Strongest of the three games, it looked from video, when Allentown wasn’t smothering the screen in graphics and fans and promos. (Didn’t actually see the last goal for a few minutes. Anyway.) Didn’t give the Phantoms a lot of time to do much. Had the puck a lot more. Outshot the Phantoms substantially, 31-20 in all, ridiculously so through the first 10 minutes of both the first and second periods. They could’ve scored more.
In total, though, a 5-2 win, with contributions from all four lines, including the “Green Line,” from the color their practice jerseys, of the Jones Boys and Josh Holmstrom. The twins combined on a two-on-none shorty, Kellen to Connor (in his 100th AHL game, notes Alan), after Will O’Neill lost the puck on a power play. Colin McDonald scored on that same power play, but then Bridgeport snagged a 3-1 lead before the second period was out on this Ho-Sang to Dal Colle beauty that produced Little Cartoon Hearts across Long Island. (That came because the Phantoms didn’t get it past the faceoff dots and then were flat-footed headed the other way.) They made it 4-1 44 seconds later (42 seconds into the third) off a Reece Willcox turnover that turned into a two-on-one, Ross Johnston to Colin Markison.
The first goal apparently went off Josh Winquist’s leg or skate; the only decent view of it available online was the live version, and there’s a shuffle of his feet, for sure, but it’s not clear (at least at my resolution) if he kicked it. Bob Rotruck said a time or 57 that a replay from the television feed showed a Distinct Kicking Motion. A pretty pass to get it there from Bracken Kearns either way, and good work by Carter Verhaeghe to win it in the corner and draw the defense’s attention. Verhaeghe scored from a bad angle to finish off the scoring and was first star.
F: Dal Colle – Fritz – Ho-Sang
Verhaeghe-Kearns (A)-Winquist
Johnston-B.Holmstrom (C)-Markison
K.Jones-C.Jones-J.Holmstrom
D: Pelech-Mayfield (A)
Toews-Burroughs
Finn-Leduc
G: Gibson
Williams
Because nothing comes without a cost, Jack Capuano told reporters that Ryan Pulock could be out long-term with a lower-body injury suffered early in tonight’s Islanders win over PhArizona. Arthur Staple figures Adam Pelech, plus-4 and an assist on the Verhaeghe goal tonight, is the next man up.
Scott Mayfield was shooting from everywhere tonight and had a game-high six shots. He also fanned on one that (a) turned into a holding penalty, because otherwise Danick Martel was gone for a breakaway; (2) turned into both the Jones Boys’ shorty and McDonald’s PPG; (iii) made him only a plus-3, because Pelech was on with Burroughs for the short-hander.
Hershey was off tonight.
Power plays, by game: 4, 3, 2. This is not a promising sequence, but it only means so much after three games. They are 0-for-those-9. They gave up their first power-play goal, 1-for-17, but they’d at least scored short-handed on that same minor.
PP1: Winquist, Kearns, Verhaeghe, Toews, Burroughs. PP2: Johnston, Ho-Sang, Dal Colle, Fritz, Finn.
Bridgeport wore the whites tonight because the Phantoms, honoring the late Ed Snider, wore sweaters based on the Flyers’ old black thirds.
The Phantoms honor a local veteran every game. Tonight, they also honored a second: Sam Miele, 92-year-old grandfather of Andy, who came over to present him a special jersey and for a big hug. Got a little misty in here.
I mentioned this in the NHL preseason, when they showed up together for I think one of the split-squad games: I’d had Verhaeghe-Kearns-Winquist on my little scratch-pad offseason Bridgeport lineup, which most summers bears no resemblance to eventual reality at all, so I felt like I won some really weird lottery there. (Had the first-rounders together, too, though I’m not gonna claim too many points there.)
Anyway. Hershey tomorrow. We’ll liveblog that one; no three-hour high school football games to deal with (that we know of). (Ehh, it could’ve been a worse game.) See you here then.