LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa – It has been crazy past two weeks for Phantoms goalie Anthony Stolarz. Seeing him be called up to NHL Philadelphia to back up Steve Mason, 
only to come back to Lehigh Valley and allow three goals on 18 shots last Saturday night mostly due to rust from not having played for a week since. That all changed Friday night as Stolarz helped Lehigh Valley gain a much needed two points by making 37 of 38 saves to lead his team to a 2-1 win over the Springfield Falcons.
Despite his stellar performance, the one goal he did let up is one he would have liked to have back. Half way through the first period, the Falcons broke into the Phantoms zone on a rush. Greg Carey would have the puck slid to him between the circles and he would snap a shot at Stolarz that he thought he had wedged between his blocker side arm and his body. The puck snuck through however, and trickled across the goal line to put Springfield up 1-0. Stolarz would end up with 12 saves on 13 shots in the period, setting the tone for what was to come.
The turn-around would come very early into the second period for the Phantoms, as an early Power Play chance would get them going. Henrik Samuelsson would go off for a hooking minor, and the Phantoms red hot man advantage got to work. An initial shot from Chris Conner from below the goal line would bounce out to the slot to Petr Straka, who would fire the puck back at Springfield net minder Marek Langhamer. Langhamer ended up falling over in the crease somehow, but Cole Bardreau was there to tuck the rebound home for Lehigh Valley to give them their 11th Power Play goal in 14 games. Bardreau would keep the fire lit under his team by fighting the other Samuelsson brother Phillip a little over four minutes later. With momentum beginning to shift, and Stolarz still making save after save, the Phantoms would strike the dagger through the heart of Springfield with time winding down in the second. Aaron Palushaj would get a break away chance at the 17:14 mark, and back hand one through the five hole of Langhamer to put his team on top for good. Another solid period for “Stolie the Goalie” saw him make another 15 saves.
The third period would be a battle of the goaltenders, with neither surrendering anything. The Phantoms, who got out shot 13 to 12 and 15 to 10 in the first two periods respectfully, would be again outshot in the third 10 to 8. But Stolarz managed to stop them all, including three big saves on Springfields Power Play chance late in the frame. All in all Lehigh Valley would walk out of this game with a much needed two points to close the gap on idle Bridgeport to 8 points for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. That same Bridgeport Sound Tigers club happens to be who the Phantoms host Saturday night at PPL Center.
With important points on the line, Head Coach Scott Gordon went to his All-Star goalie and it paid off. When asked about Stolarz and his bounce back effort post game last night, Gordon remarked “He (Stolarz) had a really good practice. There was one day I was watching him make saves and I was like ‘Wow, that’s the guy we saw here’”(before his call up). “I turned my back, and I hear guys who are shooting the puck at him cheering him on because of the saves he was making….It didn’t surprise me that he bounced back the way he did….he showed us he was ready, and he was” Stolarz himself said his biggest thing for him was to just go out there and put last week in the back of his head. “I had a good week of practice, I worked really hard and worked on some things that I caught myself on video doing wrong”.
Strong work ethic paid off big time for Lehigh Valley, who needs Saturday nights game against Bridgeport to keep their playoff hopes alive. After that they continue their 3-in-3 by going up to Springfield to face the Falcons yet again. A weekend that could make or break their late season push for the playoffs got off a great note, but four big points still lay ahead.
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