Weekly Wrap-Up - Atlantic Division (Week 11)
The Weekly Wrap-Up, Atlantic Division style, returns as Julie takes a look around arguably the toughest division in the entire AHL.
Providence Bruins
Record Last Week: 2-1-0
The Providence Bruins made it 8 in a row Wednesday night with a 3-0 shutout of the Hershey Bears in Hershey. Colton Hargrove scored on the powerplay in the first, providing the game-winning goal. The Bruins added insurance goals from Anton Blidh and Zach Senyshyn in the third. Zane McIntyre made 28 saves in his first shutout of the season.
On Friday night in Syracuse, the Bruins suffered a 5-3 loss to the Crunch. Bildh opened the scoring with an unassisted, shorthanded goal, but Syracuse responded just over a minute later to tie the game. Josh Hennessey then scored for Providence, but four unanswered Syracuse goals put the game out of reach despite a late goal from Senyshyn. McIntyre recorded 23 saves in the loss.
Saturday’s game in Hershey marked Providence’s second win of the week, both coming against the Bears. Kenny Agostino, Austin Czarnik, Jordan Szwarz, Adam Payerl, Tommy Cross, and Senyshyn all recorded goals in the 6-2 victory. Jordan Binnington stopped all four shots he faced until he and former teammate Pheonix Copley engaged in some extra-curricular activities, earning both misconducts. McIntyre finished out the game with 14 saves on 16 shots.
Charlotte Checkers
Record Last Week: 3-1-0
On Tuesday night, the Checkers were unable to keep their streak alive, falling 6-3 to the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After two Lehigh Valley goals, Julien Gauthier, Trevor Carrick, and Andrew Poturalski each scored before the end of the first period to give Charlotte the lead. But the Phantoms were able to get three more pucks past Alex Nedeljkovic who made 32 saves.
In the rematch on Wednesday, Charlotte responded with a 5-2 victory. Patrick Brown scored a pair of goals and Valentin Zykov, Andrew Poturalski, and Andrew Miller each added tallies for Charlotte. Jeremy Smith made 35 saves on 37 shots to preserve the victory for the Checkers.
The Checkers then swept the visiting Laval Rockets in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday. In Saturday’s game, Lucas Wallmark, Zykov, and Clark Bishop each recorded goals in the 3-1 victory for the Checkers. Smith went the distance between the pipes, recording 20 saves.
On Sunday Zykov recorded a pair of first period goals and Warren Foegele recorded a pair in the third period while Nicolas Roy, Wallmark, and Bishop each added tallies. Nedeljkovic made 5 saves on 6 shots before Smith entered and made 18 saves on 22 shots.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Record Last Week: 3-1-0
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms ended Charlotte’s hot streak with a 6-3 victory over the Checkers Tuesday night in Charlotte. Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored the first and last goals of the game while Danick Martel, Phil Varone, Oskar Lindblom, and Greg Carey also scored for the Phantoms who had to come from a 3-4 deficit for the victory. Dustin Tokarski allowed three goals on seven shots in the first and was pulled in favor of John Muse who went over 51 minutes without allowing a shot to earn the victory. He made 25 saves.
In the rematch on Wednesday night, the Checkers scored early and often en route to a 5-2 victory. Matt Read scored late in the second on the powerplay to cut Charlotte’s lead to 4-1. In the third Radel Fazleev recorded his first goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough as Charlotte tallied an empty net goal late. John Muse was unable to make it back-to-back clean-sheets. He made 23 saves in the loss.
On Saturday, the Phantoms earned a big 4-2 victory over the red-hot Syracuse Crunch. Chris Conner, Corban Knight, Carey, and Martel all recorded goals for Lehigh Valley. John Muse made 22 saves on 24 shots in the victory that ended Syracuse’s ten-game winning streak.
Knight lifted the Phantoms to a 3-2 OT victory in Bridgeport Sunday night with the game-winner just 42 seconds into the extra frame. Steven Swavely got his first goal of the season in the second to tie the game at 1-1. Martel, the league’s leader in goals scored, then scored his 17th of the season to put the Phantoms on top, but a late third-period shot from Casey Bailey got past Dustin Tokarski, who had 37 saves on the night for Lehigh Valley, paving the way for Knight’s heroics.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Record Last Week: 1-1-1
The Penguins made it two wins in a row with a 6-3 come-from-behind victory in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Wednesday night over the visiting Springfield Falcons. Andrey Pedan scored the game’s first goal, but three straight from Springfield put the pressure on midway through the second. Greg McKegg and Daniel Sprong each scored late in the second to tie the game. Spring then got the eventual game-winner while teammates Ryan Haggerty and Patrick McGrath each added insurance markers. Casey DeSmith made 24 saves for the victory.
The Penguins traveled to Hartford Friday and suffered a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Wolf Pack. Thomas DiPauli, Teddy Blueger, and Sprong all scored in the lopsided loss. DeSmith was lifted in favor of Sean Maguire after allowing 4 goals on 11 shots. Maguire made 24 saves on 27 shots the remainder of the way.
On Saturday, the Penguins fell once again, this time 3-2 to Bridgeport in overtime. McKegg put the Penguins up early in the first, and Zach Aston-Reese later tied the game late in the third, but DeSmith (30 saves) was unable to secure the victory in OT as Sebastian Aho got one by him just 26 seconds into OT.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Record Last Week: 1-1-1
Bridgeport’s lone loss of the weekend came Friday night at the hands of the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-4. Parker Wotherspoon notched the game’s first and last goals while teammates Casey Bailey and Scott Eansor each recorded goals, but it wasn’t enough as Christopher Gibson allowed 5 goals on 19 shots before being lifted in favor of Kristers Gudlevskis who went 5-for-5 the rest of the way.
But the Sound Tigers bounced back Saturday night with a 3-2 OT victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Devon Toews and Eansor both scored, briefly giving Bridgeport the lead late in the third period, but the Penguins tied it up with just over 4 minutes to play. Sebastian Aho got the game-winner in OT. Gudlevskis started the game, making 7 saves on 8 shots, and Gibson finished it, making 14 saves on 15 shots.
Bridgeport’s second OT game did not turn out as well though, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned the victory. Michael Dal Colle put the Sound Tigers on top midway through the first, but a late goal by Bailey after a pair of second-period goals by the Phantoms forced OT. Lehigh Valley got the game-winner past Gibson who made 15 saves on the night. He was backed up by Eamon McAdam.
Hartford Wolf Pack
Record Last Week: 1-0-1
The Hartford Wolf Pack exploded out of the gates Friday night at home, recording a 7-3 victory over the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. John Gilmour and Gabriel Fontaine each recorded a pair of goals while Ryan Graves, Scott Kosmachuk, Anthony DeAngelo all added tallies for the Pack. Marek Mazanec made 31 saves in net for Hartford.
Hartford was unable to keep up the scoring clip Saturday in Springfield as they fell 2-1 in the shootout to the Thunderbirds. Ryan Groop recorded the game’s first goal late in the first period, but Bobby Farnham got one puck by Mazanec in the second to tie the game. Francois Beauchemin got the only goal in the three-round shootout for Springfield. Macanec’s 42-save performance was good enough for the game’s #3 star.
Hershey Bears
Record Last Week: 0-2-0
It was two straight losses for the Bears as Providence came to Hershey Wednesday night and earned a 3-0 victory over the Bears. The shutout marked the first time the Bears were held without a goal at Giant Center since November 14, 2015 when Bridgeport’s Chris Gibson stopped 28 shots, ironically the same number as McIntyre stopped Wednesday. Vitek Vanecek made 17 saves on 20 shots in net for Hershey.
The two teams met in Hershey once again on Saturday, but the only highlights for the Bears were the fights, which included a goalie scrap between Pheonix Copley and Jordan Binnington after Providence built a 4-0 lead in the second. Riley Barber and Liam O’Brien both scored after the scrap which also involved Tyler Lewington, Garrett Mitchell, Rob O’Gara, and Emil Johansson. Prior to the misconduct, Copley made 15 saves on 19 shots. Vitek Vanecek then made 11 saves on 12 shots.
Springfield Thunderbirds
Record Last Week: 2-1-0
Springfield’s woes continued Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the Penguins earned a 6-3 victory. Maxime Fortunus, Maxim Mamin, and Chase Balisy each scored to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead midway through the second, but the Penguins stormed back for the win on home ice. Samuel Montembeault made 30 saves on 35 shots in net for Springfield.
Springfield got back in the win column Friday night with a 5-4 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Blaine Byron, Juho Lammikko, Ryan Horvat, Anthony Greco, and Curtis Valk each scored for the Thunderbirds while Montembeault’s 29 saves were enough to preserve the victory.
On Saturday, Bobby Farnham tied the game 1-1 in the second and Francois Beauchemin recorded the lone shootout goal for Springfield’s 2-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Montembeault made 32 saves on 33 shots in the victory.
Atlantic Division Standings as of December 18th, 2017:
Providence: 27 GP, 18-7-2-0, 38 points, .704 pct Charlotte: 29 GP, 19-9-0-1, 39 points, .672 pct Lehigh Valley: 30 GP, 18-9-1-2, 39 points, .650 pct W-B/Scranton: 26 GP, 15-8-2-1, 28 points, .635 pct Bridgeport: 27 GP, 13-11-2-1, 29 points, .537 pct Hartford: 29 GP, 11-12-3-3, 28 points, .483 pct Hershey: 29 GP, 12-14-0-3, 27 points, .466 pct Springfield: 31 GP, 12-18-1-0, 25 points, .403 pct
This Week’s Atlantic Division Schedule:
Wednesday, December 20
Hershey at Charlotte - 7:00 PM Hartford at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM
Thursday, December 21
Hershey at Charlotte - 7:00 PM
Friday, December 22
Bridgeport at Springfield - 7:05 PM Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 7:05 PM Providence at Hartford - 7:15 PM
Saturday, December 23
Bridgeport at Hartford - 3:00 PM Lehigh Valley at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5:05 PM Binghamton at Hershey - 7:00 PM Providence at Springfield - 7:05 PM
