Phantoms Start Road Trip With Win In Bridgeport
BRIDGEPORT - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-3-2) kicked off their season long six-game road trip with a big 4-2 win in Bridgeport on a Wednesday morning school day game for local schools in Connecticut.
Down 2-0 after the first period, the Phantoms went on to tally four unanswered goals to turn things around in a big way Wednesday morning/afternoon.
Phil Varone (one goal, one assist) and Danick Martel (one goal, one assist) tallied goals 54 seconds apart early in the middle frame, while Oskar Lindblom tallied what would become the eventual game winning goal with 6:15 left before the third. Tyrell Goulbourne added an insurance marker in the third period to preserve the two points. T.J. Brennan added a game-high three assists in the win, while Alex Lyon stopped 42 of the 44 shots he faced in a winning effort.
Looking Ahead: The Phantoms enjoy a rare Friday night off before heading to Hershey Saturday for a meeting with the Bears at Giant Center.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Chris Conner (A) Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Oskar Lindblom - Mikhail Vorobyev - Colin McDonald (C) Tyrell Goulbourne - Corban Knight (A) - Radel Fazleev
T.J. Brennan - Max LamarcheWill O'Neill - Reece Willcox Adam Comrie - Mark Friedman
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery - out indefinitely), Sam Morin (injured), Phil Myers (injured), Cole Bardreau (injured) and James De Haas (healthy)
ROSTER NOTES
Alex Lyon got the start in net Wednesday morning. Lyon has been struggling a bit early into the 2017-18 season. Dustin Tokarski started last Friday and Sunday's games and also relieved Lyon in his only start last Saturday night in Binghamton.
Head coach Scott Gordon confirmed our earlier report from Sunday evening that Cole Bardreau did indeed have an x-ray on his hand after his first period fight in Sunday's game against Toronto. The results were revealed to media, but Bardreau is expected to be out awhile.
Inside AHL Hockey's lead photographer Nina Weiss took in Tuesday's Phantoms practice, and noted that Sam Morin was on the ice but not an active participant.
Nina also reported that Phil Myers skated with the team at Tuesday's practice, though he sat out Wednesday morning's game. Perhaps, he's nearing a return this weekend.
GAME RECAP
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers came ready to play this morning, dominating most of the first period and taking a 2-0 lead into the middle frame.
Lehigh Valley was out-shot 19-8 in the opening 20 minutes, and spent much of the period chasing the puck.
Sebastian Aho got the Sound Tigers on the board 7:41 into the contest, blasting a one-timer from the right-wing circle past Alex Lyon. Ryan Bourque won a puck battle and got a puck to Bridgeport's leading scorer Tanner Fritz, who spotted an open Aho across the ice and sent a pass his way.
Late in the first, after a Nicolas Aube-Kubel high-sticking minor, Josh Ho-Sang took a puck behind the net and passed it back against the grain to Steve Bernier at the side of the net. Lyon came up with the initial save, but Bernier was able to get his own rebound uncontested and beat the Phantoms' goaltender to make it a 2-0 Sound Tigers' lead with 4:51 left before the first intermission.
For as bad as the first period was for Lehigh Valley, they turned it around quickly in the middle frame. All in all, they tallied three unanswered goals - including two just 54 seconds apart - to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead heading to the third period.
After a slashing penalty on Mitch Vande Sompel on the opening shift, the Phantoms' power play unit got them on the scoreboard and halted Bridgeport's first period momentum.
Mikhail Vorobyev got a puck to the point to T.J. Brennan for a shot that was blocked down, but Phil Varone got to the loose puck in the slot and fired it back on net - beating Gudlevskis for his third goal of the season just 1:04 into the middle frame.
GOAL GIF: Phil Varone (@pvarone22) tallies his 3rd of the year on the power play to get #LVPhantoms on the board early in the 2nd period. pic.twitter.com/iK0fMOM2X7November 8, 2017
Just 54 seconds later, Danick Martel took a puck down the right wing and fired a hard shot that beat Gudlevskis to the short side to tie the game up at 2-2. Martel's unassisted goal was his league-leading 14th of the season and his sixth straight game with a goal. He's simply been off to an incredible start for the Phantoms through the first five weeks of the season.
GOAL GIF: AHL's leading scorer Danick Martel makes it six straight games with a goal. His 14th of the season in his 14th game. pic.twitter.com/usVlbVkhSkNovember 8, 2017
Later in the period, Oskar Lindblom gave the Phantoms their first lead of the game with 6:15 left before the second intermission. Brennan got a puck down low to Martel, who fed it out in front to Lindblom for a quick, one-touch shot past Gudlevskis for Lindblom's third of the season.
GOAL GIF: @oskarlindblom gives #LVPhantoms a 3-2 lead in 2nd period on this sneaky one-touch shot in front of the net. pic.twitter.com/ldaEEFxGCFNovember 8, 2017
The Phantoms made it four unanswered goals 7:19 into the third period after Phil Varone dug out a puck along the boards with two Sound Tigers' defensemen on him and flipped it across ice to an open Tyrell Goulbourne, who came in all alone and sniped one high to the blocker side on Gudlevksis to extend the Phantoms' lead to 4-2.
GOAL GIF: @Tgillz12 snipes one past Gudlevskis to make it 4-2 #LVPhantoms with 12:41 left in regulation. pic.twitter.com/vXbcOX0a74November 8, 2017
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
2:45: LV - (PP) Fazleev, minor (holding) 7:41: BST - Aho (6) - Fritz, Bourque 14:29: LV - (PP) Aube-Kubel, minor (high-sticking) 15:09: BST - PPG Bernier (7) - Ho-Sang, Aho 16:41: BST - (PP) Vande Sompel, minor (high-sticking)
2nd Period
0:22: BST - (PP) Vande Sompel, minor (slashing) 1:04: LV - PPG Varone (3) - Brennan, Vorobyev 1:55: LV - Martel (14) - Aube-Kubel, Vecchione 2:49: BST - (PP) Eansor, minor (holding) 7:15: LV - (PP) Brennan, minor (slashing) 13:45: LV - Lindblom (3) - Martel, Brennan 14:56: BST - (PP) Dal Colle, minor (tripping) 19:53: LV - Fazleev, minor (roughing) 19:53: BST - Johnston, minor (roughing) 19:53: BST - (PP) Johnston, minor (slashing)
3rd Period
7:19: LV - Goulbourne (2) - Varone, Brennan 8:05: LV - (PP) bench minor, (too many men - served by Carey) 18:22: LV - (PP) Lamarche, minor (hooking)
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 3 - 1 = 4 Bridgeport 2 - 0 - 0 = 2
Shots
Lehigh Valley 8 - 13 - 6 = 27 Bridgeport 19 - 9 - 16 = 44
Goalies
LV - Alex Lyon (42 saves - 44 shots) BST - Kristers Gudlevskis (23 saves - 27 shots)
Power Play
LV: 1-for-5 BST: 1-for-5
Penalty Kill
LV: 4-for-5 BST: 4-for-5
Attendance: 8,008
