antoine Waked and Phelix Martineau
GAME STORY
FIRST PERIOD
In a back-and-forth first period, it was goaltenders Carter Hart and Charlie Lindgren stealing the show - sending the two teams to the first intermission in a scoreless tie.
Hart saw a lot of his work during the Phantoms two stints to the penalty box - both early on a Goulbourne minor 4:33 into the contest and later past the midway mark as Myers was whistled for closing his hand on the puck. Both times, Lehigh Valley's penalty killers got the job done. The second kill was spent almost entirely in the Phantoms' defensive zone, but timely saves from Hart and a very timely block on a shot from the center point by Taylor Leier got the Phantoms a clear out of the zone to kill off the final seconds of Myers' minor.
The Phantoms looked dangerous on their only power play of the period, which came with 1:32 left in opening stanza.
SECOND PERIOD
The scoreless tie didn't last long in the middle frame, as a puck behind Carter Hart's net was banked off the side of the cage and darted out into the slot where Byron Froese was first to a loose puck - firing a shot past Hart 2:11 into the period to give the home crowd at Place Bell something to cheer about. A 1-0 Laval lead.
Lehigh Valley responded just over a minute and a half later, beginning a power play with a bang. Literally.
Phil Varone won a face-off and the power play unit went to work, needing just 10 seconds for Varone to get it to Brennan and Conner to set up Greg Carey for a one-timer from the center point. The pass from Conner was on point, Carey's blast was on the mark and Varone's screen completed the play - a game-tying goal for the Phantoms and Carey's team-leading 13th of the season. (EDIT: The goal was later credited to Phil Varone, who got a piece of Carey's shot from atop Lindgren's crease on the screen.)
There wasn't much flow to the majority of the middle frame, as a parade to the penalty box saw the Phantoms take five minor penalties - four resulting in power plays against - and saw them on spending large amounts of time on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone. Especially impressive was a brief 5-on-3 against late in the period that saw Hart endure intense pressure and several shot attempts, but both goalie and the penalty killers took the 1-1 game to the third.
THIRD PERIOD
The penalty trouble followed the Phantoms into the third period and although they killed off a Tyrell Goulbourne cross-checking minor 4:43 into the stanza, Laval took the 2-1 lead moments later when fourth liner Michael Pezzetta tipped Karl Alzner's shot past Hart at the 7:13 mark.
From there the Phantoms just couldn't muster up much of anything offensively, limited to just three shots on net through the first 15 minutes of the period.
They turned it on late in the period, getting a late third period power play and - in regular Lehigh Valley Phantoms fashion - getting a game-tying extra attacker goal in the final minute of play to tie the game up and force overtime.
After relentless pressure and a stoppage with 1:06 left, the Phantoms went to work after losing a face-off in the offensive zone - digging a puck out off the boards behind the net. Taylor Leier sent a puck up the wall for Phil Myers at the left point, who carried it toward the middle before giving it back to the left side wall for Phil Varone. Last year's AHL MVP came to the top of the left-wing circle before snapping one past Lindgren with 55 seconds left in regulation to force overtime - his second tally of the night after a scoring change credited him with the Phantoms' goal in the 1st period.
OVERTIME
The Phantoms had an early chance with Leier blazing down the right wing, stopping and finding Brennan in the middle. His shot was stopped and in the scrum, Brennan shoved goaltender Charlie Lindgren - starting a wrestling match in Laval netminder's crease. Luckily for the Phantoms, no penalties were called. They were already shorthanded seven times on the night.
Instead, Varone found Aube-Kubel on the left-wing and connected on a pass that sprung Aube-Kubel on a mini-break down the left side and he beat Lindgren to complete the comeback for Lehigh Valley in a 3-2 win.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
4:33: LV - (PP) Goulbourne, minor (boarding) 12:57: LV - (PP) Myers, minor (delay of game - closing hand on puck) 18:28: LAV - (PP) McCarron, minor (hooking)
2nd Period
2:11: LAV - Froese (8) - Audette, Lernout 2:32: LAV - Pezzetta, minor (unsportsmanlike) 2:32: LV - Goulbourne, minor (unsportsmanlike) 3:46: LAV - (PP) Belzile, minor (hooking) 3:56: LV - PPG Carey (13) - Conner, Brennan 6:11: LV - (PP) Carey, minor (slashing) 13:35: LV - (PP) de Haas, minor (slashing) 14:01: LAV - (PP) Shinkaruk, minor (hooking) 15:03: LV - (PP) Vorobyev, minor (hooking) 16:33: LV - (PP) Myers, minor (slashing)
3rd Period
4:43: LV - (PP) Goulbourne, minor (cross-checking) 7:13: LAV - Pezzetta (2) - Alzner, Vejdemo 17:25: LAV - (PP) Vejdemo, minor (holding the stick)
Overtime
0:48: LV - Aube-Kubel (5) - Varone, Myers
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 3 Laval Rocket 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 = 2
Shots
Lehigh Valley 8 - 7 - 11 - 2 = 28 Laval Rocket 9 - 6 - 13 -0 = 28
Goalies
LV: Carter Hart (26 saves - 28 shots) LAV: Charlie Lindgren (25 saves - 28 shots)
Power Play
LV: 2-for-3 LAV: 0-for-7
Penalty Kill
LV: 7-for-7 LAV: 1-for-3
Attendance: 5,528
