Phantoms Come Up Short In Syracuse

Vladislav Namestnikov and the Syracuse Crunch hang on for a 4-2 win over Lehigh Valley tonight.

While some untimely penalties prevented the Lehigh Valley Phantoms from staging a comeback against the Syracuse Crunch tonight, there were a lot of positives to take away from tonight's 4-2 loss to the Crunch.

The Phantoms penalty kill was a perfect 8-for-8 tonight, including 4-for-4 in the second period with a stretch of 5-on-3 lasting 42 seconds midway through the hockey game.

Another positive was the play of the bottom-six forwards, particularly the 4th line of Petr Straka, Kevin Goumas and Brandon Alderson. The trio was responsible for both Phantoms' goals tonight and played a quick, steady game.

For the Crunch, Yanni Gourde tallied a pair of goals and if not for a heavy slash in the final seconds of regulation would have netted an empty net goal to complete the hat trick. Not tonight. Rookies Cody Kunyk and Henri Ikonen also tallied goals for the Crunch in the win.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the win for the Crunch. Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 of 34 in the loss for the Phantoms.The Phantoms return home tomorrow night and host St. John's in their final game before the AHL's All-Star break.

It was a battle of the 4th lines in the 1st period, as all goals scored in the first frame were scored by a team's 4th liner.

In the opening minutes of the first period, a puck bounced into the slot to a wide open Jonathan Marchessault, but luckily for the Phantoms the All-Star Crunch forward missed the net.

The Phantoms didn't have that same fortune a few minutes later when the same thing happened to rookie Cody Kunyk. Kunyk tallied his 6th of the season from the slot to put the Crunch ahead 1-0 with 7:21 gone in the first period. Kevin Lynch and Charlie Dodero added assists on the Crunch's opening goal.

From there, the Phantoms had the better of play and got a game-tying goal with 3:00 left in the first frame on a snipe from Kevin Goumas. Adam Comrie and Steven Delisle skated up ice and sprung Goumas 1-on-1 at the offensive blue line. Goumas wasted no time, letting loose a laser from just inside the blue line that went bar-down past Vasilevskiy to even the score.

Petr Straka scored his 10th goal of the season just 24 seconds later to put the Phantoms ahead 2-1 going into the second period. Goumas and Comrie added assists on the play with 2:36 left in the opening period.

The penalties started to add up in the middle frame for the Phantoms, who were shorthanded four times in the period. After failing on a power play of their own in the opening minutes, the Crunch tied the game on a nice individual effort from Yanni Gourde. Gourde's 14th of the season was unassisted 3:23 into the 2nd period and evened things up at 2-2.

After four straight penalties on the Phantoms - including 41 seconds of five-on-three - the Phantoms again had a chance to re-gain the lead but were unsuccessful.

  

Moments after the Phantoms power play expired, the Crunch took the lead at 3-2 after a point shot was deflected past Stolarz with 2:15 before the second intermission. Henri Ikonen got credit for the Crunch's go ahead goal, while Angelidis and Matthew Corrente added assists on the play. 

The Phantoms out-shot the Crunch 14-7 in the third period, but couldn't find an equalizer. Gourde tallied his 2nd goal of the night with 16:00 left in regulation to cap the scoring at 4-2. From there, the Crunch kept the Phantoms at bay to earn the two points.

The Phantoms were pressing for much of the third period, but two penalties in the final 5:59 of regulation prevented them from mounting a serious comeback. Kevin Goumas nearly made it a one-goal game late in the third, but his shorthanded breakaway attempt was stopped by Vasilevskiy. 

 

ROSTER NOTES 

Anthony Stolarz (30 saves - 34 shots) got the start in net tonight for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Martin Ouellette backed him up.

No changes again on defense, with Mark Alt and Shayne Gostisbehere still out and Jesper Pettersson again a healthy scratch.

Up front, the lines remained the same as well. Blair Jones missed his 4th straight game with a lower body injury, while Darroll Powe has been out with an upper body injury since 12/27. After the game, head coach Terry Murray said that neither Jones nor Powe will be back in the lineup. 

Scratches: Mark Alt (broken hand), Jesper Pettersson (healthy), Shayne Gostisbehere (ACL surgery), Blair Jones (lower body), Derek Mathers (healthy) and Darroll Powe (upper body).

Lines

Taylor Leier - Ryan White - Jason Akeson
Zack Stortini - Nick Cousins - Andrew Gordon
Jay Rosehill - Austin Fyten - Brett Hextall

Petr Straka - Kevin Goumas - Brandon Alderson  

Brandon Manning - Robert Hagg
Adam Comrie - Steven Delisle
Oliver Lauridsen - Brett Flemming

Anthony Stolarz - Martin Ouellette

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:51: SYR - (PP) Dodero, minor (holding the stick)
7:21: SYR - Kunyk (6) - Lynch, Dodero
13:01: LV - (PP) Alderson, minor (hooking)17:00: Goumas (2) - Comrie, Delisle
17:24: Straka (10) - Goumas, Comrie

2nd Period  

0:55: SYR - (PP) Angelidis, minor (high-sticking)
3:23: SYR - Gourde (14) - unassisted
5:38: LV - (PP) Comrie, minor (holding)
10:29: LV - (PP) Fyten, minor (interference)
11:38: LV - (PP) Manning, minor (hooking)
14:05: LV - (PP) bench minor, too many men (served by Goumas)
15:22: SYR - (PP) Angelidis, minor (tripping)
17:45: SYR - (PP) Ikonen (5) - Angelidis, Corrente

3rd Period

4:00: SYR - Gourde (15) - Vermin, Richard
6:25: SYR - (PP) Kunyk, minor (holding)
14:01: LV - (PP) Fyten, minor (high-sticking)
14:01: LV - (PP) Fyten, minor (high-sticking)
18:21: LV - (PP) Stortini, minor (tripping)