On The Brink - Marlies Maul Phantoms To Take Commanding 3-0 Series Lead
ALLENTOWN - It became quickly evident Wednesday night that the Lehigh Valley Phantoms had their hands full and were in big trouble. The Toronto Marlies seemingly were able to do whatever they pleased in all three zones for most of the contest, blowing out the Phantoms 5-0 and putting Lehigh Valley's season on the brink.
To add injury to insult, Phantoms' goalie Alex Lyon was assessed a match penalty for "kicking" in the third period and ejected with the Phantoms already trailing 3-0. The match penalty is supposed to come with an automatic suspension pending a review but head coach Scott Gordon said post-game he believes the match penalty will be rescinded. It was merely a shove.
The Phantoms didn't play at the top of their game, but credit to Toronto for sticking to their game and really dominating the contest. The Marlies held the Phantoms' high-powered offense to a mere 16 shots. Gordon mentioned thinking at times that it felt like the Marlies had an extra skater on the ice all night long the way they were able to block as many shots as they did.
What's left for Lehigh Valley is attempting to overcome a 3-0 series deficit, which just three teams in the AHL's history have been able to do. The most recent came in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins overcame the 0-3 deficit and won four straight games.
Lehigh Valley's Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Oskar Lindblom - Phil Varone - Chris Conner Greg Carey - Mike Vecchione - Corban Knight Danick Martel - Mikhail Vorobyev - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Tyrell Goulbourne - Cole Bardreau - Colin McDonald
Travis Sanheim - Phil Myers T.J. Brennan - Mark Friedman Reece Willcox - Max Lamarche
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: John Muse, Anthony Stolarz, Sam Morin, Will O'Neill, Steven Swavely, Radel Fazleev, Morgan Frost, Carsen Twarynski, Frank Hora, Pascal Laberge, Alex Krushelnyski and James de Haas
POST-GAME REACTION
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
1:01: TOR - Grundstrom (6) - Johnsson 3:40: TOR - (PP) Dermott, minor (holding) 13:22: TOR - (PP) Liljegren, minor (interference) 16:24: LV - (PP) Bardreau, minor (slashing)
2nd Period
4:50: TOR - Johnsson (4) - Aaltonen, Grundstrom 12:32: TOR - Marchment (3) - Brooks, Moore 16:34: LV - Friedman, minor (cross-checking) 16:34: TOR - Timashov, minor (cross-checking) 19:55: LV - Vorobyev, minor (slashing) 19:55: TOR - bench minor, too many men (served by Marchment)
3rd Period
7:22: LV - (PP) Myers, minor (slashing) 9:41: LV - (PP) Lyon, match - kicking 11:08: TOR - PPG Smith (4) - Timashov, Mueller 12:29: TOR - PPG Smith (5) - Greening, Dermott 13:36 LV - Vorobyev, ten-minute misconduct
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 0 - 0 = 0 Toronto 1 - 2 - 2 = 5
Shots
Lehigh Valley 3 - 6 - 7 = 16 Toronto 11 - 11 - 12 = 34
Goalies
LV - Alex Lyon (23 saves - 26 shots in 49:31) and Dustin Tokarski (6 saves - 8 shots in 10:19) TOR - Garret Sparks (16 saves - 16 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-2 TOR: 2-for-3
Penalty Kill
LV: 1-for-3 TOR: 2-for-2
Attendance: 6,039
