LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms faced a do or die situation on Saturday night, needing to get at least a point against Bridgeport to keep their playoff hopes alive. And, after being down two goals with eight minutes left in the game, the Phantoms would rally back to force overtime. The game would go to the shootout, with Bridgeport picking up the extra point with a final of 5-4. With twenty-three games left to play this year, it was a much needed point, but surrendering a point back to the Sound Tigers may come back to haunt them.
Bridgeport would open the scoring in the first period, in a way Phantoms fans had not been used to seeing. After Maxim Lamarche went off for a hold at the 12:30 mark, Bridgeports 29th ranked power play would get to work. A one timed shot from the top of the far side circle from Jesse Graham would just beat the out stretched glove of a screened Anthony Stolarz to start the scoring. The Sound Tigers tally was the first Power Play goal given up by the Phantoms in five games, ending a streak of 13 consecutive kills. Lehigh Valley would get the goal back four minutes later, as Phil DeSimone danced through three Sound Tigers and potted one up over Chris Gibson to tie the score.
The Phantoms would control much of the pace of the second period, even taking their first lead of the night on a Power Play bomb of a shot off the stick of Adam Comrie. Comrie had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 39 games for the ECHL Reading Royals before being brought up to Allentown this year. While with Reading, six of his 15 goals came on the Power Play, so it came as no surprise to see him quaterbacking the first unit for the Phantoms. Despite the territorial control by Lehigh Valley, Bridgeport would counter with two straight goals of their own to retake the lead before the end of the frame. It would start with a perfect pick of a corner behind Stolarz by Taylor Beck, his 15th on the year, with another assist being credited to Kane Lafranchise, who assisted on Grahams goal in the first. The Sound Tigers would take back the lead on a snap shot from the slot off the stick of Connor Jones that just barely got through Stolarz at the 15:00 even mark. Again, Lafranchise would get another assist, giving him a three point night by the end of the middle stanza.
Bridgeport new coming into Allentown Saturday night that they were facing a team gasping for air below them to try to get back in the playoff hunt. A regulation win for the Sound Tigers would all but put the last nail in the coffin on the Phantoms season, and they tried to make sure it would happen early in the third. Just a minute into the third, Alan Quine would make up for his two penalties taken earlier in the game that lead to both the Phantoms goals. Quine would go top shelf from the slot on Stolarz to put Bridgeport up two, and make it look like the Phantoms were all but down and out. Then, a ray of hope shined through in the form of Taylor Leier with just under eight minutes left to play. Chris Conner would throw a back handed pass from below the goal line to Leier, who would go top shelf on Gibson, sending his water bottle flying into the air. The Phantoms got their opportunity to tie it at the 14:09 mark, getting a Power Play chance thanks to Vaive going off for Unsportsmanlike conduct. Lehigh Valley could not capitalize on the chance, with Bridgeport keeping them from getting zone pressure.
Three minutes later, however, Lehigh Valley would prove sometimes you do get second chances, as Matt Carkner would get penalized for a hold for two, Unsportsmanlike for two, and a ten minute misconduct at the 17:43 mark. With the four minutes being two separate minors, the Phantoms could score twice if they wished. It would take only twenty-three seconds for number twenty-three to tie the game. Leier would get his second of the night off a cross crease feed from Conner he just had to tap in to force overtime. Each goalie would only have to make two saves during the extra session, with the fast paced back and fourth leading to great chances but a lot of shots going wide.
With the game going to a shootout, and each team already picking up a point, it was go time for Lehigh Valley. Going to the hot hand in Leier to start was a wise choice, but he was unable to beat Gibson. Bridgeport would go to the man who got their scoring started in Graham, going with a defenseman which is usually unheard of. Graham would skate in and deke Stolarz right out of his net to score to put the Sound Tigers ahead for good. Straka would hit post for Lehigh Valley, and both twenty-twos would be unable to break through (Conner for LV, Quine for BST) to give the Sound Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Phantoms.
Lehigh Valley will head to Springfield to complete their three-in-three with their second match up against the Falcons this weekend. The Phantoms with a win on Sunday could still get five of a possible six points out of this weekend, which would be huge for their late season playoff push. When asked about it, Taylor Leier said “I think were a playoff team, I’ve said the whole year, we’ve had a lot of games like this all year where were the under dog and we’ve had guys step up throughout our whole lineup and we show a lot of character so hopefully we can string a few together here to make a push to grab the second or last playoff spot”. That push will start Sunday against Springfield and continue next weekend with games against Hartford and Utica.
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