LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa – The Phantoms looked to rebound from a bad game against Albany on Friday by beating Binghamton on Saturday. And beat them they did. Nick Cousins had 4 points including a hat trick, and Martin Ouellette made 32 saves as Lehigh Valley throttled the Senators 5-1 at a sold out PPL Center Saturday Night.
Lehigh Valley has a habit of fast starts, and tonight was no exception, as Nick Cousins struck with his 11th just fifteen seconds in. Andrew Gordon had the puck in the corner, threw a blind pass to Cousins, who buried it behind Senatorsâ goalie Andrew Hammond. The Phantoms made it 2-0 on the power play ten minutes later. With Todd Bertuzzi (Yes, that Todd Bertuzzi) serving a bench minor, Zack Stortini deflected a Brandon Manning point shot. Secondary assist went to Cousins.
Binghamton cut the lead in half with just 52 seconds left. Ryan Dzingel passed the puck to as streaking Patrick Mullen, creating a 2 on 1 with Alex Guptill. Mullen found Guptill on a cross-ice pass, and he buried it behind Martin Ouellet. Shots in the period were 17-12 Phantoms.
In the second period, the Phantomsâ struck just 33 seconds in. Brandon Manning passed to Andrew Gordon who fired a shot off the pads of Hammond and Nick Cousins collected his second of the night. Assist went to Gordon and Manning. Jay Rosehill made it 4-1 off a crazy deflection at 7:13. Assist went to Derek Mathers and Ryan White. Binghamton had a couple power plays in the frame, but could not mount an offensive.
The final frame turned into a circus, but not before some history was made. Nick Cousins converted a two on one to complete the first hat trick in the history of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It was his team leading thirteenth goal and 28th point. The goal was assisted by defenseman Adam Comrie. At that point, Binghamton decided to get physical with anyone they could get their hands on. There were 5 fights in the period, including three at once in a mini line-brawl. Ultimately, the Phantomsâ deflected the nonsense, and won the game.
Notes: Officials were referee Alex Garon and linesmen Dave Brown and Bill Lyons. Attendance was 8,907. Andrew Gordon on changes from last night: âItâs easy, isnât it? I feel like I could pat myself on the back like Iâm a genius. No, itâs a discipline thing. Thereâs a decision that has to be made at all points in the game. âAm I going to do the right thing? Or am I going to put the team at risk?â I thought all around we played a much stronger game tonight than we did last night mentally and tactically.â On the fighting: âItâs stupid, guys get in a scrum and grab on to somebody and just wait for someone to punch somebody else. Itâs just silly.â Head coach Terry Murray on the improved discipline in regards to penalties: â I thought it was much improved. You have to remember, you have the young (officials) out their trying to earn their stripes. And, even though there was only one referee tonight, I thought he did a good job and we certainly showed more restraint.â On if itâs tough to keep the guys focused when the period breaks down into a fight fest: âNo, thatâs the one thing, we got a nice feel on the locker room and on the bench. Guys are up, theyâre cheering for each otherâŠ.that to me just reinforces your team, itâs great bonding stuff. I would be disappointed if we skated away from anything that required some attention by a teammate.â Murray says Blair Jones will not play tonight against Hershey do to a lower body injury. 3 Stars: 3) LV-Martin Ouellette (33 Saves) 2) LV-Brandon Manning (2 Assists, +3) 1) LV-Nick Cousins (3 Goals, 1 assist, +3, 6 Shots on goal)
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