GAMEDAY: Game 44 - Laval (19-17-7) at Lehigh Valley (22-15-4) 7:15 p.m. ET
ALLENTOWN, PA -- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have a pair of games this weekend before the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic begins with the Skills Competition on Sunday. Friday night means a matchup with the Laval Rocket.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes
Alex Lyon is the latest to join the Phantoms' ever-growing injury list. Branden Komm was recalled from Reading, and actually got the start Friday night against Laval. Carter Hart, loaned to Lehigh Valley by Philadelphia, served as Komm's backup.
Connor Bunnaman, who exited during both Monday's game before returning and Wednesday's game - and did not return, sat out Friday's game. Alex Krushelnyski, who sat as the team's 13th forward Wednesday, returned to the lineup.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Mike Huntebrinker - Chris Conner Carsen Twarynski- Mike Vecchione- Tyrell GoulbourneJustin Bailey - Mikhail Vorobyev - Colin McDonald Josh MacDonald - Steven Swavely - Alex Krushelnyski
Philip Samuelsson - Phil Myers Zach Palmquist - Reece Willcox James de Haas - Mark Friedman
Branden Komm - Carter Hart
Scratches: Alex Lyon (injured), Frank Hora (healthy), Cole Bardreau (injured), Nicolas Aube-Kubel (injured), German Rubtsov (injured), Connor Bunnaman (injured), David Kase (injured) and T.J. Brennan (injured)
GAME STORY
FIRST PERIOD
The opening three minutes of the contest provided no shots on goal, but Phil Myers - the birthday boy - made sure the first shot of the hockey game - for either team - counted.
Myers, with Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher in attendance at the PPL Center, lasered a shot from the right point past Laval goaltender Charlie Lindgren 3:27 into the contest to give Lehigh Valley the early 1-0 lead. This coming after Mikhail Vorobyev won an offensive draw in the left-wing circle and got the puck to Phil Samuelsson.
Colin McDonald took a tripping minor on the shift after Myers' 8th of the season, but the Phantoms were able to get the penalty killed off and maintain their 1-0 lead.
Things got a little weird with 12:04 left as Tyrell Goulbourne came to the defense of Mark Friedman after the Phantoms' defender was leveled by a charging Antoine Waked. Goulbourne dropped his gloves and went to town on Waked, racking up 17-minutes in penalties and putting Lehigh Valley shorthanded for a five-minute major to kill off.
The Phantoms' penalty killers went to work, and with the help of Branden Komm were able to get through the 5-minute PK unscathed.
Laval was out-chancing and out-shooting Lehigh Valley, but it wasn't until a misplayed puck behind the net from Branden Komm ended up in the back of the Phantoms' net in the final minute of the period that the Rocket were able to tie the game.
Komm tried to send a puck around the boards and out of the zone, but the puck deflected up to the top of the right-wing circle and right onto the tape of Brett Lernout who blasted a shot past a diving attempt by Komm to get back into his net with 51.8 seconds left before the intermission - sending the two teams to the middle frame even at one apiece.
SECOND PERIOD
The two teams settled in during the middle frame, as the pace picked up and - as the period wore - chances were exchanged and things started opening up.
But before all that, the Phantoms got a power play and made the most of their first man advantage opportunity thanks to a beautiful array of passes got Laval goalie Charlie Lindgren sliding back-and-forth from left to right and opened up Justin Bailey to get his second 'first' goal with his new team.
Chris Conner headed behind the net for his patented fake wrap-around pass back to the left-wing circle for Mikhail Vorobyev. Vorobyev quickly one-touched the puck across to the bottom of the right-wing circle for Bailey to rifle past a diving Lindgren. The power play tally gave Lehigh Valley the 2-1 lead near the midway mark of regulation.
After being out-shot 13-5 in the first frame, Lehigh Valley had the better of the chances in the middle frame.
But that didn't mean Komm wasn't coming up with some important saves to keep the Phantoms in front heading to the third. Most notably, Komm's breakaway stop on Hunter Shinkaruk late in the middle frame.
THIRD PERIOD
Komm was busy early in the third period, making a stop after half of his teammates on the ice stopped playing - expecting an offside whistle. The broken play had Phelix Martineau in behind the defense down low with a rebound on his backhand and an empty net staring him down. Fortunately for Komm and the Phantoms, Martineau flubbed the attempt at the net and the game remained a 2-1 Phantoms' lead.
Later in the period, Laval executed a stretch pass to perfection - springing Alex Belzile on a breakaway from the blue line. Again, Komm was equal to the task and able to keep his team ahead by one.
The Phantoms got a glorious chance to extend the lead when they got their second power play of the night near the midway mark of the third. They weren't able to score with the first 1:36, but a second penalty gave the Phantoms just enough time 5-on-3 to extend the lead.
During the 5-on-3, Myers moved a puck to the top of the right-wing circle for a big slapper from Greg Carey. Laval goalie Lindgren made the initial stop, but the rebound darted into the slot where Chris Conner was able to nudge it over to Mikhail Vorobyev for a second attempt past the goal line. Vorobyev's sixth of the season with 8:28 left extended the Phantoms' lead to 3-1.
Laval got one back shortly after their five-on-three power play ended, making it a one goal game again with 4:10 left to play. Byron Froese one-timed a puck from the top of the left-wing circle past Komm for Froese's 14th of the season.
That's as close as Laval would get, as Komm and the Phantoms shut the door on the Rocket's comeback bid and improved to 24-15-5 on the season with one game left before the AHL's All-Star game.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
3:27: LV - Myers (8) - Samuelsson, Vorobyev 3:46: LV - (PP) McDonald, minor (tripping) 7:56: LV - Goulbourne, minor (instigating) 7:56: LV - (PP) Goulbourne, major (fighting) 7:56: LV - Goulbourne, ten-minute misconduct 7:56: LAV - Waked, minor (charging) 19:08: LAV - Lernout (2) - Belzile, Schlemko
2nd Period
8:28: LAV - (PP) Pezzetta, minor (interference) 9:41: LV - PPG Bailey (10) - Vorobyev, Conner 10:20: LV - (PP) Vorobyev, minor (high-sticking)
3rd Period
9:34: LAV - (PP) Belzile, minor (high-sticking) 11:10: LAV - (PP) Alexandre, minor (tripping) 11:32: LV - PPG Vorobyev (6) - Conner, Carey 13:31: LV - (PP) Vorobyev, minor (interference) 15:20: LV - (PP) Bailey, minor (interference) 15:50: LAV - PPG Froese (14) - Ouellet, Audette
BOXSCORE
Laval Rocket 1 - 0 - 1 = 2 Lehigh Valley 1 - 1 - 1 = 3
Shots
Laval Rocket 13 - 9 - 14 = 36 Lehigh Valley 5 - 11 - 10 = 26
Goalies
LAV: Charlie Lindgren (23 saves - 26 shots) LV: Branden Komm (34 saves - 36 shots)
Power Play
LAV: 1-for-5 LV: 2-for-3
Penalty Kill
LAV: 1-for-3 LV: 4-for-5
Attendance: 7,637
