Phantoms Take Game 1 vs. WBS
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned a 2-1 road victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohican Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Wednesday evening to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The Phantoms can close out the short series on Friday if they win on home ice.
The Phantoms were held without a shot by the tight WBS checking until the 6:39 mark of the first period but started to assert themselves as the frame progressed. Lehigh Valley caught a couple of breaks when Sam Poulin missed the net from point-blank range and Jonathan Gruden was unable to finished off a 2-on-1 near the net.
The Phantoms grabbed the game's first goal at 14:37 of the first period. From a tight angle at the bottom of the left circle, Adam Brooks (first goal of the playoffs) beat Joel Blomqvist to the short side. The goal was replayed before it counted on the scoreboard. The assists went to Adam Ginning and Louie Belpedio.
In the latter stages of the first period, Olle Lycksell had an excellent individual effort on a curl-and-drag play. The Phantoms narrowly missed extending the lead. First period shots on goal were tied at 6-6.
The Phantoms dominated most of the second period. Lehigh Valley got the frame off to a great start as a persistent play near the net by Rhett Gardner (1st of the playoffs) eventually produced a 2-0 lead for the Phantoms. The assists went to Belpedio (second of the game) and Cooper Marody.
Lehigh Valley knocked on the door repeatedly, but they were unable to build a three-goal lead. The Phantoms repeatedly generated clean breakouts from the defensive zone, established a strong forecheck up ice and showed good puck support.
A mid-second period power play for the Phantoms went awry and temporarily stalled Lehigh Valley's momentum. The lone scoring chance was a shorthanded opportunity for the Baby Pens' Corey Andovovski.
The Phantoms started to take control again. However, at 18:16, Ville Koivunen (1st) redirected the puck past Cal Petersen and into the net to narrow the deficit to 2-1. The lone assist went to Poulin.
Second period shots on goal were 16-7 Phantoms (22-13 Lehigh Valley through two periods).
The late second period goal by the Penguins had some early carryover momentum in the third period, as the Phantoms found themselves mostly in the defensive zone for the first few minutes of the final stanza. Soon, however, Lehigh Valley began to make a renewed push. A very strong forechecking shift by Tanner Laczynski's line was a tone-setter.
As the third period progressed, the Phantoms came within a whisker of an insurance goal. However, Bobby Brink's shot from the slot hit the post and stayed out of the net.
With time starting to tick down, Petersen made a clutch save and did not allow a rebound with traffic around the net. The Pens pulled Blomqvist for an extra attacker with 1:48 left in regulation.
Phantoms forward Brendan Furry was grabbed and spun down by veteran WBS forward Vinnie Hinostroza to prevent what otherwise would have been an empty night call. A penalty was called. The Penguins pulled Blomqvist again for a 5-on-5 with an empty net behind him. The Phantoms killed off the remaining clock.
Petersen made nine of his 21 saves in the game during the third period. In a losing cause, Blomqvist made 10 saves in the third period to finish with 30 saves on 32 shots.
The Phantoms were 0-for-3 on the power play. WBS was 0-for-2.
Lehigh Valley's lineup was missing Samu Tuomaala, who was injured in the April 14 game and was absent from the final three regular season games as well as Wednesday's postseason opener. Massimo Rizzo, who missed much of the latter part of the NCAA season with a high ankle sprain before returning to play in the Frozen Four for national champion Denver, has yet to make his Phantoms debut.
On Wednesday, the Phantoms dressed 11 forwards and seven defenseman. The lineup was as follows:
28 Olle Lycksell - 9 Tanner Laczynski - 24 Adam Brooks
20 Cooper Marody - 22 Rhett Gardner - 23 Bobby Brink
17 Garrett Wilson - 56 Jacob Gaucher - 13 Brendan Furry
10 Evan Polei - 91 Elliot Desnoyers - (rotation)
37 Adam Ginning - 12 Ronnie Attard
6 Emil Andrae - 7 Louie Belpedio
19 Hunter McDonald - 2 Helge Grans
98 Victor Mete
40 Cal Petersen
[35 Alexei Kolosov]
The Flyers had a large contingent from their Hockey Operations department make the trip to Wilkes Barre for the game. In addition to Flyers general manager Danny and Phantoms general manager Alyn McCauley, Flyers representatives included president of hockey operations Keith Jones, John Tortorella and his Flyers coaching staff, advisors John LeClair and Patrick Sharp among others.
Friday's game at the PPL Center in Allentown will start at 7:05 p.m. EDT. The game will streamed on AHLTV (subscription required) and available on
Phantoms Radio with Bob Rotruck on the call.
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IIHF Worlds: Farabee Named to Team USA Roster
Flyers left winger Joel Farabee was named to the Team USA roster for the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Championships. The tournament will be held in Czechia (Prague and Ostrava) from May 10 to May 26. Former Flyers goaltender Alex Lyon, now with the Detroit Red Wings, was also named to the roster.
During Exit Day, Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson indicated that, if invited by SIF (the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation), he would accept. The Team Sweden roster has not yet been announced.
Flyers right winger Travis Konecny, who dealt with an oblique muscle strain during a segment of the latter portion of the 2023-24 season, reportedly declined an invitation to play for Team Canada at the Worlds.
Once again, this year, both Russia and Belarus are banned by the IIHF from participation in the World Championships. This is due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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