Phantoms finish weekend with two losses, one win
- 5-1 WIN vs. Hartford Wolf Pack (10/28)
- 5-4 LOSS vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers (10/29)
- 3-2 LOSS vs. Hershey Bears (10/30)/
The Phantoms avenged their October 22 loss to Hartford with a statement win on Friday. Danick Martel got the scoring going with his 3rd goal of the season and was followed by Jordan Weal (1), Greg Carey (2 & 3) and T.J. Brennan (2) on the scoresheet. The lone goal that Anthony Stolarz gave up was a short-handed tally in the 2nd.
Alex Lyon got his second professional start on Saturday in relief of Stolarz and was hard-hit in the 5-4 loss, giving up 2 PP goals and 3 at even-strength. Weal (2 & 3) and Colin McDonald (2 & 3) provided the scoring in the game. McDonald’s 3rd period goal with a minute left in regulation brought the game within 1 goal before running out of time. Stolarz was back in net on Sunday, giving up all 3 goals in the loss. His PP behind him went 0 for 5 and included this hit from Morin, after which got things pretty dicey. I don’t think Morin escapes this without a suspension. Nicolas Aube-Kubel (1) and McDonald (4) scored in the game for the Phantoms.
The Phantoms next contests are Wednesday (Hartford), Friday (Providence) and Saturday (Springfield). Here are some of the notable performances from the weekend:
Danick Martel: 1 goal, 3 shots, 4 PIM
In perhaps the saddest news from the weekend, Martel took a knee-to-knee hit from Bridgeport Sound’s Kyle Borroughs on Saturday. Borroughs was ejected and Martel left the game (being helped off the ice by his teammates) and did not play on Sunday
Jordan Weal: 3 goals, 4 assists, 8 shots, 2 PIM
Let’s hope this is the beginning of the hype-train for Weal to get a shot at the NHL level. After riding the bench after being acquired last season, he was sent to Lehigh Valley to get some consistent playing time. Though he may be at best a borderline NHL player, that already makes him decidedly better than Chris Vandevelde and Boyd Gordon.
Robert Hagg: 3 shots, 2 PIM
All’s quiet on the Hagg Front as he collected no points in this weekend’s games.
Travis Sanheim: 2 assists, 6 shots, 4 PIM
Sanheim picked up two assists, giving him 4 points (all assists) on the season. He has put 14 shots on net so far this year, which is good for 2nd among LHV defensemen and 5th overall on the team. It’s only a matter of time before we see him truly breakout.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel: 1 goal, 2 shots, 2 PIM
The skilled Aube-Kubel finally got on the board with his first goal (and point for that matter) of the 2016-17 season. He scored this one via a tipped shot from the point from defenseman Will O’Neill.
Notable Canadian junior performers this weekend
Connor Bunnaman, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
A quiet weekend for Bunnaman, who had 11 points in his 10 games prior. The Rangers will have games on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday for Connor to get back on track.
- 10/28 – 0 shots, 4 for 11 FOW
- 10/30 – 0 shots, 1 for 5 FOW/
Anthony Salinitri, Sarnia Sting (OHL)
Salinitri extended his point streak to 8 games and now has goals in 4 of his last 6 games. His 7 goals and 17 points overall put him 2nd on the team for both marks.
- 10/28 – 1 goal, 5 shots, 3 for 11 FOW
- 10/29 – 1 assist, 2 for 10 FOW
- 10/30 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots, 9 for 12 FOW/
Carter Hart, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
After a hiccup-game on October 19 (in which he gave up 2 goals on 5 shots), Hart has settled back in nicely for the Silvertips. He now leads the WHL in GAA (1.97) and is 6th in SV% (.923). The 18 year old is in his 4th season with Everett, but just his 2nd as a full-time starter.
- 10/27 – 2 GA, 21 saves
- 10/29 – 1 GA, 26 saves/
Carsen Twarynski, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
The 2016 3rd round pick is finally ramping up his offensive production and has 3 goals in his past 3 games. He has also racked up 20 PIM in his 9 games this season with 8 of those minutes coming in his last 3 games.
- 10/28 – 2 goals, 2 PIM
- 10/29 – 2 PIM/
Samuel Dove-McFalls, Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Sam scores! Dove-McFalls goal on Friday was his 1st since a 2-goal effort way back on October 7th.
- 10/26 – 2 shots, 4 PIM, 5 for 8 FOW
- 10/28 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots, 6 for 8 FOW
- 10/30 – 3 shots, 1 for 3 FOW/
Other CHL Notes: Phillippe Myers was selected as part of Team QMJHL to participate in the CHL/Russia Series in November. He did not participate in any of the Huskies games this past week … Pascal Laberge remains out of the Victoriaville lineup since October 15 because of a concussion.
Notable European performances this week
Oskar Lindblom – Brynäs IF (SHL)
Lindblom’s 5 assist weekend gives him 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 14 games. That is just 1 point off the SHL league-lead. I’ll mention this: the kid is only 20 years old playing at one of the highest professional levels.
- 10/25 – 2 assists, 2 shots
- 10/27 – 2 assists, 3 shots
- 10/29 – 1 assist, 1 shot/
Felix Sandstrom, Brynäs IF (SHL)
Things don’t seem to be getting better for Sandstrom who saw his SV% and GAA drop to .882 and 2.69, respectively. He won’t be able to improve his playing time with better performances.
- 10/25 – DNP
- 10/27 – 3 GA, 20 saves
- 10/29 – DNP/
Linus Hogberg, Växjö Lakers HC (SHL)
Not much to report on the 2016 5th round pick as Hodberg barely averages 5 minutes a game for Växjö. He has 1 assists in 13 games this season.
- 10/25 – 1 assist (5:41 TOI)
- 10/27 – 0 shots (3:32 TOI)
- 10/29 – 0 shots (5:15 TOI)/
David Bernhardt, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
With an increased role on the team, Bernhardt is seeing an uptick in offensive production tallying 3 points in 8 games.
- 10/25 – 1 assist, 1 shot
- 10/27 – 3 shots/
German Rubtsov, Russkie Vityazi (MHL)
Rubtsov has 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 14 games with Vityazi. His play has been quite good since joining his MHL team, which is the league below the KHL in Russia. He simply just did not get the ice-time to justify staying on his KHL squad. While this is great for Rubtsov’s playing time, he might not be getting a true challenge given his skills. Though as long as he keeps dominating the league, there shouldn’t be any worries yet.
- 10/25 – 1 goal
- 10/27 – 1 goal
- 10/30 – 2 assists/
Mikhail Vorobyov, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
Offensively, the 2015 4th round pick has had a slow go of it this season. He has just 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 24 games while getting over 11 minutes a game. His assist on Wednesday was his first point since October 13th and hasn’t had a goal since October 4th.
- 10/26 – 1 assists, 1 shot, 2 PIM, 4 for 10 FOW
- 10/28 – 2 shots, 10 for 18 FOW
- 10/30 – 2 PIM, 7 for 16 FOW/
Notable college performances this weekend
Mark Friedman, Bowling Green State University
Mark Friedman had a nice little weekend against Miami, giving him 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 7 games this season. This is his 3rd season with Bowling Green and has seen his offensive production go up each year (19 points in 2014-15 and 23 pts in 2015-16).
- 10/28 – 1 goal
- 10/29 – 1 goal (PP)/
Tanner Laczynski, Ohio State University
After picking up his his first collegiate goals last weekend, he scored his 3rd of the season on Saturday. Laczynski has 11 points in 7 games this season, which leads his team. Tanner was a 2016 6th round pick out of the USHL where he had 109 points in 111 games.
- 10/28 – 2 assists, 1 shot, 2 PIM
- 10/29 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots, 2 PIM/
Merrick Madsen, Harvard University
Madsen kicked off his junior season with a shutout win, his 5th career shutout at the college level. He didn’t need much help as the offense spotted him 7 goals in the game. Madsen held his shutout streak into the early 3rd period in Friday’s match with Arizona State, but by that time he already had a 3-0 lead to hold onto.
- 10/28 – 0 GA, 23 saves
- 10/29 – 2 GA, 26 saves/
NCAA Notes: Matej Tomek saw some time in the exhibition opener for UND, but has sat behind junior Cam Johnson in every regular season game this year. … Terrance Amorosa is out with an undisclosed injury (as far as I can tell) … Cooper Marody was deemed academically ineligible and won’t be able to play this fall, missing roughly half the season. Look for updates on Marody when he returns this spring.
