GAME STORY: Lehigh Valley - 6 at Binghamton - 5 (4/26/21)

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NEWARK, NJ. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-4-3) won a wild, wild game Monday night in Newark, NJ in what was the rescheduled March 10 game between these two teams that ended after the 1st period when a positive test result on the Binghamton Devils was discovered during the first intermission.

The Phantoms and Devils played a full, 60-minute game Monday with the March 10 action - a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes - officially entering the record books as a tie. All statistics from that game will count toward AHL records.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

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 Cam York - Chris Bigras Mason Millman - Logan Day

Zane McIntyre - Eamon McAdam

Phantoms Scratches: Linus Hogberg, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, Maksim Sushko, David Kase and Garrett Wilson

GAME RECAP

1st Period

If you forgot the game started at 6 p.m. ET tonight instead of the more traditional 7 p.m., you certainly missed quite the opening period.

The Devils controlled the opening face-off and the puck went back into the Devils' defensive zone, where the defensemen on the ice regrouped and attempted to start a breakout.

Connor Bunnaman broke up the initial pass along the right-wing boards, and nudged it with his backhand ahead to Pascal Laberge, who quickly turned and flung it toward the net - beating an unsuspecting Gilles Senn just 10 seconds into the game to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead.

It marked a Lehigh Valley Phantoms franchise record for the fastest first goal scored to begin a game, and as it turned out it was only the first of many important milestones on the night.

The Phantoms went on to put together a dominant first period, putting up FIVE goals in the opening 20 minutes while out-shooting the Devils by a 14-5 count.

First, Laberge repaid the favor. He set up Bunnaman for his first of the season to extend the Phantoms' lead to 2-0 at the 7:43 mark.

Then, Cam York's first pro goal.

With the Phantoms pressuring, a puck intended for the net bounced out to the top of the left-wing circle and right to York. York took a half wind-up and smashed the puck past Senn on a quick shot to get his first goal, in pro game number four.

It was the start of a big period for York, who, after the Devils got on the board to cut the Phantoms' lead to 3-1, assisted on two Phantoms goals 1:13 apart late in the period to open things up to the tune of a 5-1 blowout.

York's first assist was a primary helper, as he got a puck to his defense partner, Chris Bigras, who shot one from the center point through traffic past Senn. York's second assist, and third point, of the period started up a power play chance that resulted in Cal O'Reilly feeding Linus Sandin for a quick net-front tap in.

Much as you'd expect when the score reads 5-1 in the first period, tempers flared and the two teams playing each other for the third time in four days only added to the hostility that had been brewing. Tyler Wotherspoon took a boarding penalty late in the period, and you could just sense the tension growing as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms for the first intermission.

2nd Period

Despite a tough first period, and a disappointing season to this point overall for the Devils (just five wins in 26 games) the team just never quits.

Ben Thomson cut the Phantoms' lead to 5-2 in the opening two minutes of the period, and the game took a turn toward an old-school, physical rivalry game.

At one point, Tanner MacMaster and Brett Seney were wrestling away from the play and the game continued on for 5-10 seconds before play was stopped and matching minors were assessed.

Things boiled over near the midway mark when Kevin Bahl shoved Brennan Saulnier from behind as the Phantoms' forward was heading to the net. Saulnier went face-first into the crossbar, dislodging the net. A scrum ensued. Unsurprisingly, MacMaster and Seney ended up in the box for matching minors in the gathering that ensued.

The Phantoms didn't score on the power play, and York took a penalty of his own not long after the power play expired.

The Devils cashed in on their man advantage opportunity, and closed the gap to 5-3 with 4:10 to play before the second intermission - making the 5-1 route in the 1st period a much more interesting game heading to the third.

3rd Period

When the Devils scored 31 seconds into the third period to make it a one-goal game, it almost felt inevitable that they would tie it up at 5-5. And with 13:11 left in regulation it became a brand new hockey game when Reilly Walsh scored from his defense position.

The Phantoms didn't fold up like a cheap tent, despite letting the 5-1 lead slip away.

They out-shot the Devils 13-7 in the period, and took the lead for good a 6-5 on Sandin's 2nd power play tally of the contest. Like he's done so often in his pro career, Cal O'Reilly set up the goal - his third assist of the game and his 500th career AHL assist, becoming just the 10th player in the league's history to reach the 500-assist mark.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

0:10:LV - Laberge (3) - unassisted 1:27: BNG - (PP) Senn, minor (delay of game - restricted area) Served by Ben Thomson 7:43: LV - Bunnaman (1) - Laberge 11:58: LV - York (1) - O'Reilly, Bigras 12:48: BNG - St. Denis (3) - Clarke, Greer 15:59: LV - Bigras (2) - York, Mueller 16:29: BNG - (PP) Thomson, minor (high-sticking) 17:12: LV - PPG Sandin (3) - O'Reilly, York 18:23: LV - (PP) Wotherspoon, minor (boarding)

2nd Period

1:56: BNG - Thomson (6) - Clarke, Okhotiuk 2:54: LV - MacMaster, minor (roughing) 2:54: BNG - Seney, minor (roughing) 5:39: LV - MacMaster, minor (interference) 9:56: BNG - (PP) Bahl, minor (interference) 9:56: BNG - Seney, minor (roughing) 9:56: LV - MacMaster, minor (roughing) 13:53: LV - (PP) York, minor (cross-checking) 15:50: BNG - PPG Zetterlund (5) - Bahl, Schnarr 16:11: LV - (PP) Millman, minor (holding)

3rd Period

0:31: BNG - St. Denis (4) - Jacobs, Greer 3:41: BNG - (PP) Schnarr, minor (cross-checking) 6:49: BNG - Walsh (4) - Zetterlund, Jobst 9:35: BNG - (PP) Jobst, minor (hooking) 10:45: LV - PPG Sandin (4) - Day, O'Reilly

BOXSCORE

Lehigh Valley  5 - 0 - 1 = 6 Binghamton  1 - 2 - 2 = 5

Shots

Lehigh Valley   14 - 10 - 13 = 37 Binghamton  5 - 9 - 7 = 21

Goalies

LV: Zane McIntyre (16 saves - 21 shots) BNG: Gilles Senn (9 saves - 14 shots in 20:00) and Mareks Mittens (22 saves - 23 shots in 39:52)

Power Play

LV: 2-for-6 BNG: 1-for-4

Penalty Kill

LV: 3-for-4 BNG: 4-for-6

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