Shootout Success - Phantoms Finish Weekend With Win Over Hershey
HERSHEY - In their third game in 46 hours, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-1-0-1) entertained a Giant Center crowd with a three-goal third period and an eventual shootout winner by Chris Conner to secure a 4-3 win and four out of a possible six points in the team's first three-in-three weekend of the season.
With the Phantoms trailing 1-0 entering the third period, the offense began to click early in the final frame to the tune of three goals in a span of 3:28 - including two goals just 49 seconds apart - to jump ahead 3-1.
Phil Myers scored his first career pro goal to get Lehigh Valley on the board, followed up by Nicolas Aube-Kubel's 2nd of the year and Danick Martel's AHL-leading fifth goal of the season to propel the Phantoms attack in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
After taking a 1-0 lead on a Chris Bourque power play goal in the second period, the Hershey Bears (0-2-0-1) didn't quit when down 3-1 in the third. They actually forced overtime on a pair of goals - one Jonas Seigenthaler's first pro goal and the other a Colby Williams power play blast - to tie the game up at 3-3 earn their first standings point of the young 2017-18 season.
In the end, it was Conner again with the heroics at Giant Center for Lehigh Valley (you might remember his overtime game winner in the first round of the playoffs in Hershey last spring) - giving the Phantoms their fifth straight win over Hershey at the Giant Center including the two postseason wins in Hershey during the opening round of the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Matt Read Oskar Lindblom - Corban Knight (A) - Chris Conner (A)Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Tyrell Goulbourne - Mikhail Vorobyev - Radel Fazleev
Will O'Neill - Mark Alt Mark Friedman - Reece WillcoxSam Morin - Phil Myers
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery - out indefinitely), Cole Bardreau (upper body), Steven Swavely (healthy), Colin McDonald (lower body), Max Lamarche (healthy) and T.J. Brennan (undisclosed)
RECAP
Heading into the opening face-off, the Phantoms knew they would have to weather the storm in Hershey against a Bears team still searching for its first win of the season.
In the opening few shifts, Lehigh Valley kept the shifts short and did just that - weather the storm. After the first five minutes or so, it was all Phantoms.
Drawing power play after power play, the Phantoms were taking it to Hershey. It was the Bears who looked like they were playing their third game in 46 hours.
Unfortunately for the Phantoms, they were unable to take advantage of the power plays they were being given - including 1:16 of a two-man advantage in the middle of the opening period.
After an 0-for-4 showing on the man advantage, the Phantoms headed to the first intermission in a scoreless tie with the Bears. You just had the feeling that the missed opportunities might come back to bite them.
The penalties began to even out in the middle frame. The Bears were given back-to-back power plays in the opening 5:18 and unlike Lehigh Valley, Hershey was able to capitalize.
John Albert got a puck across the top of the zone to Chris Bourque, who skated in to the top of the left-wing circle before blasting a shot that trickled past Lyon to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
The Phantoms continued to go to work, but just couldn't buy a goal. Corban Knight had Parker Milner dead to rights, but missed the empty cage and hit the post. Moments later, Mark Friedman also hit iron. Lehigh Valley wasn't capitalizing on their opportunities, or perhaps this game could have been opened up and put out of reach.
Instead, the Phantoms headed to the third period trailing the Bears 1-0 thanks to some fantastic saves by Alex Lyon, who stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced in the middle frame to keep Lehigh Valley in a one-goal game heading into the final period.
The Phantoms offense fired it up in the third period, tallying two goals 49 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead.
First, Phil Myers stepped into a point shot from just above the right-wing circle for his first career pro goal to get the Phantoms on the board. Just 49 seconds later, Danick Martel sent a quick pass up to Mikhail Vorobyev for a 2-on-1 rush with Nicolas Aube-Kubel and the former connected a pass with the latter in route to NAK's second goal of the season to put the Phantoms ahead.
Less than three minutes later, Martel skated down the right wing and cut in to the dot before sniping one past Milner for his AHL league-leading fifth of the season.
But the Hershey Bears didn't pack it in and accept defeat. Instead, they erased the 3-1 deficit they quickly found themselves in on a pair of third period tallies of their own.
Wayne Simpson got a puck to Jonas Seigenthaler for a snipe past Lyon that marked Seigenthaler's first career AHL goal to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 11:24 left in regulation. It wasn't until a late 3rd period power play that the Bears would tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime. Chris Bourque found an open Colby Willams across the top of the power play umbrella, and Williams smoked a one-timer that beat Lyon to the spot with 2:30 left to play.
Both teams had chances in the 3-on-3 overtime period, but goalies Lyon and Milner made some fantastic saves to get it to the shootout.
In the end, it was Chris Conner playing the role of hero for Lehigh Valley in the third round of the shootout - going forehand to backhand and through Milner's five-hole to complete the shootout win for the Phantoms.
POST-GAME REACTION
Head coach Scott Gordon
Q: Tail end of a 3-in-3, missed opportunities in the first and capitalize in the third:
A: I don't think I could ask much more - 3-in-3 for our guys. We didn't get down when it was 1-0, it was great to see us come out for the third period and score three goals. We didn't hold the lead, but it wasn't from a lack of effort. That's a big character win for us being able to finish up a 3-in-3 after them only playing two games on the week.
Q: On getting 4-of-6 points on the weekend:
Especially when you start the week off on Friday night not really playing - it wasn't a horrible game - but it wasn't right. I thought our guys handled last night and tonight the way they should. They made good decisions with the puck and as a result we had a lot of offensive zone time.
Q: On mental mistakes in 3-in-3 being typical in 3rd game, but not the case tonight (rookies even playing really well):
They did. They did. Everybody... I'd be hard pressed to say it. Guys didn't necessarily have their A-game as far as from the physical standpoint, but I thought we brought our A-game mentally.
ROSTER NOTES
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Alex Lyon got his third start of the weekend Sunday evening in Hershey, playing well in back-to-back nights to improve to 3-1-1 on the season. Dustin Tokarski served as Lyon's backup.
T.J. Brennan did not play tonight with what had coach Scott Gordon termed "banged up" following last night's scrum with Tom Sestito. If in fact Brennan is later suspended as a result of Saturday's cross-checking major and game misconduct, the Phantoms can say his one game was served by sitting this one out.
Mark Friedman returned to the lineup in Brennan's place, and Max Lamarche took the warmup skate for the first time this season as a precaution in case Phil Myers, who left Saturday night's game after blocking a shot, wasn't able to play. Myers played Sunday's game and Lamarche was scratched as the team's seventh defenseman.
Head coach Scott Gordon said "soon" when asked about the returns of injured forwards Cole Bardreau and Colin McDonald after Sunday night's game.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
5:42: HER - (PP) Lewington, minor (slashing) 10:32: HER - (PP) Sill, minor (tripping) 11:16: HER - (PP) Labrie, minor (cross-checking) 14:54: HER - (PP) Williams, minor (elbowing)
2nd Period
0:16: LV - (PP) Morin, minor (tripping) 5:18: LV - (PP) Read, minor (slashing) 5:43: HER - PPG Bourque (2) - Albert, Boyd 11:41: HER - (PP) Siegenthaler, minor (hooking) 13:49: HER - O'Brien, minor (cross-checking) 13:49: LV - Friedman, minor (holding the stick) 17:29: HER - (PP) Siegenthaler, minor (cross-checking)
3rd Period
4:50: LV - Myers (1) - Carey, Varone 5:39: LV - Aube-Kubel (2) - Vorobyev, Martel 8:18: LV - Martel (5) - Vecchione, Morin 8:36: HER - Siegenthaler (1) - Simpson, Bourque 10:25: LV - (PP) Alt, minor (tripping) 15:53: LV - (PP) Martel, minor (interference) 17:30: HER - PPG Williams (1) - Bourque, Boyd
Overtime
3:37: HER - (PP) Barber, minor (slashing)
Shootout
LV
Knight - no goal Vecchione - no goal Conner - GOAL
HER
Simpson - no goal Stephenson - no goal Boyd - no goal
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 0 - 0 - 3 - 1 = 4 Hershey 0 - 1 - 2 - 0 = 3
Shots
Lehigh Valley 10 - 10 - 6 - 3 = 30 Hershey 7 - 16 - 12 - 2 = 37
Goalies
LV - Alex Lyon (34 saves - 37 shots) HER - Parker Milner (26 saves - 29 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-7 HER: 2-for-4
Penalty Kill
LV: 1-for-2 HER: 6-for-6
Attendance: 8,561
