Aube-Kubel and McDonald Score for Phantoms
October 30, 2016
Hershey, PA – Trailing by a goal midway through the third period, Greg Carey cruised up the left-wing on a 2-on-1 and offered an almost-perfect backhander in an effort to even the score. But his potential equalizer rang of the far iron and bounced away allowing the Hershey Bears to hang on for a 3-2 decision in the first meeting of the season between the Keystone State Rivals.
Anthony Stolarz was solid between the pipes with a 30-save performance that include four or five of his best stops of the young season. Young prospect Nic Aube-Kubel scored his first goal of the season and third of his career while the captain, Colin McDonald, tallied his fourth goal of the campaign and third of the weekend. The game also saw a couple of third-period fights as the long-time foes, who have met more than 200 times in their 21-years as rivals, set an early tone in the this season’s rivalry opener.
After a couple of magnificent saves by Anthony Stolarz in the opening minutes of the game, Lehigh Valley would commence the scoring with Nic Aube-Kubel’s first of the season. Shortly after a faceoff win, T.J. Brennan would slide the puck over to Will O’Neill whose left-point offering down low perfectly connected with Aube-Kubel for the chip home.
But less than three minutes after that conversion, the Bears would roar back with Brad Malone keeping it in himself on his 2-on-1 opportunity and sniping his third of the year over the right shoulder of Stolarz.
Travis Boyd would wheel around on the left-wing boards to offer a perfect pass to talented Jakub Vrana hovering in the slot who was successful on his fifth goal of the season off the left post and in. That conversion at 5:29 into the second provided the hosts with their first advantage of the evening at 2-1.
The Phantoms withstood a continued Hershey charge and then forged a tie at 9:35 into the period. Being bumped off his skates didn’t stop Greg Carey from staying with the puck. His second-effort from behind the net while on his knees resulted in a perfect pass to Colin McDonald in the high slot who buried his fourth goal of the season past the glove of Vitek Vanecek.
Penalty trouble would befall the Phantoms at the end of the second period. A high-sticking against Chris Conner was shortly thereafter followed by a hard boarding penalty assessed to Samuel Morin who ran into the numbers of Travis Boyd. Lehigh Valley used their timeout in efforts to stall the Hershey 5-on-3 but the Bears eventually took the lead for good with Jakub Vrana’s cross-ice feed finding Paul Carey on the back-door for the tap-in.
Morin was challenged by scrappy Liam O’Brien in the third period who was taken quickly by the bigger defenseman in expedient fashion. The two were assessed roughing and unsportsmanlike minors. Later in the period, Cole Bardreau rumbled with Nathan Walker in a spirited bout involving more undersized pugilists resulting in both being tagged with five-minute fighting majors.
Hershey out shot the Phantoms 33-24. The Bears were 1-for-5 on the power play while the Phantoms finished at 0-for-5 after having successfully converted for five power-play markers in the previous two games combined.
Round 2 of the 12-Game rivalry series will be a return visit to ChocolateTown for the Phantoms on Sunday, November 13. The Bears’ first excursion to Lehigh Valley will take place on Friday, December 2.
The Phantoms are three games into a five-game road-swing that continues on Wednesday with a morning game at the Hartford Wolf Pack and then concludes on Friday night at the Providence Bruins. Wednesday’s game at 11:00 a.m. can be heard on 1470-WSAN and the iHeartRadio app and website. Listen to the Air Products Countdown to Faceoff beginning bright and early at 10:20.
The Phantoms next home game is Saturday, November 5 at 7:05 against the Springfield Thunderbirds on 80’s Night at PPL Center. Tickets are on sale at PPLCenter.com or by calling 610-347-TIXX (8499).
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 at Hershey Bears 3 – Status: Final
Sunday, October 30, 2016 – Giant Center
Lehigh Valley 1 1 0 – 2
Hershey 1 2 0 – 3
1st Period-1, Lehigh Valley, Aube-Kubel 1 (O’Neill, Brennan), 14:38. 2, Hershey, Malone 3 (Bowey, Barber), 17:26. Penalties-Boyd Her (double minor – high-sticking), 8:49.
2nd Period-3, Hershey, Vrana 5 (Boyd), 5:29. 4, Lehigh Valley, McDonald 4 (Carey, Miele), 9:35. 5, Hershey, Carey 3 (Vrana, C. Bourque), 19:43 (PP). Penalties-Sanheim Lv (slashing), 0:29; Morin Lv (tripping), 6:23; Dietz Her (tripping), 11:51; Weal Lv (cross-checking), 15:58; Conner Lv (high-sticking), 18:14; Morin Lv (boarding), 19:01; Lewington Her (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Lewington Her (holding the stick), 2:44; Morin Lv (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), 8:13; O’Brien Her (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), 8:13; Bardreau Lv (fighting), 15:25; Walker Her (fighting), 15:25.
Shots on Goal-Lehigh Valley 10-7-7-24. Hershey 12-17-4-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Lehigh Valley 0 / 5; Hershey 1 / 5.
Goalies-Lehigh Valley, Stolarz 2-2-0-0 (33 shots-30 saves). Hershey, Vanecek 1-1-1-0 (24 shots-22 saves).
A-9,028
Referees-Stephen Reneau (34), Furman South (44).
Linesmen-Luke Murray (92), Scott Pomento (25).
RISE UP! Another thrilling season of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey at PPL Center is underway! Reserve your season tickets and group outings for the 2016-2017 season of Phantoms hockey today. For more information on how to reserve your seat at PPL Center to the hottest ticket in town, call the Phantoms front office today at 610-224-GOAL [4625]!
And for the latest Phantoms news, visit www.phantomshockey.com or follow the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lehighvalleyphantoms), Twitter (@lvphantoms), Instagram (@lehighvalleyphantoms) and Snapchat (lvphantoms).
The Phantoms are thrilled to host the 2017 Capital BlueCross AHL All-Star Classic at PPL Center January 28-30. The Capital BlueCross AHL All-Star Classic weekend includes a Phan Fest during the day on Saturday, January 28 and a Tailgate Party that evening, followed by the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 29 and the 2017 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 30. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event. Packages starting at just $67 for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic weekend are on sale now and include admission to Saturday’s Phan Fest & Tailgate Party, Sunday’s AHL All-Star Skills Competition and Monday’s All-Star Game. To purchase tickets, please visit www.phantomshockey.com or www.pplcenter.com.
The Phantoms are coming off their 20th Anniversary Season and second campaign in the Lehigh Valley playing at the state-of-the-art PPL Center. Established in 1996, the Phantoms spent their first 13 seasons at the Spectrum in Philadelphia before re-locating to Glens Falls, New York in 2009 where the team spent the next five seasons as the Adirondack Phantoms. A new era of Phantoms hockey began in the fall of 2014 when the Lehigh Valley Phantoms began play at the state-of-the-art PPL Center. Through 19 incredibly successful campaigns, the Phantoms have captured two Calder Cup Championships (1998, 2005), two Conference Championships (1998, 2005), two Regular Season Titles (1996-97, 1997-98) and four Division Championships (1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2003-04).
