GAME STORY: Lehigh Valley - 4 at Binghamton - 2 (4/23/21)

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NEWARK, NJ. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (13-4-3) looked much more like their old selves Friday night in Newark in their second game back following a nine-day quarantine and lengthy layoff away from game action.

The Phantoms really took it to the Binghamton Devils, rattling off a season-high 17 shots in the opening period and getting a pair of goals from Tyson Foerster before late getting a pair of goals from Andy Andreoff to seal the deal on a 4-2 win for Lehigh Valley.

Egor Zamula added two first period assists in the victory, while goalie Zane McIntyre stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced to improve his own personal record to 9-1-2 on the season.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

With Felix Sandstrom added to the Flyers' taxi squad Thursday, it was Zane McIntyre getting the start in net for Lehigh Valley Friday night in Newark. Eamon McAdam served as the Phantoms' backup goalie.

Pascal Laberge was added to the taxi squad Thursday, but was later reassigned to Lehigh Valley prior to Friday's game as the team needed a forward (Mason Millman was added to Flyers taxi squad instead).

Ryan Fitzgerald and David Kase, who both played Wednesday, missed Friday's game. Andy Andreoff, also reassigned by Philadelphia from the taxi squad to Lehigh Valley for Friday's game, and Ralph Cuddemi entered the Phantoms' lineup up front.

Lines/Pairings:

Max Willman - Cal O'Reilly - Tyson Foerster Andy Andreoff - Chris Mueller - Linus Sandin Isaac Ratcliffe - Connor Bunnaman - Pascal Laberge Brennan Saulnier - Tanner MacMaster - Ralph Cuddemi

Tyler Wotherspoon - Wyatte Wylie Egor Zamula - Chris Bigras Cam York - Logan Day

Zane McIntyre - Eamon McAdam

Phantoms Scratches: Linus Hogberg, Mason Millman (added to Flyers taxi squad on 4/23), Zayde Wisdom, Maksim Sushko, David Kase and Garrett Wilson

GAME RECAP

1st Period

The Phantoms were much better to start Friday's game than in their first game back on Wednesday. They ended up tallying a season-high 17 shots in the period, getting a pair of goals from Tyson Foerster to give them a 2-1 lead heading to the middle frame.

Foerster's first tally of the evening came on the power play, and as the beneficiary of two great plays by his teammates.

A strong breakout by Egor Zamula started the play; he skated the puck up ice and created a 3-on-2 rush into the offensive zone.

Zamula sent it to Chris Mueller on the right wing, with Mueller sending a perfect cross-ice pass right onto Foerster's tape for a quick shot past Devils goalie Gilles Senn.

Foerster's seventh of the season gave the Phantoms a 1-0 lead just past the halfway mark of the period.

The Devils tied the game on a power play of their own just over two minutes later, with Graeme Clark spotting Reilly Walsh for a cross-ice pass and subsequent snipe by Walsh from the left-wing circle past Phantoms' goalie Zane McIntyre.

But it was Foerster finishing off a feed from Cal O'Reilly in the final minute of the period to put Lehigh Valley back in front, 2-1. Foerster's second of the night & eighth of the season was also assisted by Zamula - his second assist of the period.

For O'Reilly, it marked his 496th career AHL assist - moving him into sole possession of 11th place all-time, passing former longtime Hershey Bears forward Chris Bourque.

2nd Period

The two teams traded goals in the opening eight minutes of the middle frame, with a Phantoms' penalty on the opening shift of the period allowing Binghamton to tie the game at 2-2 on the ensuing power play tally by A.J. Greer.

Later in the period, Andy Andreoff - playing in his first AHL game of the 2020-21 season - completed two-thirds of the Gordie Howe hat trick in a matter of seconds - re-directing Wyatte Wylie's shot from the right point past Senn and, from the slot, getting challenged to a fight by Devils rookie defenseman Michael Vukojevic.

Andreoff appeared initially to be surprised that the Devils defenseman dropped his gloves, but obliged and proceeded to give Vukojevic the business.

The Phantoms had a late period power play chance, but were unable to extend their 3-2 lead any further before heading to the locker room for the second intermission.

Third Period

While there weren't any goals in the third period until an empty net tally in the final minute, the two teams combined for 23 shots on goal in the final frame and exchanged chances that both goalies (McIntyre for Lehigh Valley, Senn for Binghamton) were equal to the task on.

It remained a one-goal game until Andreoff sealed the deal on the Phantoms' victory with his second goal of the contest. Tyler Wotherspoon assisted on Andreoff's empty net tally.

Brennan Saulnier drew the ire of the Devils early in the third period when rushing up ice he collided with a Devils defender and caught the opponent up high. He was whistled for a high-sticking minor and upon exiting the penalty box after serving the two minutes, took a run at a Devils' forward on his way to the Phantoms' bench - sparking quite a yelling match between the two benches that, in a mostly-empty (no fans) building, was loud enough for the commotion to be heard on the broadcast.

With the teams scheduled to play again tomorrow night in Lehigh Valley and a third consecutive game on tap for Monday, it will be interesting to see if any bad blood between the teams carries over into the upcoming matchups.

For Cam York, he was held off the scoresheet in his second pro game but - like the Phantoms as a team - looked much, much better Friday night than on Wednesday.

He continues to get solid power play time, and appears to be gaining confidence and a comfort level with the puck. On one shift, he displayed a little bit of everything - spinning away from a fore-checking forward to start a breakout up ice and later knocking Devils' forward Tyce Thompson off his skates behind the Phantoms' net on a puck retrieval.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:50: BNG - (PP) Okhotiuk, minor (hooking) 9:53: BNG - (PP) Thompson, minor (high-sticking) 10:34: LV - PPG Foerster (7) - Mueller, Zamula 11:19: LV - (PP) Bigras, minor (interference) 12:45: BNG - PPG Walsh (3) - Clarke, Greer 19:31: LV - Foerster (8) - O'Reilly, Zamula

2nd Period

0:33: LV - (PP) Laberge, minor (slashing) 1:05: BNG - PPG Greer (3) - Clarke, Bahl 8:10: LV - Andreoff (1) - Wylie, Wotherspoon 8:10 LV - Andreoff, major (fighting) 8:10: BNG - Vukojevic, major (fighting) 16:52: BNG - (PP) Thompson, minor (hooking)

3rd Period

1:44: BNG - (PP) Walsh, minor (high-sticking) 4:47: LV - (PP) Saulnier, minor (high-sticking) 19:10: LV - ENG Andreoff (2) - Wotherspoon

BOXSCORE

Lehigh Valley  2 - 1 - 1 = 4 Binghamton  1 - 1 - 0 = 2

Shots

Lehigh Valley   17 - 11 - 12 = 40 Binghamton  8 - 9 - 11 = 28

Goalies

LV: Zane McIntyre (26 saves - 28 shots) BNG: Gilles Senn (36 saves - 39 shots)

Power Play

LV: 1-for-4 BNG: 2-for-4

Penalty Kill

LV: 2-for-4 BNG: 3-for-4

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