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| The team celebrated a 4-3 overtime win over Adirondack Friday nigh in the Phantoms' home opener. |
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms won their home opener in exciting fashion as Brandon Manning blasted a point shot past Adirondack Flames' netminder Joni Ortio 1:24 into overtime to propel the Phantoms to a 2-0 start on the young 2014-15 season in their home opener at the PPL Center.
The Phantoms got a pair of power play tallies from Scott Laughton and two assists from defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to lead the way offensively for the home team, while Markus Granlund paced the Flames with two helpers in the loss. The two teams will finish off a home-and-home series with Adirondack tomorrow evening up in Glens Falls.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms used a couple of power plays to establish momentum in the first period, and took a 1-0 lead on their third power play of the period after a nice keep in from Shayne Gostisbehere at the point.
Andrew Gordon corralled the shot from the point and after getting his own rebound on a shot, wheeled around behind the net and found Scott Laughton who from a bad angle roofed a puck over Joni Ortio's shoulder to give the Phantoms an early lead.
The Flames countered the Phantoms pressure with two late first period power play of their own, the second after a high hard hit from Zack Stortini on Mathieu Tousignant. Luckily for the Phantoms, they were able to kill off both minor penalties and take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission, outshooting the Flames 8-6 after 20 minutes.
The Phantoms got in a bit of penalty trouble in the middle frame, and the Flames battled back. First, Sena Acolatse tied the game at 1-1 with a blast from the point while the Flames were on a two-man advantage 6:09 into the 2nd period. Then, after a Brandon Manning double minor for high sticking, David Wolf gave the Flames a 2-1 lead with 9:15 left in the middle period.
The Phantoms tied things 2-2 in the last minute of the period after a beautiful pass from Gostisbehere on the point to an open Laughton down low across the ice. Laughton's 2nd power play goal of the contest evened things heading into the 3rd period.
The back-and-forth battle continued into the third period, with both teams tallying goals. Petr Straka gave the Phnatoms a brief 3-2 lead with a snipe of a snap shot goal past Ortio 2:26 into the final frame. Nick Cousins and Zack Stortini picked up assists on Straka's first of the season.
Less than two minutes later, it was former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Dustin Stevenson tying the game at 3-3 after a quick point shot following an offensive zone face-off for the Flames.
Sixty minutes wasn't enough to find a winner, so both teams got their first taste of the new overtime rules implemented in the AHL this season.
GAME SUMMARY
1st Period
2:59: ADK - (PP) Stevenson, minor (interference)
7:09: ADK - (PP) Hathaway, minor (tripping)
11:37: ADK - (PP) Van Brabant, minor (tripping)
11:59: LV - PPG, Laughton (1) - Gordon, Gostisbehere
12:49: LV - (PP) Hextall, minor (interference)
15:33: LV - (PP) Stortini, minor (check to the head)
15:33: ADK - Stevenson, ten-minute misconduct
2nd Period
2:42: LV - (PP) Rosehill, double-minor (roughing)
2:42: LV - Rosehill, 10-minute misconduct
4:12: LV - (PP) Lauridsen, minor (boarding)
6:09: ADK - PPG, Acolatse (1) - Granlund
7:36: LV - (PP) Manning, double-minor (highsticking)
10:45: ADK - PPG, Wolf (1) - Tousignant, Ramage
12:21: ADK - (PP) Granlund, minor (crosschecking)
13:22: LV - (PP) Stortini, minor (goaltender interference)
17:16: ADK - Van Brabant, minor (goaltender interference)
18:56: ADK - Stevenson, minor (hooking)
19:15: LV - PPG, Laughton (2) - Ghostisbehere, Gordon
3rd Period
2:26: LV - Straka (1) - Cousins, Stortini
4:44: ADK - Stevenson (1) - Granlund
13:33: ADK - (PP) Ramage, minor (hooking)
Overtime
1:24: LV - Manning (1) - Ghostisbehere, Cousins
ROSTER NOTES - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Rob Zepp (29 saves, 32 shots) got the start in net for the Phantoms against Adirondack, with rookie Anthony Stolarz backing him up. Stolarz is expected to make his pro debut tomorrow night in Glens Falls.
Scratches for Lehigh Valley: Steven Deslisle and Andrew Johnston
Taylor Leier - Scott Laughton - Andrew Gordon
Darroll Powe - Kevin Goumas - Brandon Alderson
Petr Straka - Nick Cousins - Zack Stortini
Jay Rosehill - Austin Fyten - Brett Hextall
Brandon Manning - Shayne Gostisbehere
Mark Alt - Robert Hagg
Oliver Lauridsen - Jesper Pettersson
Rob Zepp - Anthony Stolarz
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