Scott Laughton Strikes for Empty-Netter in Return
November 4, 2016
Providence, RI – Scott Laughton returned for his first game in a Phantoms sweater in over a year and sealed a Friday night 4-2 victory at the Providence Bruins with a late empty-netter. Laughton scored seven goals in 72 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season and is now back with Lehigh Valley on a Conditioning Loan after sustaining a lower-body injury in the preseason.
Mark Zengerle (4th), Nic Aube-Kubel (2nd) and Greg Carey (4th) also scored for the Phantoms while Anthony Stolarz preserved the victory with a 27-save performance. Jordan Weal notched a pair of assists to move into second in the AHL with 12 points. The Phantoms again benefited from their potent power-play attack with a pair of man-advantage markers.
Lehigh Valley finishes its season-long five-game road-swing on the winning side of the ledger at 3-2-0 while improving its overall record to 4-3-1.
Weal worked a puck away along the right boards and connected crisply with Zengerle around the left dot who elevated a backhander over the shoulder of goaltender Malcolm Subban for a power-play goal at 7:44 into the first period.
Providence equalized on a tally by Anton Blidh at 16:36 and a more calmly paced opening 20 minutes concluded in a 1-1 tie with the Phantoms having out shot the P-Bruins by a 6-4 margin.
The second period would generate far more action for both netminders with both sides racking up 14 blasts on net. Lehigh Valley took the lead at 7:36 into the second period when defenseman Robert Hagg smartly poked the puck away from veteran forward Chris Porter at the Phantoms line. That sprung Radel Fazleev up the right-wing on a 2-on-1 who was able to draw Subban to his side of the ice setting up Aube-Kubel on the opposite side to bury his opportunity for his second goal in the last three games.
Travis Sanheim was blasted late in the second period by Colby Cave of Providence leading to a quick bout between Cave and Cole Bardreau. Sanheim popped up immediately and was okay. After the Cave roughing minor was assessed, the Bruins put themselves in a bigger hole with a Chris Porter high-sticking penalty.
Lehigh Valley successfully converted on their carry-over 5-on-3 attack with Greg Carey’s drive from the top of the right circle sneaking through the legs of Subban for a 3-1 lead. T.J. Brennan had a shot blocked moments earlier on the attack and Carey capitalized while the Bruins were still scrambling. Weal also earned his second helper of the night on the play at just 42 seconds into the third period.
Providence turned up the pressure late in the third and closed the margin back to one just as a power play of their own had expired. Jordan Szwarz drive from the right boards through a screen found the back of the net with 3:37 remaining and suddenly it was a one-goal game again.
The Bruins continued to pressure but finally Scott Laughton found a free puck just behind the Providence blue-line and was able to bury his backhander into the open net with 47 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
Providence out shot the Phantoms 29-26. Lehigh Valley was 2-for-5 on the power play while the Bruins finished at 0-for-2.
The tilt was the first of six encounters this season between the two teams. The Phantoms will sojourn once again to Rhode Island exactly a fortnight later for a rematch on November 18.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms return to PPL Center on Saturday night for their first hom
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms conclude their five-game road swing on Friday night at the Providence Bruins at 7:05. Listen on 1470-WSAN and the iHeartRadio app and website beginning with the Air Products Countdown to Faceoff at 6:20.
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 4 at Hartford Wolf Pack 0 – Status: Final
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 – XL Center
Lehigh Valley 2 0 2 – 4
Hartford 0 0 0 – 0
1st Period-1, Lehigh Valley, Brennan 3 (Weal, Leier), 11:15. 2, Lehigh Valley, Bardreau 1 (Zengerle, Aube-Kubel), 18:52. Penalties-Glass Hfd (slashing), 0:22.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Fazleev Lv (tripping), 2:33; Stromwall Hfd (tripping), 10:16.
3rd Period-3, Lehigh Valley, Knight 2 (Brennan, Fazleev), 2:51. 4, Lehigh Valley, Zengerle 3 (Brennan), 14:55. Penalties-Aube-Kubel Lv (holding), 8:52; Fontaine Hfd (holding), 11:27.
Shots on Goal-Lehigh Valley 14-6-10-30. Hartford 7-16-10-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Lehigh Valley 0 / 3; Hartford 0 / 2.
Goalies-Lehigh Valley, Stolarz 3-2-0-0 (33 shots-33 saves). Hartford, Hellberg 3-2-0-0 (30 shots-26 saves).
A-4,029
Referees-Brett Iverson (56), Pierre Lambert (47).
Linesmen-Nick Briganti (58), Paul Simeon (66).
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).
