Every Monday, GNGHockey will recap what happened the past week for the Philadelphia Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Hershey Bears.
Philadelphia Flyers (6-5-0, 12 points, 5th in Metropolitan)
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017 – vs. Anaheim Ducks (6-2 loss)
It was a game that started off well for the Flyers, but the final score was an ugly one.
Sean Couturier got on the board midway through the second with an assist from Claude Giroux. The Ducks responded with five straight goals from five different players before Couturier added a second goal in the third period. Ondrej Kase scored his second goal of the game late in the third to put the final nail in the coffin.
Brian Elliott had perhaps his roughest game in a Flyers uniform, saving just
19 out of 25 shots. Couturier and Jake Voracek both recorded two points.
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 – at Ottawa Senators (5-4 loss)
The Flyers trailed all game, and a late, controversial call kept them from forcing overtime.
Michael Neuvirth allowed three goals in the first period, with the Senators scoring two of them within a span of four minutes. It took six minutes into the second for the Flyers to score, getting goals from Jake Voracek (his first of the season) and Travis Konecny just 53 seconds apart. All of a sudden, the Flyers were looking dangerous, but a goal from Mark Stone swung momentum back in the Senators’ favor. Ottawa was up, 4-2.
The first controversy of the night came when a goal by Brandon Manning was called back due to goaltender interference. Jordan Weal skated laterally through the crease just enough to interfere with Craig Anderson. Tom Pyatt scored a minute later to put the Senators up, 5-2, with nine minutes left.
The Flyers came storming back, regardless. Ivan Provorov and Sean Couturier scored in the dying minutes to make it a one-goal game.
Then the major controversy struck.
Couturier, on an attempt for his second goal of the night, had his shot gloved by Anderson along the post. The issue? Anderson’s glove was behind the goal line.
Although the puck crossed the line before play was stopped, the referees deemed the play complete and didn’t allow the goal, citing an intent to blow a whistle.
The referees and NHL rulebook seem to disagree on the basis of reviewing the play, but nonetheless, the Senators hung on to win, 5-4.
Couturier finished the night with three points.
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 – at Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2 win)
Nazem Kadri put the Leafs up, 1-0, midway through the first period, but the Flyers took control of the game from there, scoring three unanswered goals. Brandon Manning scored his first goal of the season, Jake Voracek scored his second in as many games, and Valtteri Filppula added insurance to the Flyers’ lead halfway through the second. Kadri scored again two minutes after Filppula’s goal to, but Claude Giroux responded with his sixth goal of the season to put the Flyers up 4-2. They kept a lead until the final horn.
Voracek and Manning recorded two points each. Brian Elliott saved 24 of 26 shots.
Notes
Tuesday against Anaheim, Nolan Patrick was hit against the boards and left the game with an upper-body injury. He missed both Thursday’s and Saturday’s games and is listed as day-to-day… Against Toronto, Shayne Gostisbehere was hit be Leo Komarov in the second period and had to leave the game with an upper-body injury… Samuel Morin was called up from Lehigh Valley Sunday night in response to Gostisbehre’s injury.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-2-0-1, 15 points, 3rd in Atlantic)
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 – vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (3-2 OT win)
The Phantoms jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period, with goals from Mike Vecchione and Colin McDonald. The Thunderbirds stormed back in the second with goals from Dryden Hunt and Thomas Schemitsch to tie the game at two. After a scoreless third, Greg Carey scored the game-winner in overtime, taking advantage of a five-minute major given to Springfield’s Matt MacKenzie for cross-checking.
Mark Friedman was the recipient of MacKenzie’s hit and had to leave the game. He returned for the Phantoms’ next game. Alex Lyon saved 25 of 27 shots.
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 – at Springfield Thunderbirds (5-2 win)
After beating the Thunderbirds two nights earlier, the Phantoms traveled to Springfield to complete a home-and-home series.
Danick Martel opened the scoring in the first period, and Will O’Neill scored his first of the season to give the Phantoms a 2-0 lead. Although Springfield scored to make it 2-1, that was as close as they would get, as Lehigh Valley racked up three unanswered goals from Cole Bardeau (first of the season), Oskar Lindblom (his first North American goal), and Martel (his second of the night). The Phantoms won, 5-2.
Martel, Chris Conner, and Lindblom all finished Friday night two points. Dustin Tokarski saved 26 of 28 shots.
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 – vs. Hartford Wolf Pack (5-4 loss)
A back-and-forth third period ultimately resulted in a Phantoms loss.
Alexi Bereglazov opened the scoring with his first goal of the season to put the Wolf Pack up, 1-0. Philippe Myers scored to tie the game, but a second period goal from Vinni Lettieri gave Hartford the lead back. The Phantoms came up with two quick goals from Danick Martel and Oskar Lindblom in the opening minutes of the third to take a 3-2 lead.
Hartford’s Adam Tambellini scored to tie the game at three, but a goal from Mark Alt put the Phantoms back on top less than a minute later.
The Wolf Pack came back with two unanswered goals, including the game-winner by Cole Schneider with under two minutes to go.
Will O’Neill and Lindblom recorded two points each. Lyon saved 26 saves of 31 shots.
Notes
Forward Steven Swavely was assigned to the Reading Royals on Thursday.
Hershey Bears (3-5-0-1, 7 points, 6th in Atlantic)
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 – at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-2 Loss)
Hershey had a chance to win after trailing for the majority of the game, but Dominik Simon’s goal with nine minutes left proved to be the game-winner for the Penguins.
Down by two late in the second period, the Bears looked to be heading for another loss. However, Jeremy Langlois and Riley Barber each scored to tie the game with 14 minutes remaining in regulation. After Barber took a slashing minor, Simon scored on the power play to give the Penguins the win.
Adam Carlson faced 27 shots, stopping 24.
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 – vs. Providence Bruins (3-2 win)
Late heroics from an unlikely source helped win this game for the Bears.
Colton Hargrove opened up the scoring for Providence, but Liam O’Brien responded with his first goal of the season to tie the game. Travis Boyd scored to put the Bears up, 2-1, in the latter half of the second period. Hargrove scored the only even-strength goal of the game, and his second of the night, midway through the third period to tie the game back up. Then, with seven minutes remaining, Connor Hobbs scored his first professional goal to put Hershey up, 3-2, a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the game.
Chris Bourque recorded three assists. Parker Milner made 18 saves on 20 shots.
Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 – vs. Hartford Wolf Pack (4-3 win)
The Bears’ third game of the weekend turned into yet another one-goal game, and the second with favorable results for Hershey.
Wayne Simpson opened the scoring for the Bears with a goal minutes into the first period. Hartford’s Steven Fogarty scored less than three minutes later to tie the game back up.
Hershey came up with two unanswered goals to make it 3-1 heading into the third period, but Fogarty scored once again to put the Wolf Pack within one.
Liam O’Brien scored just past the halfway point in the third to put the Bears up, 4-2. After Hubert Labrie took a slashing minor late in the game, the Wolf Pack pulled goaltender Chris Nell for an extra attacker to create a six-on-four opportunity. Hartford did come up with a goal, but it was with 17 seconds left. The Bears managed to kill off the remaining seconds to secure the win.
Wayne Simpson and Chris Bourque recorded two points. Adam Carlson saved 33 shots on 36 attempts.
Notes
Chandler Stephenson was called up to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. He scored his first NHL goal Thursday against Vancouver… Anthony Peluso was called up to the Capitals on Friday.
Upcoming games
Philadelphia Flyers – Monday, 10/30 vs. Arizona Coyotes; Wednesday, 11/1 at Chicago Blackhawks; Thursday, 11/2 at St. Louis Blues; Saturday, 11/4 vs. Colorado Avalanche
Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Friday, 11/3 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; Saturday, 11/4 at Binghamton Devils; Sunday, 11/5 vs. Toronto Marlies
Hershey Bears – Friday, 11/3 at Rochester Americans; Saturday, 11/4 vs. Toronto Marlies; Sunday, 11/5 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Originally published on GNGHockey.com