Weekly Wrap-Up - Atlantic Division (Week 16)

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers had an eventful week that included a game in Charlotte with no fans, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Hershey Bears battled outdoors and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - decimated again with injuries and callups - continue to find a way to remain atop the Atlantic Division Standings.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Record Last Week: 1-1-1

On Wednesday, the Penguins won their sixth straight game of 2018, 4-1 over Lehigh Valley. Game Quinney, Christian Thomas, Teddy Blueger, and Zach Aston-Reese all recorded goals for the Penguins. Meanwhile, Anthony Peters made 22 saves on 23 shots to secure Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s victory.

But the winning streak came to an end in Providence as the Bruins defeated the Penguins 1-0. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was unable to solve Zane McIntyre. Peters had an impressive evening stopping 42 of 43 shots in the loss for the Penguins.

In Hartford on Sunday, Anthony Peters made 21 saves through regulation and into OT, but couldn’t stop the 22nd as the Hartford Wolf Pack pulled off a 1-0 OT victory. Vince Pedrie scored the game winner 2:25 into the OT period.

Providence Bruins

Record Last Week: 2-1-0

The Providence Bruins put last week’s woes behind them with a nail-biting 1-0 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday night. Tommy Cross scored the game’s lone goal midway through the third period. Meanwhile, Zane McIntyre recorded his second shutout of the season with 28 saves.

But the Bruins could not carry the momentum into Saturday’s game in Bridgeport, where they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Sound Tigers. Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Casey Bailey each scored second period goals, but the Bruins got the game-winner in the third period. Jordan Binnington suffered the loss in net with 27 saves on 30 shots.

But the Bruins rebounded nicely on Sunday at home with a 2-0 victory over the surging Springfield Thunderbirds. Ryan Fitzgerald and Jordan Szwarz each scored in the third period. Meanwhile, McIntyre recorded his third shutout of the season and the second of the week with a 27-save performance in goal for the Bruins.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Record Last Week: 1-1-0

On Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins continued their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Philippe Myers scored on the PP in the first period to put the Phantoms on top, but the Penguins stormed back and notched three goals on 27 shots on Dustin Tokarski.

For the third time in eight days, the Phantoms squared off with in-state rival Hershey, but it was the venue that made this one different - HersheyPark Stadium. Colin McDonald and Alex Krushelnyski each scored goals in the first period of the 2018 Outdoor Classic, but Chris Conner’s second period goal with just six seconds left on the clock was the difference maker. T.J. Brennan and Conner would add empty net goals before time ran out for the 5-2 victory. Alex Lyon came up huge with a 41-save performance.

Charlotte Checkers

Record Last Week: 3-1-0

Charlotte turned things around this week with a pair of victories over Bridgeport. On Tuesday night, the Checkers whitewashed the Sound Tigers 3-0 as winter weather overtook the Charlotte area. Warren Foegele turned in a first-star performance with two goals and an assist on the evening. Nicolas Roy netted Charlotte’s other goal. Meanwhile, Alex Nedeljkovic turned away all 25 shots en route to the clean sheet victory, his second of the season.

Bridgeport put up a valiant fight in Wednesday’s rematch that took place despite fans being told to stay home due to the weather conditions. Lucas Wallmark scored a pair of goals in the third to help propel the Checkers to the 4-3 victory. Aleksi Saarela and Trevor Carrick each scored a goal as well. Nedeljkovic once again earned the victory between the pipes with 23 saves on 26 shots.

Charlotte’s hopes for a sweep of the week came to a crashing halt Saturday when Rochester came to town and emerged with a 4-1 victory in the first of a two-game series. Wallmark netted his third goal of the week, but it wasn’t enough as the Americans scored three goals on 24 shots on Jeremy Smith. They also added an empty net goal to round out the scoring.

But the Checkers got even on Sunday with a 5-4 OT victory over Rochester. Andrew Miller scored just 49 seconds into the game for the Checkers and Carrick tacked on a second goal in the first period for Charlotte. In the second Valentin Zykov and Foegele scored, but Rochester roared back to force OT. Just 67 seconds into bonus hockey, Zykov scored an unassisted goal to lift the Checkers. Nedeljkovic stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Record Last Week: 2-2-0

The Sound Tigers were unable to maintain last week’s momentum with back-to-back losses in Charlotte. On Tuesday night, the Checkers blanked Bridgeport, 3-0. Christopher Gibson allowed two goals on 26 shots. Charlotte’s final goal was an empty netter.

Perhaps the strangest game of the year came just one night later when fans were told to stay home due to hazardous weather conditions in the Charlotte area. As a result, the teams played in a nearly empty  Bojangles’ Coliseum. Bridgeport led through two periods of play thanks to goals from Scott Eansor, Ross Johnston, and Kyle Burroughs, but Charlotte managed to get four of their 21 shots past Kristers Gudlevskis and got the 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Sound Tigers.

Things improved for the Sound Tigers as they made their way back to Bridgeport where they beat the visiting Providence Bruins 3-2 Saturday. Josh Ho-Sang, Kyle Schempp, and Casey Bailey recorded goals for the Sound Tigers. Gibson turned aside Providence’s late rally; he had 25 saves on 27 shots on the evening.

Sunday night in Bridgeport, the Sound Tigers and the visiting Toronto Marlies headed to the shootout to decide the outcome of the final contest in the North and Atlantic Divisions for the week. Mitchell Vande Sompel scored the only goal of the shootout to lift Bridgeport to victory and single-handedly end Toronto’s winning streak. Gudlevskis earned the shutout with a 25-save performance before going three-for-three in the shootout.

Hershey Bears

Record Last Week: 0-1-1

Hershey’s winless streak continued into this week, but the Bears picked up a point as they lost 5-4 to Springfield Wednesday night in a three-round shootout. Wayne Simpson and Anthony Peluso put Hershey in front in the first three minutes of the game, but Springfield roared back with four straight. In the third, Dustin Gazley and Tyler Graovac each scored to force bonus hockey. In the shootout, both Chris Bourque and Mathias Bau scored, but Wayne Simpson’s attempt was no good. Vitek Vanecek was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Pheonix Copley then went the remainder of the game with 18 saves on 18 attempts before allowing all three Springfield shots in the shootout.

On Saturday, the Bears and Phantoms took it outside for the 2018 AHL Outdoor Classic at HersheyPark Stadium where just over 13,000 watched the Phantoms earn a 5-2 victory. Nathan Walker and Travis Boyd recorded goals for Hershey. Copley made 27 saves on 30 shots as Lehigh Valley tacked on a pair of late empty net goals.

Hartford Wolf Pack

Record Last Week: 2-1-0

In a rare Monday contest, the Springfield Thunderbirds rolled over the Wolf Pack, 5-1. Joe Whitney tied the game late in the first, but the Thunderbirds scored four, unanswered goals over the final two periods for the victory. Marek Mazanec recorded 38 saves on 43 shots in the loss for Hartford.

The Pack rebounded on Friday with a 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Utica Comets. Ryan Sproul scored a pair of goals to give Hartford a 2-0 lead, the Comets tied the game in the third. In OT, Filip Chytil recorded his seventh goal of the season to lift Hartford to victory. Mazanec made 27 saves on 29 shots before exiting the game midway through the third period. Alexandar Georgiev then was called on to make two saves the remainder of the way.

Sunday night, Vince Pedrie instantly became a hero with a goal 2:25 into OT of a scoreless game to lift the Wolf Pack to a 1-0 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Hartford. Georgiev made 43 saves for his first complete game shutout of the season.

Springfield Thunderbirds

Record Last Week: 2-2-0

Springfield’s impressive winning streak continued Monday with a 5-1 drubbing of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Maxim Mamin, Dryden Hunt, Chase Balisy, Curtis Valk, and Ludwig Bystrom all recorded goals for the Thunderbirds. Samuel Montembeault recorded 26 saves on 27 shots for the victory.

On Wednesday, the Thunderbirds needed a shootout to run their winning streak to five games. After a pair of early first period goals by the Hershey Bears, the Thunderbirds got goals from Alexandre Grenier, Hunt, Anthony Greco, and Mamin. But the Bears roared back and tied the game. In the shootout, Bystrom, Valk, and Blaine Byron all scored while Montembeault turned away one shot. He made 33 saves on 37 shots going into the shootout.

Friday night, the Binghamton Devils ended the win streak with a 5-3 victory over the Thunderbirds in Springfield. Balisy, Grenier, and Juho Lammikko helped Springfield mount an early 3-0 lead, but the Devils scored five, unanswered goals through the remainder of the game. Montembeault, who made 8 saves on 11 shots, was replaced by Evan Cowley early in the second. Cowley made 18 saves on 20 shots.

On Sunday in Providence, the Thunderbirds were dealt a 2-0 shutout by Zane McIntyre and the Bruins. Montembeault turned in an astounding 47-save performance, allowing just one goal. The Bruins tacked on an empty net goal late in the game as Springfield tried to tie the game with the extra attacker.

Atlantic Division Standings as of January 22nd, 2018

W-B/Scranton: 39 GP, 24-11-3-1, 52 points, .667 pct Providence: 41 GP, 24-13-3-1, 52 points, .634 pct Lehigh Valley: 42 GP, 24-13-2-3, 53 points, .631 pct Charlotte: 42 GP, 24-17-0-1, 49 points, .583 pct Bridgeport: 41 GP, 20-15-4-2, 46 points, .561 pct Hershey: 42 GP, 17-18-3-4, 41 points, .488 pct Hartford: 43 GP, 17-20-3-3, 40 points, .465 pct Springfield: 44 GP, 19-23-1-1, 40 points, .455 pct

This Week’s Atlantic Division Schedule

Wednesday, January 24

Springfield at Bridgeport - 7:00 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Hershey - 7:00 PM Hartford at Utica - 7:00 PM Providence at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM

Friday, January 26

Hershey at Providence - 7:00 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM Bridgeport at Springfield - 7:05 PM Charlotte at Hartford - 7:15 PM

Saturday, January 27

Hershey at Bridgeport - 7:00 PM Providence at Springfield - 7:05 PM Utica at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 7:05 PM Charlotte at Hartford - 7:30 PM