Weekly Wrap-Up - Atlantic Division (Week 20)
*Editor's Note: The big news in the American Hockey League (AHL) over the weekend came in the Atlantic Division as the Springfield Thunderbirds broke the news that the team will be hosting the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic in January 2019. It marks the first time since 1959 that the league's annual festivities will be held in Springfield, MA.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Record Last Week: 3-0-1
No Alex Lyon? No problem for the Phantoms - Nicolas Aube-Kubel recorded three assists and Mike Vecchione added a goal and an assist as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms rolled over the Sound Tigers, 5-0 Tuesday night in Bridgeport. Tyler Goulbourne, Mark Friedman, Radel Fazleev, and Colin McDonald also scored for the Phantoms. Dustin Tokarski’s 40-save shutout earned the netminder the game’s first star. It was his second shutout of the season.
Lehigh Valley followed up Tuesday’s victory with an 8-2 drubbing of the Thunderbirds Friday night in Springfield. Corban Knight (2G, 1A), Cole Bardreau (3A), and Greg Carey (3A) all turned in three-point games while Danick Martel notched two goals in his first game back from a January 13th injury. Phil Varone, Oskar Lindblom, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Maxim Lamarche also scored for Lehigh Valley. John Muse recorded 36 saves on 38 shots.
The weather outside was frightful Saturday night in Allentown, and the third period was not very delightful as the Phantoms watched their two-goal lead evaporate in a penalty-filled third period. Phil Varone’s unassisted goal and Oskar Lindblom’s 15th of the season got the Phantoms off to a hot start. Dustin Tokarski recorded 32 saves on 34 shots as Hartford tied the game in the third. In the shootout, Aube-Kubel, Lindblom, and Varone were all denied with the Pack connecting on one of two shots.
Lehigh Valley’s hot week continued as the Phantoms wrested first place in the Atlantic Division from their in-state rival, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 4-1 Sunday. Lindblom, Varone, Vecchione, and Matt Read all scored for the Phantoms who went 2-for-8 on the PP and 7-for-7 on the PK. Muse made 22 saves on 23 shots.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Record Last Week: 0-2-1
The proverbial shot heard around the league came Friday night in Rochester as the Americans thumped the Penguins, 12-3. Rochester opened the game with five unanswered goals through the first and early part of the second before Jarrett Burton finally got the Penguins on the board midway through the second. Then just over two minutes later, Cody Wydo notched his first goal of the season, but the Americans closed out the second with two more goals. Greg McKegg scored in the third, but Rochester closed the game with five more goals. Casey DeSmith started in net, but was replaced after allowing four goals on 14 shots. Anthony Peters did not fare any better, allowing eight on 23 shots.
The Penguins tough go against the North continued Saturday as they fell 5-4 to Utica in overtime. Joseph Cramarossa, Jarrett Burton, Ethan Prow, and Garrett Wilson all recorded goals, but a late Utica goal forced overtime and the Comets ended things after just 49 seconds. DeSmith’s rough week continued as he allowed five goals on 40 shots.
On Sunday in Allentown, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s woes continued as the lost 4-1 and fell to second place in the Atlantic Division. Jean-Sebastien Dea scored a shorthanded goal in the third, but the Penguins were unable to overcome the 3-0 lead the Phantoms had built through the first two periods. DeSmith allowed three goals on 31 shots. The Penguins were an abysmal 0-for-7 on the PP in the penalty-filled contest.
Providence Bruins
Record Last Week: 2-1-0
Friday night’s Atlantic Division contest between the Bruins and Sound Tigers proved to be a dog fight as it required a three-round shootout before Providence emerged with a 1-0 victory. Zane McIntyre recorded a 29-save shutout, his fifth of the season, and allowed only one puck past him in the shootout. Meanwhile, teammates Kenny Agostino and Austin Czarnik scored to lift the Bruins to victory.
The Bruins then traveled to Springfield Saturday and emerged with a 3-2 OT victory. Justin Hickman gave Providence the 1-0 lead in the second, before Springfield tied it less than ten minutes later. But Ryan Fitzgerald put the Bruins back on top before the second intermission. In the third, the Thunderbirds tied the game and forced overtime, but Agostino ended things quickly, scoring just six seconds into the extra frame. Jordan Binnington posted 22 saves on 224 shots.
The Bruins had seven chances on the man-advantage, but only connected on one of those power plays as they fell 3-2 to the Springfield Thunderbirds Sunday in Providence. Fitzgerald and Josh Hennessy recorded goals for Providence. McIntyre made 17 saves on 20 shots.
Charlotte Checkers
Record Last Week: 3-1-0
Janne Kuokkanen scored a pair of goals in the third period, but the Charlotte Checkers already had their Tuesday night game with the Hartford Wolf Pack firmly in hand as they blanked the visiting Pack, 6-0. Lucas Wallmark scored the game winner on the powerplay in the first period. In the second, Philip Samuelsson added a tally late. Jake Chelios and Valentin Zykov provided Charlotte’s other goals in the third period. Alex Nedeljkovic made just 15 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season.
Wednesday’s rematch was a much better game, but the end result was the same; Charlotte was victorious, 3-2. Aleksi Saarela’s power play goal and Marcus Kruger’s first goal of the season put the Checkers on top 2-0 after the first period. But Lias Andersson’s goal for Hartford late in the second period made things interesting for a few seconds. Warren Foegele’s tally just 44 seconds later gave the Checkers a two-goal lead. In the third, Ryan Graves got the Pack back within a goal, but Nedeljkovic wouldn’t allow Hartford to tie the game. He finished the evening with 25 saves on 27 shots.
Charlotte continued to put pressure on the teams at the top of the Atlantic Division with a 2-0 victory over the Syracuse Crunch Saturday. Trevor Carrick and Jake Chelios provided goals for the Checkers who went 0-for-2 on the powerplay. Alex Nedeljkovic made 23 saves and recorded his fifth shutout of the season.
The Checkers couldn’t get the four-game sweep through as they fell 3-1 to Syracuse on Sunday. Brenden Kichton scored early in the second period to give Charlotte the 1-0 lead, but the Crunch battled back with three goals in the third to win the game. Callum Booth made 25 saves on 28 shots.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Record Last Week: 1-1-1
It was not a good start to the week for Bridgeport as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms came to town and emerged with a 5-0 white-washing of the Sound Tigers. Kristers Gudlevskis made 16 saves on 21 shots. Bridgeport went 0-for-1 on the powerplay.
Scoring continued to be a problem for Bridgeport Friday night as the fell in a three-round shootout to Providence and lost ground in the battle for the fourth spot in the Atlantic Division. Christopher Gibson recorded the 30-save shutout.
But the Sound Tigers got back on track with a 4-0 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack in Bridgeport Sunday. Travis St. Denis scored a pair of goals while Parker Wotherspoon and Steve Bernier scored as well. Gibson recorded another shutout with 22 saves.
Hartford Wolf Pack
Record Last Week: 1-3-0
Hartford was unable to keep the good times going this week as they suffered a 6-0 loss in Charlotte. The Checkers peppered Brandon Halverson with 45 shots. Meanwhile, Hartford’s offense never really got going as they recorded just 15 shots in the game and went 0-for-2 on the powerplay.
On Wednesday night, Hartford notched a pair of goals, but it still wasn’t enough as the high-scoring Checkers emerged with a 3-2 victory. Lias Andersson scored a goal and and recorded an assist on a third-period goal from Ryan Graves, but Hartford was unable to force overtime. Halverson recorded 21 saves on 24 shots. Hartford’s powerplay woes continued as the Pack was shutout on four attempts at the man-advantage.
The Wolf Pack got off the schneid Saturday night in snowy Lehigh Valley as they battled back from an early two-goal deficit to take a 3-2 shootout victory over the Phantoms. Lias Andersson and Adam Tambellini scored in the third and Tambellini’s goal in the shootout ultimately decided the winner. Chris Nell recorded 23 saves on 25 shots.
But the Pack couldn’t make it two in a row as they were shutout by the Sound Tigers, 4-0 in Bridgeport Sunday. Brandon Halverson made 37 saves on 41 shots. Hartford was unable to connect on their lone powerplay of the game, but the Pack went 3-for-3 on the PK.
Hershey Bears
Record Last Week: 2-0-0
Hershey traveled north of the border for their first ever trip to Laval, and boy was it a memorable trip for Travis Boyd who recorded four goals in what amounted to a rollercoaster week for the forward, whose daughter was hospitalized and underwent a successful surgery. Liam O’Brien also recorded a pair of goals in Hershey’s 6-3 victory over the Rocket. Vitek Vanecek made 17 saves on 20 shots in the victory.
Hershey then made it three in a row with a 3-0 shutout of the Senators in Belleville Saturday night. Connor Hobbs recorded his first goal of the season just over four minutes into the game. Wayne Simpson’s 11th of the season in the second would prove to be an insurance goal while Tyler Lewington notched his second of the season, an empty net goal, late in the third. Pheonix Copley recorded his first shutout of the season, with a 28-save performance.
Springfield Thunderbirds
Record Last Week: 1-1-1
It was a rough start to the week for the Thunderbirds as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms arrived in Springfield and emerged with an 8-2 victory. Chase Balisy and Dryden Hunt provided goals for the Thunderbirds, but it was all Lehigh Valley in this one as the Phantoms jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back. Samuel Montembeault allowed three goals on nine shots and was replaced by Evan Cowley before the first period ended. Cowley allowed four goals on 15 shots.
Saturday, the Thunderbirds battled back to tie the game twice against the Providence Bruins before falling 3-2 in overtime. Cameron Brown recorded his first goal of the season and Ryan Horvat added a late-third period goal, but the Bruins scored just six seconds into overtime to keep the Thunderbirds winless on the week. Evan Cowley made 23 saves on 26 shots in net for Springfield.
The Thunderbirds lone win of the week came on Sunday in Providence, 3-2. Thomas Schemitsch, Curtis Valk, and Ryan Horvat scored for Springfield while Harri Sateri made 36 saves on 38 shots. Springfield was able to kill of six of seven penalties and preserve the victory.
Atlantic Division Standings as of February 19, 2018
*Standings reflect Hershey's 5-2 win Monday vs. Toronto.
Lehigh Valley: 54 GP, 33-14-3-4, 73 points, .676 pct W-B/Scranton: 50 GP, 30-15-4-1, 65 points, .650 pct Providence: 52 GP, 30-17-3-2, 65 points, .625 pct Charlotte: 54 GP, 30-21-0-3, 63 points, .583 pct Bridgeport: 52 GP, 24-20-5-3, 56 points, .538 pct Hartford: 55 GP, 25-23-4-3, 57 points, .518 pct Hershey: 54 GP, 22-25-3-4, 51 points, .472 pct Springfield: 54 GP, 23-28-2-1, 49 points, .454 pct
This Week’s Atlantic Division Schedule:
Monday, February 19
Hershey - 5 at Toronto - 2
Wednesday, February 21
Lehigh Valley at Utica - 7:00 PM
Friday, February 23
Lehigh Valley at Syracuse - 7:00 PM Bridgeport at Providence - 7:05 PM Charlotte at Springfield - 7:05 PM Rockford at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 7:05 PM Hershey at Hartford - 7:15 PM
Saturday, February 24
Providence at Hartford - 7:00 PM Charlotte at Bridgeport - 7:00 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Syracuse - 7:00 PM Springfield at Utica - 7:00 PM Rockford at Hershey - 7:00 PM Lehigh Valley at Binghamton - 7:05 PM
Sunday, February 25
Charlotte at Bridgeport - 3:00 PM Hartford at Providence - 3:05 PM Hershey at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 3:05 PM
