Weekly Wrap-Up - Atlantic Division (Week 18)
Editor's Note: Some teams in the Atlantic Division are putting themselves in solid position to qualify for the post-season, while others are going to start feeling the pressure of being on the outside looking in. Soon, some teams will be forced to start playing playoff hockey months before the Calder Cup Playoffs begin.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Record Last Week: 2-0-0
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins kept the rest of the Atlantic Division in the rearview mirror with a pair of wins over in-state rivals Hershey and Lehigh Valley. On Friday the Penguins picked up where they left off for the All-Star Break with a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over the Bears. Andrey Pedan scored a pair of goals and Kevin Czuczman and Jarrett Burton accounted for the other two as the Penguins took control of a tied game in the third. Tristan Jarry went the distance, stopping 25 of 26 shots for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Saturday night, Jean-Sebastien Dea scored just 26 seconds into the contest and Daniel Sprong added one just past the midway point of the period to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead which they held until the middle of the third. But with Jarry back between the pipes, the Phantoms could not get the equalizer as the netminder stopped 34 of 35 shots.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Record Last Week: 1-1-0
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms got off to a good start to the week with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers. T.J. Brennan tied the game in the second, and teammate Chris Conner gave the Phantoms the lead just before the buzzer sounded to end the second, but the Checkers tied the game in the third paving the way for Cole Bardreau to net the game-winner with just three minutes left in regulation. John Muse went the distance between the pipes for the Phantoms with an impressive 38-save performance.
But the Phantoms ran into the red-hot Tristan Jarry Saturday night in a 2-1 loss to the Penguins in Wilkes-Barre. After the Penguins netted a pair of goals in the first, Conner made things interesting by the midway point of the third with his 11th goal of the season, but the Phantoms were unable to tie the game. Dustin Tokarski made 19 saves on 21 shots in the loss for the Phantoms.
Providence Bruins
Record Last Week: 1-1-0
The Providence Bruins used a pair of powerplay goals from Austin Czarnik, including one in OT, to deal the Hartford Wolf Pack a 2-1 loss Friday night in Providence. After a scoreless first period, the Pack got on the board first just before the midway point of the second, but Czarnik scored an unassisted PP goal to knot the game at 1-1 before the second intermission. In OT, Czarnik once again hit paydirt on the PP to end the game. Zane McIntyre stopped 20 of 21 shots in net.
But the Bruins were unable to make it a sweep as the Pack returned the favor with a 3-1 victory Saturday night in Hartford. Colton Hargrove scored early in the second period to bring the Bruins within a goal, but another Hartford goal less than three minutes later proved to be too much. McIntyre once again was between the pipes for the Bruins. He made 20 saves on 23 shots.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Record Last Week: 1-1-0
On Friday night, the Springfield Thunderbirds arrived in Bridgeport and emerged with a 1-0 victory over the Sound Tigers. Christopher Gibson faced just 13 shots on the evening, making 12 saves.
On Saturday, the Sound Tigers took their frustrations out on the Belleville Senators with a 3-1 victory. Ben Holmstrom scored in the first and second periods while Connor Jones added a goal in the first as Bridgeport jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two periods and cruised to their first victory of the week. Gibson made 24 saves on 25 shots between the pipes for the Sound Tigers.
Charlotte Checkers
Record Last Week: 1-1-1
It was a rough start to the week from the Charlotte Checkers in Pennsylvania, but they were able to salvage three points in three games. The week started Friday night in Lehigh Valley where the Phantoms emerged with a 3-2 victory. Valentin Zykov scored his 23rd goal of the season in the first period, but the Phantoms netted a pair of goals in the second to regain the lead. In the third, Warren Foegele scored to tie the game, but Lehigh Valley would score just three minutes before the final horn. Alex Nedeljkovic made 23 saves on 26 shots.
Saturday night, the Hershey Bears got off the schneid with a 6-5 shootout victory at Giant Center over the Checkers. After the Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead, Charlotte got goals from Roland McKeown, Trevor Carrick, and Lucas Wallmark to tie the game just past the midway point of the second. Another Hershey goal was answered by Julien Gauthier with 59 ticks left before the wild period ended. Aleksi Saarela then gave Charlotte the lead in the third, but Hershey tied it and the two teams eventually settled things in a five-round shootout. Jeremy Smith, after allowing four goals on 15 shots, was replaced by Nedeljkovic who made seven stops on eight shots.
But things improved dramatically Sunday afternoon as the Checkers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period and cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Bears in Hershey. Saarela scored a pair of goals while Clark Bishop, Andrew Miller, and Josiah Didier each added markers. Nedeljkovic went the distance with 29 stops on 31 shots.
Hartford Wolf Pack
Record Last Week: 1-0-1
On Friday night in Providence, the Hartford Wolf Pack scored first with a Ryan Sproul goal in the second period, but had no answer for Austin Czarnik who tied the game late in the second and scored the game-winner in OT. Alexandar Georgiev made an astonishing 48 saves on 50 shots in the 2-1 loss.
In the rematch on Saturday in Hartford, the Pack got a shorthanded goal from Steven Fogarty to take a 1-0 lead and went on to defeat the Bruins 3-1. Vinni Lettieri and Ryan Gropp also scored for the Pack. Georgiev had a much quieter night with 16 saves on 17 shots.
Springfield Thunderbirds
Record Last Week: 1-0-0
Springfield traveled to Bridgeport Friday night and secured a 1-0 victory in their only game of the weekend. Ludwig Bystrom notched his third goal of the season midway through the first period in the low-scoring game. Evan Cowley recorded his first shutout of the season, and the first of his young AHL career, with a 25-save performance.
Hershey Bears
Record Last Week: 1-2-0
The Hershey Bears winless streak stretched to nine games as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hung a 4-1 loss on their in-state rivals Friday night. Riley Barber got the Bears off to a flying start, but the Penguins scored four-unanswered goals for the victory. Pheonix Copley made 22 saves on 25 shots in the loss.
But the streak was halted after a wild 6-5 shootout victory over the Charlotte Checkers Saturday night in Hershey. Nathan Walker, Barber, and Garrett Mitchell all scored to put Hershey up 3-0, but Charlotte responded and tied the game. Barber then gave the lead back to the Bears with his third of the weekend, but a pair of goals from the Checkers and a Travis Boyd game-tying goal on the PP eventually led to the five-round shootout. Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves on 34 shots and came up with four huge stops in the shootout.
But Hershey’s win streak was stopped at just one game as the Checkers scored five goals in the first period Sunday afternoon and cruised to a 5-2 victory. Barber and Tyler Graovac both scored in a 30-second span in the second period, but the Bears were shut out by the Checkers the remainder of the way. After allowing four goals on just 11 shots, Troy Mann opted to replace starter Pheonix Copley with Vitek Vanecek in the first period. Vanecek made 17 saves on 18 shots the remainder of the way.
Atlantic Division Standings as of February 5th, 2018
W-B/Scranton: 44 GP, 28-12-3-1, 60 points, .682 pct Lehigh Valley: 47 GP, 27-14-3-3, 60 points, .638 pct Providence: 46 GP, 26-16-3-1, 56 points, .609 pct Bridgeport: 46 GP, 23-17-4-2, 52 points, .565 pct Charlotte: 47 GP, 25-19-0-3, 53 points, .564 pct Hartford: 48 GP, 21-20-4-3, 49 points, .510 pct Springfield: 48 GP, 22-24-1-1, 46 points, .479 pct Hershey: 48 GP, 18-23-3-4, 43 points, .448 pct
This Week’s Atlantic Division Schedule
Wednesday, February 7
Bridgeport at Hartford - 11:00 AM Charlotte at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Springfield - 7:05 PM
Friday, February 9
Hartford at Syracuse - 7:00 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Providence - 7:05 PM Hershey at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM Springfield at Charlotte - 7:15 PM
Saturday, February 10
Springfield at Charlotte - 6:00 PM Providence at Bridgeport - 7:00 PM Hartford at Hershey - 7:00 PM Rochester at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 PM
Sunday, February 11
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Providence - 3:05 PM Syracuse at Bridgeport - 5:00 PM Rochester at Hershey - 5:00 PM
Tuesday, February 13
Lehigh Valley at Bridgeport - 7:00 PM Hartford at Charlotte - 7:00 PM
