Phantoms Rally for Come-From-Behind Victory Over Tigers

By Bob Phillips

BRIDGEPORT–The Lehigh Valley Phantoms shook off some early morning cobwebs and overcame

Lehigh Valley’s Oskar Lindblom (left) and Bridgeport’s Mitch Vande
Sompel jostle for the puck in first-period action. The Phantoms
overcame an early two-goal deficit to top the Sound Tigers, 4-2.

a two-goal first period deficit to defeat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-2, before 8,008 fans at the Webster Bank Arena on Tuesday. The size and enthusiasm of the crowd was reflected by the thousands of schoolkids rocking the house—beneficiaries of one of two “school day” promotions on the schedule in which area kids arrived at the WBA as part of what seemed to be an endless caravan of school buses. The other such promotion—“Spring Fun 102”—will be played on April 3, 2018, against the Providence Bruins.

The Sound Tigers broke the ice early when defenseman rookie defenseman Sebastian Aho deflected a shot by Tanner Fritz from the right side of the crease that got past Phantoms netminder Alex Lyon 8:29 into the contest. It was the fifth goal in the six games, who became the first defenseman in franchise history to score a hat-trick on Sunday vs. Providence. It came with the teams at even strength.

Later in the period, the home team doubled up the lead when, after Phantoms’ right wing Nicolas Abu-Kabel was called for high sticking with 5:31 left, the Sound Tigers took full advantage of the man advantage. Josh Ho-Sang sent a centering pass to Steve Bernier from behind the Lehigh Valley net. The veteran right wing promptly deposited it in the opposition goal to make it 2-0 Bridgeport at the 15:09 mark. It was Bernier’s seventh goal of the young season. Indeed, the red-hot wing, who has played in the NHL with San Jose, Vancouver, Buffalo, Florida and New Jersey now has eight points in his last eight games. Aho also got a helper on Bernier’s seventh goal of the season.

The Sound Tigers completely dominated the game in the first period, scoring twice on 19 shots—the team’s high-water mark thus far for shots on goal in a single period thus far this season—while limiting Lehigh Valley to just eight shots on the Bridgeport net.

Then the Phantoms woke up.

Indeed, Bridgeport’s two-goal lead vanished in the bat of an eyelash early in the second period as Lehigh Valley struck twice within the first two minutes of the middle frame.

The Phantom’s first tally came just 1:04 into the second stanza when Phil Varone popped one over Bridgeport goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis’ left shoulder to cut the Tigers lead in half. Then, Danik Martell followed almost immediately with an unassisted goal to knot the score at two apiece at just 51 seconds later. It was Martel’s league-leading 14th goal of the season (in just 14 games), and extended his streak to six straight games in which he has found the back of the net.

The Phantoms then took the lead when Oskar Lindblom popped a one-timer in from the top of the crease with 6:15 remaining in the second stanza to put Lehigh Valley up, 3-2.

But Lehigh Valley wasn’t through just yet. Midway through the third period, Varone found Tyrell Goulbourne all alone in the slot and the Flyers’ former third-round pick wristed one past Gudlevskis to put the Phantoms up 4-2 with 12:41 left in regulation into the period.

The Sound Tigers pulled their goalie at the end of the third period, and the Phantoms took a couple of long shots at the open net (including one by goaltender Alex Lyon) to no avail.

“It’s just proof that you can play very good hockey for 40 minutes, but when you take 20 minutes off, when you take, I don’t know, penalties you shouldn’t take, you create momentum for the other team,” Bernier told Michael Fornabaio of The Connecticut Post. “They’re a good enough offense to respond.”

Bridgeport actually had more shots on goal than Lehigh Valley, with a 34-24 advantage thanks largely to the aforementioned dominant first period in which they owned a 19-8 margin. The Phantoms were one for five on the power play, while the Sound Tigers were one for three with a man advantage. Lehigh Valley players swept the three-stars postgame honors with Varone (one goal, one assist) being named third star, Martell (one goal, one assist) No. 2, and Lindblom, who scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, earning first-star recognition.

Lyon had a season-high 42 saves (on 44 shots), slamming the door shut on the Sound Tigers after the first period. How he could not have been named the first star of the game is anyone’s guess. Gudelvkis, meanwhile, turned aside 27 shots between the Bridgeport pipes.

With the win, Lehigh Valley improves to 9-3-0-2, while Bridgeport falls to 6-6-0-0. The Atlantic Division rivals will next meet on Nov. 25 at PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Bridgeport. It was the first of a six-game road trip for the Phantoms, who will be away from home until after Thanksgiving, when they host the Sound Tigers.

Tigers next meet the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday night at the WBA. Faceoff is at 7 p.m.

Justice League Night

Hey Superhero fans, Saturday night will be Justice League Night at the Webster Bank Arena. The first 2,500 fans through the turnstiles will receive a light-up trident.

A limited number of ticket packages are currently available for Justice League Night. They are:

• $25 Package: Includes end zone seating ticket to the game and a special Superhero Pop! toy.
• $35 VIP Package: Includes center ice seating ticket to the game, a voucher valid for one (1) hot dog, chips & soda combo, a special Superhero Pop! toy & early entry access to the Arena for a pregame meet-and-greet with the characters. Early access starts at 5:30 p.m. Doors to the general public will open at 6 p.m.

 For tickets or more information, call 203.345.2300 ext. 7.