Marody Scores Two and O’Reilly Scores Shootout Winner
December 28, 2022
Lehigh Valley, PA – Cooper Marody (3rd, 4th) struck for a pair of goals and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms eventually prevailed in a wild, see-saw contest with a 6-5 shootout decision over the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday night at PPL Center. Cal O’Reilly scored the winning goal in the sixth round of the skills competition in the longest shootout of the season for Lehigh Valley.
Zayde Wisdom struck for his first of the year and Elliot Desnoyers converted on his team-leading 12th of the campaign while Adam Brooks contributed his third. Adam Ginning also had a big night with three assists in the exciting affair.
Lehigh Valley (14-11-3) led 5-3 in the third period but the Islanders rallied to force overtime. Former Phantom Andy Andreoff (17th) had tied the game with 47.4 seconds remaining with a 6-on-5 goal to ultimately earn the visiting B-Isles a standings point.
Wisdom rifled home his first of the season from the right dot just 4:29 into the game on a nice setup from behind the goal by Brooks that was also assisted by Ginning for a 1-0 lead. The Phantoms improved to 9-1-3 in games in which they score the first goal.
Bridgeport rallied later in the first with consecutive goals barely over two minutes apart with 20-year-old prospect William Dufour (11th) scoring at the net-front and Samuel Bolduc (6th) converting on a point-shot to put the Islanders ahead 2-1.
The Phantoms equalized at 7:35 into the second with Desnoyers and Anisimov working a give-and-go in tight quarters. Desnoyers adeptly reached through a defenseman to knock the puck home as the 20-year-old rookie talent moved into a tie for second among AHL rookies in goals.
The even count lasted for only 14 seconds as Chris Terry (7th) flipped a backhander past the glove of goalie Nolan Maier on the move to put Bridgeport back in front at 3-2.
Marody scored the first of his consecutive goals with just 1:05 left in the second period reaching into a mess of bodies for a loose puck off the rebound of a shot by Adam Ginning. Marody was a little behind the cage and off to the left-wing side but could still reach his stick in there for his third of the season to forge a 3-3 tie at the second intermission.
Marody put the Phantoms back in front 3:40 into the third on the deflection of an Adam Ginning point shot neatly chopping down the drive that followed Isaac Ratcliffe’s entry. Marody was cutting across the left side of the slot when he got a piece of Ginning’s perfectly timed drive while on the move.
Brooks got another Phantoms tally down low in a net-front scramble to put Lehigh Valley ahead at 5-3 with 13:54 to go. Jordy Bellerive and Cal O’Reilly recorded the assists. For the 36-year-old captain, O’Reilly, his 544th career assist puts him in a tie for seventh all-time in AHL history with Jody Gage while also providing him with his 698th career point.
Erik Brown (3rd) scored off a turnover from behind the net to pull Bridgeport back to within one with 10:22 left and Andreoff deflected a point-shot from Cholowski with 48 seconds remaining for a 5-5 tie.
Lehigh Valley scrambled and scratched through a critical penalty kill in overtime with several key blocks. Louie Belpedio and Egor Zamula and Adam Brooks all came up with big plays in the extra-period P.K.
Kieffer Bellows scored in the first round of the shootout for the Phantoms striking against his former team. Jordy Bellerive and Cal O’Reilly converted in the fifth and sixth rounds with O’Reilly going past the glove of Islanders’ goalie Ken Appleby for the winner. Nolan Maier denied Andreoff at the end with a strong pad save to finish the victory for the exuberant PPL Center contingent.
The Phantoms improved to 1-1-0 against Brideport this season while recording their second win in a row. Lehigh Valley travels to the Utica Comets on Friday night before returning to PPL Center on New Year’s Eve, presented by Penn Community Bank, with a Saturday night contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with lots of fun during the game and then a big New Year’s Eve party outside afterwards including the World’s Largest Puck Drop.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 4:29 LV – Z. Wisdom (1) (A. Brooks, A. Ginning) 1-0
1st 10:19 BRI – W. Dufour (11) (C. Bardreau) 1-1
1st 12:21 BRI – S. Bolduc (6) (A. Andreoff, R. Ishakov) 1-2
2nd 7:35 LV – E. Desnoyers (12) (A. Anisimov, K. Bellows) (PP) 2-2
2nd 7:49 BRI – C. Terry (8) (R. Ishakov, A. Andreoff) 2-3
2nd 18:55 LV – C. Marody (3) (A. Ginning, E. Desnoyers) 3-3
3rd 3:40 LV – C. Marody (4) (A. Ginning, I. Ratcliffe) 4-3
3rd 6:06 LV – A. Brooks (3) (J. Bellerive, C. O’Reilly) 5-3
3rd 9:38 BRI – E. Brown (3) (J. Lambert) 5-4
3rd 19:12 BRI – A. Andreoff (17) (D. Cholowski, C. Terry) (6×5) 5-5
Shootout: LV 3 (Bellows, Bellerive, O’ Reilly), BRI 2 (Ishakov, Durandeau)
Shots:
LV 28 – BRI 34
PP:
LV 1/3, BRI 0/3
Goalies:
LV – N. Maier (W) (2-0-1) (29/34)
BRI – K. Appleby (L) (0-0-1) (22/27)
Records:
Lehigh Valley (14-11-3)
Bridgeport (14-10-6)
Phantoms Tickets are available HERE
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, December 30 (7:05) at Utica Comets
Saturday, December 31 (7:05) vs. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS
Friday, January 6 (7:05) at Rochester Americans
Saturday, January 7 (4:00) at Toronto Marlies
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Saturday, December 31 (7:05) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Penn Community Bank. Including festivities and great fun on Hamilton Street right after the game right with the World’s Largest Puck-Drop to ring in 2023!
Friday, January 13 (7:05) vs. Bridgeport Islanders – Berks Dollar Dog Night
Saturday, January 14 (7:05) vs. Syracuse Crunch – Valley Youth House Night Presented by Air Products
