ST JOHN’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada – Andrew Gordon took several “Star of the Game” curtain calls last season at Mile One Centre when he scored 23 goals as a member of the Eastern Conference Champion St. John’s IceCaps. So Saturday evening’s post-game “3 Stars” was perhaps a somewhat familiar feeling for the veteran winger following his late tie-breaking goal with just 2:59 remaining in the third period which propelled the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a 4-2 win.
The Phantoms won their third straight game, all on the road. And continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings while still holding several games-in-hand on the teams they are chasing.
Gordon’s team-leading ninth lamplighter of the season came just three minutes after St. John’s had evened the score at 2-2 on a shot from the right-wing boards by Kyle MacKinnon that had bounced off the upper-body of a Phantoms player for a deflection goal past winning netminder Rob Zepp. Nick Cousins set up the Gordon game-winner carrying the puck swiftly across the low-slot from left to right for a Gordon chip on the other side through rookie goalie Connor Hellebuyck of St. John’s.
Before the game, Gordon had commented that he would likely be especially motivated to play against his former team.
“It’s true. It’s a lot of familiar faces,” Gordon said. “You always want to compete extra-hard against your buddies and you don’t want them to get the upper-hand on you. I didn’t do much in the first game we played against them (on November 22 at PPL Center) so I’m excited to get another crack at them!”
Suffice to say, Andrew Gordon is more satisfied with how things turned out for him in this one.
Ryan White proceeded to ice the IceCaps via an empty-net goal with just 7.5 seconds remaining at the end of a 6-on-4 penalty-kill. It was the first goal as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers organization for White who was playing in his fourth game with the Phantoms after beginning the year on the sidelines following off-season left pectoral surgery. White had initially won a valuable defensive-zone faceoff late in the game and Robert Hagg blocked two late shots to help push the Phantoms onto victory.
Hagg also scored in his first game back with the Phantoms. His third of the year came on a center-point power-play blast late in the first period. The 19-year-old Swedish prospect rejoined Lehigh Valley this week following a two-week stretch with the Sweden national team at the World Juniors Championships.
Brett Hextall contributed his third goal of the season pushing home a close-range offering from the left of the cage through the stick of Hellebuyck after Jason Akeson carried the puck in deep and then wide around to the other side to set up the tally. The Phantoms led 2-0 on the Hextall goal in the second period but Blair Riley converted for St. John’s just 25 seconds after the Hextall goal to get the IceCaps on the board.
Rob Zepp didn’t exactly rack up his highest save total as he turned away 29 IceCaps’ drives. But his victory was a hard-earned one in a night featuring a number of very impressive stops including multiple point-blank drives from the Caps. Zepp made two of his best saves in the second period against St. John’s veteran captain Jason Jaffray. First came a good looking slapper from the left-wing boards aiming far post but Zepp flashed out the left leg to deny the drive. Later came a top-of-the-crease chip on a give to the middle by Kyle MacKinnon and Jaffray’s attempt to the far post appeared nearly perfect were it not for the quick right leg of Zepp.
Zepp’s win against the affiliates of the Winnipeg Jets wasn’t exactly the same as his history-making NHL win on December 21. But that one did happen to come on the road and was also against the Winnipeg Jets organization on a night when the 33-year-old became the oldest goalie to win his NHL debut since 1926.
Lehigh Valley’s three-game win streak matches the team’s longest of the season previously accomplished November 15 through November 21 when the Phantoms won three consecutive home games. The Phantoms improved to 17-12-5 overall while St. John’s fell to 15-17-6.
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