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| The Penguins and Phantoms met for the third time of 12 scheduled regular season meetings between the teams. |
Bryan Rust scored his team-leading 7th goal of the season and Dominik Uher added an empty net goal after Scott Wilson opened the scoring for the Penguins in the win. Coming off a nine-game absence with a lower body injury, Jeff Zatkoff stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced to pick up his third win of the year.
For the Phantoms, a much better defensive effort tonight despite the loss. They limited the Penguins to 23 shots on goal, including a stretch of about 12 minutes in the 2nd period where they didn't allow a shot on goal. Brandon Manning tied the game with a laser of a shot 2:27 into the third, but one goal wasn't enough. Rob Zepp again was solid in net for the Phantoms, keeping them in the game and stopping 20 of 22 shots.
The Phantoms return home to kick off a lengthy five-game home stand Saturday night, while the Penguins stay home at the Mohegan Sun Arena and host the Syracuse Crunch.
The Penguins got off to a fast start tonight, drawing a penalty on the opening shift and really taking it to the Phantoms in the opening period. Scott Wilson gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on a two-man advantage just past halfway through the 1st period.
Derrick Pouliot took a puck on the left point, faked a shot and fed it to the right face-off circle for Jean-Sebastien Dea. Dea's one-timer was stopped by Zepp, but Wilson was able to corral the rebound and fire a puck past Zepp to give the Pens an early one-goal lead.
The Penguins carried the edge in play through the first 20 minutes, really keeping the Phantoms hemmed into their own zone and forcing them to take penalties.
The Phantoms responded with a much better effort in the second period, holding the Penguins without a shot until there was 7:53 left in the middle frame, but were unable to tie the game until early in third period while on a power play.
Scott Laughton won a puck battle and got it to the point to Andrew Gordon, who fed Manning a pass at the top of the left face-off circle. Manning let loose a laser of a shot that went bar-down and in past Zatkoff to even things at 1-1 with 17:33 left in regulation.
The Penguins came back with some pressure of their own, and Rust continues to impress with his speed and ability to score goals. Rust's initial attempt on Zepp rang off the crossbar, but he didn't give up on the play and ended up netting his 7th of the season to give the Pens a 2-1 lead. Rust's seven goals lead the AHL among first year players.
The Phantoms had two power play chances to even things up in the third period but were unable to cash in, going 1-for-8 on the man advantage tonight.
The Penguins tacked on an empty net goal in the waning seconds to put this one away as Bobby Farnham unselfishly passed the puck to his teammate Uher for the insurance marker with 4.4 seconds left.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
0:19: LV - (PP) Delisle, minor (slashing)
9:49: LV - (PP) Straka, minor (hooking)
10:30: LV - (PP) Stortini, minor (interference)
11:16: WBS - PPG Wilson (2) - Dea, Pouliot
15:08: WBS - (PP) Dumoulin, minor (roughing)
17:56: LV (PP) - Rosehill, minor (tripping)
2nd Period
1:11: WBS - (PP) Rust, minor (tripping)
5:55: WBS - (PP) Megna, minor (hooking)
9:53: WBS - (PP) Chorney, minor (cross-checking)
13:19: LV - (PP) Delisle, minor (hooking)
15:29: WBS - (PP) Rowney, minor (tripping)
18:03: LV - (PP) Pettersson, minor (interference)
3rd Period
1:54: WBS - (PP) McNeill, minor (roughing)
2:27: LV - PPG Manning (2) - Laughton, Gordon
3:21: LV - (PP) - Delisle, minor (tripping)
5:27: WBS - (PP) Chorney, minor (slashing)
8:06: WBS - Rust (7) - Ebbett, Wilson
14:51: LV - (PP) Mathers, minor (roughing)
14:51: LV - Mathers, minor (roughing)
14:51: WBS - Leblond, minor (roughing)
16:35: WBS - (PP) Pouliot, minor (interference)
16:46: LV - Hagg, minor (interference)
16:46: WBS - Megna, minor (slashing)
19:55: WBS - ENG Uher (2) - Farnham, Dumoulin
19:55: LV - Alderson, 10-minute misconduct (abuse of officials)
ROSTER NOTES - Penguins
Jeff Zatkoff (21 saves - 22 shots) got his first start in net after missing the last nine games with a lower body injury, picking up his third win of the season. Matt Murray backed him up in net.
Barry Goers is ready to return to the lineup, but was a healthy scratch tonight on defense. Alex Boak was also a healthy scratch.
Up front, with Beau Bennett recalled to Pittsburgh and Tom Kostopoulos out for the weekend tending to a family matter it was Dominik Uher and Tom Kuhnhackl in for them. Adam Payerl was back to being a healthy scratch and Pierre-Luc Leblond slotted back into the lineup.
Lines:
Scott Wilson - Andrew Ebbett - Jayson Megna
Tom Kuhnhackl - J-S Dea - Bryan Rust
Conor Sheary - Carter Rowney - Josh Archibald
Pierre-Luc Leblond - Dominik Uher - Bobby Farnham
Brian Dumoulin - Taylor Chorney
Philip Samuelsson - Scott Harrington
Reid McNeill - Derrick Pouliot
Jeff Zatkoff - Matt Murray
WBS Scratches: Alex Boak, Nick Drazenovic, Anton Zlobin, Adam Payerl, Tom Kostopoulos and Barry Goers.
ROSTER NOTES - Phantoms
Rob Zepp (20 saves - 22 shots) was solid again in net tonight, but drops to 5-3-1 on the season with the loss. Rookie netminder Anthony Stolarz backed up Zepp in net.
With injuries to Shayne Gostisbehere (torn ACL) and Mark Alt (upper body), the Phantoms had just six healthy defensemen,
Up front, Darroll Powe returned from serving his two-game suspension and Andrew Johnston was scratched in his place. Injured forward Brett Hextall (upper body) is close to returning but wasn't in the Phantoms lineup tonight.
Lines:
Taylor Leier - Scott Laughton - Andrew Gordon
Petr Straka - Nick Cousins - Zack Stortini
Jay Rosehill - Daroll Powe - Brandon Alderson
Austin Fyten - Kevin Goumas - Derek Mathers
Brandon Manning - Steven Delisle
Robert Hagg - Jesper Pettersson
Brett Flemming - Oliver Lauridsen
Rob Zepp - Anthony Stolarz
Phantoms Scratches: Mark Alt (upper body), Andrew Johnston (healthy), Shayne Gostisbehere (torn ACL) and Brett Hextall (upper body).
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