It was a fun evening at the PPL Center as the Phantoms honored our nation’s heroes as part of our annual Military Appreciation Night presented by Netizen.
The Phantoms now have points in six of their last seven (5-1-1). Lehigh Valley occupied third place in the Atlantic Division, but closed the gap on Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton directly ahead.
Kyrou (2nd) put together another multi-point game with a goal from the point and a strong assist on Barkey’s score. Jacob Gaucher (2nd) and Zayde Wisdom (4th) also scored for the Phantoms with an empty netter. Grundstrom recorded a pair of assists. And Aleksei Kolosov was strong again with a 23-save performance to improve to 6-2-1.
But it was certainly not easy. Rochester (10-7-0) refused to go away and took advantage of Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill, converting a pair of power plays in the third period to stay within the goal.
“We’re kind of chasing from behind and hooking and cutting and just giving the refs a chance to make the call,” Phantoms head coach John Snowden said. “Gives them a chance to get back in the game. At the end of the day, we found a way to finish it off. I mean, they scored that one, and we come back and score right away (Barkey). So that’s a big momentum change for us, and keeps it on our side. And we found a way to scratch and claw. It wasn’t pretty at times. I don’t think the game overall was pretty.”
The Phantoms broke through in the second period on Gendron’s feed from the right circle to Gaucher on the back door, who struck him nearly to the waist with a small blow to the center of the stick. Rochester claimed that Gaucher may have scored with his hand or glove, but video review confirmed the goal and the 1–0 lead. Marody’s strong corner made the game possible.
The next goal saw Grundstrom and Dorwart dig along the left wall, with Grundstrom ultimately pushing the puck to Ty Murchison, who turned from far back to Kyrou near the boards on the blue line. But the shifty defenseman quickly maneuvered the puck around a defender and saw the opening to score past Devon Levi with help from a screen in front by Anthony Richard. The Phantoms led 2-0 at the second intermission after a dominant second period in which they outscored the Amerks 12-6.
Penalty trouble for the Phantoms helped Rochester climb back into the game. Victor Neuchev (4th) knocked in a one-timer from the right circle at 4:04 of the third to get Rochester on the board at 2-1.
But the Phantoms quickly responded back. Kyrou’s pushup on the right wing after a give-and-go with Lane Pederson provided the opportunity for a perfect setup for Denver Barkey up front, who put Lehigh Valley ahead 3-1 just 1:01 later.
It was a big deal to regain and restore the two-goal lead so quickly.
“Yeah, I think that’s always huge,” Barkey said. “You know, they get some momentum, and I think scoring right after that kind of kills that momentum and swings it our way. So yeah, pretty lucky enough to score that quickly right after a goal. And a great pass from Kyrou.”
“I just saw that they like to blow zone,” Kyrou said of his big play. “So those guys were behind me. I thought I could pick out the air. Luckily I got a touch with it. And then I thought if I went down low, it would make a better play so I could open up the ice. Pederson made a great pass over his stick. But yeah, I was able to find Berkey in front.”
The Amerks weren’t done yet. Carson Meyer scored on a rebound in the crease with just 5:56 left for another power play goal to make it 3-2.
Then the Phantoms really had to sweat. Rochester ran another power play with 3:36 left, eventually pulling the goalie for a 6-on-4 attack. The Phantoms held on and eventually Gaucher and Grundstrom teamed up for an interception that allowed Wisdom to score into the empty net from the opposite blue line for the 4-2 final.
Adam Ginning returned from the Philadelphia Flyers on a conditioning loan and made his season debut for the Phantoms, which was also his 196th career game with the Phantoms.
Garrett Wilson played his 899th professional game.
Barkey scored his fifth goal in the last six games, while Lane Pederson scored his 11th point (5-6-11) in his last seven games. With two more assists, Grundstrom has gone 3-7-10 in his last seven games. Alexis Gendron is on a five-match streak and is 3-2-5 in the stretch.
Next up for the Phantoms is a three-game road trip, starting with a showdown at the Providence Bruins on Friday and the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Lehigh Valley’s next home game is Saturday, November 29 on Gritty Night when the Phantoms take on the Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.
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