WolfPack Prevail Past Phantoms in Shootout
HARTFORD - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms came into Hartford having played the night before with the WolfPack enjoying a rare Saturday night off. Already at a bit of a disadvantage logistically, the Phantoms made Sunday evening's game harder than it needed to be due to what head coach Scott Gordon referred to as unwise decisions with the puck - be it by forcing plays that weren't there or turning the puck over.
Alex Lyon was by far the Phantoms' best player, stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced through regulation and overtime but in the end it was Hartford edging the Lehigh Valley in a shootout Sunday evening at the XL Center in downtown Hartford, Connecticut.
"We talked about it before the game. We talked about it after the 1st period. We talked about it after the 2nd period, and we talked about it after the game," Gordon said following his team's 2-1 shootout loss. "The turnovers are creating their offense because we want to force things that just aren't there."
After Hartford took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a 5-on-3 tally by Adam Tambellini, the WolfPack looked ready to make it 2-0 if not for a fantastic glove save by Lyon. It seemingly turned the momentum in the Phantoms' favor as moments later Mike Vecchione found Danick Martel open in the slot and Martel buried one past rookie netminder Chris Nell to tie the game at 1-1 just before the second intermission.
In the end, the Phantoms were unable to find the go-ahead goal and the goaltender's duel went to the WolfPack's rookie netminder Nell - who stopped all three Phantoms' shooters in the shootout to pick up his first pro win.
Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)
Oskar Lindblom - Phil Varone - Chris ConnerGreg Carey - Mikhail Vorobyev - Corban Knight Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Tyrell Goulbourne - Radel Fazleev - Matt Read
T.J. Brennan - Reece WillcoxWill O'Neill - Mark Alt Mark Friedman - Phil Myers
Alex Lyon - Leland Irving
Scratches: Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery - out indefinitely), Cole Bardreau (upper body), Steven Swavely (healthy), Colin McDonald (lower body) and Max Lamarche (healthy)
RECAP
The Phantoms got off to another strong start in the opening minutes of the first period Sunday in Hartford, getting several chances on rookie goaltender Chris Nell, but were unable to take an early lead like they had one night prior against Hershey.
Instead, a pair of back-to-back slashing minors on Phil Myers and T.J. Brennan gave Hartford 51 seconds of five-on-three power play time.
On the two-man advantage, Neal Pionk got a puck across the top of the circles over to Joe Whitney who made a nice move and then pass through the Phantoms' penalty killers from the top of the left-wing circle down below the right-wing face-off circle to an open Adam Tambellini. Tambellini made no mistake about it, slamming a quick one-timer past Alex Lyon to give the WolfPack the game's first goal.
The Phantoms continued to play their game, and pressured the WolfPack for large portions of the opening period. They failed on their first power play attempt of the game, but they were rewarded in the final three minutes before the first intermission.
A big glove save by Alex Lyon on a 2-on-1 kept the game at a 1-0 deficit for the Phantoms and proved to be a game-changer as Lehigh Valley came right up the ice and scored moments later.
Mike Vecchione got a puck to Danick Martel in the slot, and Martel placed a near-perfect shot past Nell to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the middle frame. After posting a hat-trick last night, Martel's fourth of the season got the Phantoms on the board.
There was a great pace to the play in the second period, and both teams exchanged chances back-and-forth with each team having some extended zone time.
The Phantoms started to turn it on in the second half of the period, drawing a power play and creating a majority of the chances. They even hit a post in the final minute of play, but the two teams headed to the third period deadlocked at 1-1. The shots were also dead even at 23-23.
Save for a five-on-three goal against, the Phantoms played a solid 40 minutes defensively and used their aggressive forecheck to make it hard on Hartford to move the puck up ice.
In the third period, the intensity picked up as one would expect in a 1-1 game. The whistles and stoppages were few and far between, allowing some great back-and-forth action at both ends in a game that featured 65 combined shots in 65 minutes of play when all was said done.
POST-GAME REACTION
Head Coach Scott Gordon
Gordon's thoughts on the game:
I don't think we played a real smart game tonight, which fed into their play. We talked about it before the game, we talked about it after the 1st period, we talked about it after the 2nd period and we talked about it after the game. The turnovers are creating their offense because we want to force things that just aren't there. Sometimes you have to recognize the situation. We're on the road, we played last night and they are sitting here waiting for us. You have a 1-1 game in the third period, that's a pretty good set up. Your goalie probably made a difference in the 2nd period for you, and I thought that we let them have opportunities to gain momentum off of our own decisions with the puck. As a result, the good work we did in the first period, for me, even though we got the point that's something that has to be fixed soon.
On if it will be an adjustment period for players with the slashing penalties:
The slash on the first one in the first period on Phil (Myers) that was a legitimate slash in any year. The guy is going on a breakaway, and I tell our players if its going to help save a goal we'll live with that - that's not an issue. I didn't see the second one - I don;t know. When it;s all said and done, it's not like it was over the top. For me, I don't have a problem with the first and third one. I didn't see the second one. I think that was a battle more than anything else.
On Lyon's big save, then the tying goal on the next shift:
Alex had a great weekend. For me, when he was our best player - our best player for the wrong reasons. We got to fix that. It's part of the learning experience with young players.
On if he's seeing a lot of typical rookie mistakes in the first two games:
Tonight for sure.We have to understand quickly that there's a time and place to make plays. Tonight, we're at a disadvantage because we traveled last night and it's an early game. Instead of playing the smarter, we made the game harder on ourselves.
ROSTER NOTES
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Alex Lyon got the start in back-to-back nights for the Phantoms to start the season, and was easily the team's best player Sunday in Hartford - stopping 35 of 36 shots through regulation and overtime and 2-of-3 in the shootout.
Same lineup for Lehigh Valley, as Steven Swavely and Max Lamarche were again the healthy scratches. Injured forwards Cole Bardreau and Colin McDonald haven't been officially reassigned to the Phantoms and are still out of action for the time being.
Hartford WolfPack
Chris Nell gets the start in net for the WolfPack, his first start of the 2017-18 season and his AHL debut. The rookie netminder was teammates at Bowling Green State University with Phantoms' defenseman Mark Friedman.
Scratches: Malte Stromwall, Gabriel Fontaine and Vince Pedrie
Lines
Cole Schneider - Dan DeSalvo - Dan Catenacci Matt Puempel - Vinni Lettieri - Joe Whitney Adam Tambellini - Cristoval Nieves - Scott Kosmachuk Ryan Gropp - Steven Fogarty - Eric Selleck
Ryan Graves - Neal Pionk Brandon Crawley - Alexei Bresglazov Garrett Noonan - John Gilmour
Chris Nell - Alexandar Georgiev
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
7:52: LV - (PP) Myers, minor (slashing) 9:01: LV - (PP) Brennan, minor (slashing) 9:40: HFD - PPG Tambellini (2) - Whitney, Pionk 11:45: HFD - (PP) Fogarty, minor (slashing) 17:53: LV - Martel (4) - Vecchione
2nd Period
12:51: HFD - (PP) Crawley, minor (boarding)
3rd Period
11:07: HFD - (PP) Schneider, minor (slashing) 18:53: LV - (PP) Willcox, minor (holding)
Overtime
No Stats
Shootout
LV
Corban Knight - no goal Oskar Lindblom - no goal Phil Varone - no goal
HFD
Matt Puempel - no goal Joe Whitney - no goal Adam Tambellini - GOAL
BOXSCORE
Lehigh Valley 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 = 1 Hartford 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 = 2
Shots
Lehigh Valley 13 - 10 - 6 - 0 = 29 Hartford 10 - 13 - 10 - 3 = 37
Goalies
LV - Alex Lyon (35 saves - 36 shots) HFD - Chris Nell (28 saves - 29 shots)
Power Play
LV: 0-for-3 HFD: 1-for-3
Penalty Kill
LV: 2-for-3 HFD: 3-for-3
