Phantoms sweep Binghamton, Lyon gets his first shutout
It was a quiet game from the scoresheet on Wednesday, with the only goal being scored halfway through the third period. Captain Colin McDonald notched his 8th goal of the season with assists from Taylor Leier and Corban Knight. Alex Lyon preserved the victory with his first professional shutout, making 28 saves.
Friday’s rematch with Binghamton was a more goal-filled affair than Wednesday’s game. Lehigh Valley took an early lead in the 1st with an even strength goal from Jordan Weal, his 5th of the season. He would also go on to score the go-ahead goal late in the 3rd period for his 6th. The Phantoms also got goals from Mark Zengerle (5) and Taylor Leier (5). Alex Lyon made 32 saves en route to his 6th win.
Things didn’t click in Saturday’s contest with Hartford. The Wolf Pack scored 3 straight goals until the Phantoms got a tally from Sam Morin, his first goal of the season. The power play went 0 for 3, the penalty kill was 0 for 1 and Alex Lyon only made 22 saves.
Travis Sanheim (D): 0 points, 3 shots
2014 1st Round Pick, 17th overall
Sanheim remains at just 8 points (all assists) in 16 games played this season. Tony Androckitis has the good stuff on Sanheim and Morin’s blossoming rapport.
Taylor Leier (LW): 1 goal, 1 assist, 11 shots
2012 4th Round Pick, 117th overall
Leier stays red hot, with 11 points in his last 10 games. His 11 assists are tied for the team-lead and is good for t-10th in the league. He is a better version of Chris Vandevelde, but that is an incredibly low bar.
Jordan Weal (C): 2 goals, 5 shots, 4 PIM
2010 3rd Round Pick, 70th overall (LA Kings)
Speaking of players with not much left to prove in the AHL, Weal has been a force this season with the Phantoms. His 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) leads the team.
Alex Lyon (G): 3 GP, .932 SV%
Undrafted Free Agent
Have we mentioned yet that Alex Lyon has been quite good? Discounting his first two games this season, he has a .934 SV% in 8 games.
Notable junior performances this week
Connor Bunnaman (LW/C), Kitchner Rangers (OHL)
2016 4th Round Pick, 109th overall
Bunnaman pots his first goals since 11/11, his 9th and 10th of the season. He has 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists) in 23 games.
11/23 – 2 goals, 1 assist, 5 shots, 2 PIM, 2 for 3 FOW
11/25 – 1 assist, 2 PIM
11/26 – 1 assist, 2 shots, 3 for 5 FOW
Anthony Salinitiri (C), Sarnia Stings (OHL)
2016 6th Round Pick, 172nd overall
Salinitri was a little snake-bitten this week, not picking up any points despite getting 15 shots on goal. It didn’t help that he was also a minus 5 on the week while on the ice. He has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games.
11/23 – 2 shots, 4 for 9 FOW
11/25 – 4 shots, 3 for 5 FOW
11/26 – 9 shots, 4 for 13 FOW
Carter Hart (G), Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore. With two shutouts last week, he improved his GAA and SV% to 1.67 and .937, respectively. Of any goalies that have played more than 5 games in the WHL this season, he leads in both of those categories.
11/23 – 37 saves, shutout
11/25 – DNP
11/26 – 26 saves, shutout
Carsen Twarynski (LW), Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
2016 3rd Round Pick, 82nd overall
All was not lost for Carsen, who picked up his 7th goal of the season, a shorthanded tally.
11/22 – no points
11/25 – 1 goal
11/26 – no points
Philippe Myers (D), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
Undrafted Free Agent
Myers’ torrid point pace continued last week, giving him 14 points in 15 games. Even more impressive is 10 of those points have come in his last 7 games.
11/23 – 3 shots, 1 hit
11/25 – 2 assists, 6 shots, 2 hits
11/27 – 1 assist, 1 shot, 2 PIM
Samuel Dove-McFalls (C), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
2015 4th Round Pick, 98th overall
After a points surge the last couple weeks, Dove-McFalls has been kept off the scoresheet the last 3 games. He has 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games.
11/23 – 2 shots, 2 for 6 FOW
11/25 – 5 shots, 3 for 6 FOW
Pascal Laberge (RW/C), Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 36th overall
After a 16-game absence from a concussion from a nasty hit, Laberge makes his return to the ice. Hopefully everything is okay and Laberge can continue to build upon what was looking to be a pretty promising season.
11/25 – 1 assist, 3 shots, 2 PIM, 1 hit
11/27 – 2 shots, 2 for 5 FOW, 1 hit
Notable European performances this week
Felix Sandstrom (G), Brynas IF (SHL)
2015 3rd Round Pick, 70th overall
After a nice string of starts, Sandstrom drops his only game this week.
11/22 – 3 GA, 20 saves
11/24 – DNP
11/26 – DNP
Oskar Lindblom (LW), Brynas IF (SHL)
2014 5th Round Pick, 138th overall
With a 4-point week, Lindblom now sits tied for 2nd in the SHL lead in scoring. For a little perspective, the guy that leads the league in scoring is 28 years old. The two players he is tied with are 32 and 26. Lindblom doesn’t turn 21 until next August.
11/22 – 2 assists, 1 shot
11/24 – 1 goal, 2 shots, 4 PIM
11/26 – 1 assist, 1 shot
Linus Hogberg (D), Vaxjo Lakers HC (SHL)
2016 5th Round Pick, 139th overall
All’s quiet on the Hogberg front as he consistently skates as the 7th defenseman for Vaxjo.
11/22 – 2 shots, 3:48 TOI
11/24 – 7:03 TOI
11/26 – 2:40 TOI
David Bernhardt (D), Djurgardens IF (SHL)
2016 7th Round Pick, 199th overall
The time on ice starts to come and so do the points for Bernhardt. The pair of assists last week gave him 4 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 16 games.
11/22 – 1 assist, 2 shots, 11:35 TOI
11/25 – 1 shot, 13:37 TOI
11/27 – 1 assist, 7:15 TOI
German Rubtsov (LW/C), Vityaz Podolsk (KHL)
2016 1st Round Pick, 22nd overall
And all the ruckus of Rubtsov’s departure from Russia was for naught as the KHL heard Rubtsov’s cry for his promotion from his MHL squad. However, it looks as though he is more or less right back where he started with his TOI.
11/23 – 8 shifts, 6:39 TOI, 1 for 2 FOW
11/25 – 13 shifts, 9:52 TOI, 2 for 7 FOW
11/27 – 9 shifts, 5:38 TOI, 0 for 6 FOW
Mikhail Vorobyov (C), Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
2015 4th Round Pick, 104th overall
Vorobyov remains a 4th line center for Salavat and sits at 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 32 games.
11/23 – 2 shots, 6 for 11 FOW, 8:41 TOI
11/25 – 0 shots, 6 for 11 FOW, 16:04 TOI
11/27 – 1 shot, 6 for 9 FOW, 10:34 TOI
Ivan Fedotov (G), Toros Neftemkamsk (VHL)
2015 7th Round Pick, 188th overall
Another start for Fedotov! Just his 3rd this season. He has a 1.34 GAA and .951 SV% in those games.
11/21 – DNP
11/23 – DNP
11/27 – 2 goals, 35 shots
Euro Notes: David Kase remains out of the lineup for KLM Chomutov with an undisclosed injury.
Notable NCAA performances this week
Mark Friedman (D), Bowling Green State University
2014 3rd Round Pick, 86th overall
Friedman adds a primary assist to give him 12 points in 15 games this season.
11/25 – no points
11/26 – 1 assist
Merrick Madsen (G), Harvard University
2013 6th Round Pick, 162nd overall
An unfortunate clunker for Madsen on Tuesday last week led to just his 2nd loss of the season, but the junior came back with a great effort on Saturday. Madsen has a .915 SV% in 9 games this season.
11/22 – 5 GA, 26 saves
11/26 – 2 GA, 32 saves
Terrance Amorosa (D), Clarkson University
2013 5th Round Pick, 132nd overall
Amorosa slowed down after a hot start coming back from injury to begin the season. The 3rd year junior has 4 points (1 goal, assists) in 7 games.
11/25 – 1 shot, 2 PIM
11/26 – 2 shots
NCAA Notes: Wade Allison and Tanner Laczynski both had off this week, but will be back in action next week for their respective colleges. Matej Tomek (G) continues to sit for University of North Dakota and has not appeared in a game this season. Cooper Marody remains out of the lineup for University of Michigan because of academic ineligibility.
