Some takeaways from Phantoms’ 3-2 win over Penguins

Helge Grans scored late in the third and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms won 3-2 Friday night, eliminating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and moving onto round two.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, thanks to two Jett Luchanko assists, are moving on in the American Hockey League playoffs, eliminating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a thrilling 3-2 win Friday night in Lehigh Valley.

The basics

First period: No scoring

Second period: 14:33- Anthony Richard (Jett Luchanko, Garrett Wilson), 19:35- Tristan Broz (Boris Katchouk, Ville Koivunen) (PPG)

Third period: 6:26- Harrison Brunicke (Tristan Broz, Ville Koivunen), 7:54- Jacob Gaucher (Zayde Wisdom, Olle Lycksell), 18:00- Helge Grans (Anthony Richard, Jett Luchanko)

SOG: 31 (LHV) – 33 (WBS)

Some takeaways

Old-fashioned fisticuffs?

At the end of the first period, the teams left the bench and went on the ice. However, a brief scrum was shut down a minute later when neither side dropped the gloves, avoiding what could’ve been a bench-clearing brawl with 40 guys on the ice. The referees also decided to not call any penalties, keeping things even to start the second.

Bump avoids any bumps and bruises

Phantoms forward Alex Bump didn’t mince words after Lehigh Valley’s win Wednesday night, describing the Penguins blueline corps as “soft defenders.” In game two at home, Bump wasn’t much of a factor early, stuck in his own zone for an extended shift that wasn’t solved by an icing. However the same shift saw Bump rushing up ice before he was tripped, drawing the minor.

The subsequent power play was decisive with plenty of great chances that just didn’t find the back of the net. Bump was on the second unit with Jett Luchanko and Garrett Wilson. The trio was unable to carry that momentum over. Through two periods Bump was rather quiet after his two-goal opening game. He did have an impressive opening shift in the third, drawing another penalty on the Penguins. That quickly turned into almost a full two minutes five-on-three as a Penguins defender broke Olle Lycksell’s stick with a slash.

The power play ended up with nothing close to a great chance as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton limited them to a single shot. It almost made one wonder if Rocky Thompson was designing it.

Givani Bowling Ball Smith?

Givani Smith never got a whiff of action with the Flyers after being acquired in a trade. It didn’t deter Smith from hitting anything that did or didn’t move throughout the contest. And not just hits to hit, but hits to hurt given his size. He made the Penguins’ defense evening quite hellish, having to take the huge check to make the play and clear the puck.

Smith also made a great pass in the second to Luchanko storming down the ice. Luchanko’s one-timer missed the target. Although I sound like a broken record, Luchanko’s temper started getting the better of him as he took a slashing minor (his fourth minor in roughly the first 90 minutes of the series).

With age comes Wisdom

Zayde Wisdom made a great play midway into the third, winning a battle for the puck before feeding Jacob Gaucher to tie things up 2-2. The goal definitely tightened things up a bit more with both sides knowing they were essentially in an overtime period.

Wisdom was also great late in the game, winning an important puck battle in the corner before the Phantoms iced the puck.

Parker pretty, pretty, pretty good

Phantoms goalie Parker Gahagen — sporting a Scooby Doo illustration on his mask — had his first test on a Penguins power play. A bang-bang play in front had Gahagen coming up big on Valtteri Puustinen. The best chance was courtesy of Lehigh Valley on a two-on-one as Rodrigo Abols had a fantastic chance that callup keeper Sergei Murashov got a piece of.

Although Murashov was the busier of the two, Gahagen was solid on stops by Tristan Broz. His best of the period was a blocker save on Vasily Ponomarev late in the first period. The Phantoms keeper had an adventure of sorts later in the middle frame, getting stuck behind his own net and minutes later out of position. Lucky for Lehigh Valley the Penguins didn’t capitalize. He made a highlight reel save during a Penguins power play for a puck that looked like it was heading towards the top corner.

Considering the two Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals were basically in garbage time in Game 1, it’s possible Gahagen was starting to get in the opposition’s head more and more. Gahagen made 31 stops, leading the Phantoms to victory.

Slow start for Phantoms

Lehigh Valley looked a little sleep in the opening minutes, but a thunderous check by Rodrigo Abols in the Penguins end woke them up in a hurry. Luchanko set up a good chance but Murashov made the saves, the latter on a point shot by Hunter McDonald. McDonald was throwing his weight around yet found himself on the wrong side of a hit by Sam Poulin.

The Phantoms’ bigger bodies did a lot of damage on one shift midway through the first, with Givani Smith and Oscar Eklind hemming in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Murashov was peppered with shots but they couldn’t open the scoring. A up-ice rush on the next play was stymied by the keeper.

Jett propulsion

Luchanko atoned for his miscues in the first half of the game with an amazing cross ice pass to Anthony Richard. Richard beat Murashov to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead. The pass made you wonder if Luchanko has eyes in the back of his head.

Tortorella-esque performance

The Phantoms were willing to do anything to keep the puck from crossing the goal line. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were buzzing around on a late power play in the second when they finally beat Gahagen and the blocking efforts of the penalty killing quartet courtesy of Tristan Broz. Giving up the game-tying goal with 25 seconds left in the second, it could’ve been a huge momentum swing to start the third. The Penguins outshot the Phantoms 16-10 in the second, demonstrating how good Gahagen was through 40 minutes.

Speaking of Jett…again

With just over two minutes left in regulation, the Phantoms drove up ice and Luchanko nearly created the winning goal on a beautiful pass that Murashov stopped. The rebound was up for grabs and Helge Grans, on his knees, backhanded the puck into the net, giving Lehigh Valley a 3-2 lead.

The Phantoms iced the puck a few more times down the stretch, won a big faceoff with six seconds to go, and are moving on in the American Hockey League playoffs!