Cal O’Reilly, Pat Nagle lead Lehigh Valley Phantoms past Springfield Thunderbirds, 2-1
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SPRINGFIELD – Artem Anisimov scored 23 seconds into regulation, Pat Nagle recorded a game-high 30 saves, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 2-1 during the team’s third meeting of the season on Friday evening at the MassMutual Center.
“Both teams don’t give up many quality chances either way,” Thunderbirds coach Drew Bannister said. “The first goal for us was a bad bounce off a skate in the slot. However, we still had our opportunities, and we didn’t generate anything on the power play or even with their goalie pulled toward the end of the game when we had six guys to their four. Moving forward, we have to put more pucks on the net.”
Cal O’Reilly added a late insurance goal, helping the Phantoms (13-11-2-1) end their three-game losing streak and reclaim sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
Despite 21 saves from goalie Vadim Zherenko, Springfield (11-13-1-4) has lost seven of its last 11 games. Mitchell Hoelscher helped the Thunderbirds avoid being shutout with a late wrap-around goal, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their two-goal deficit.
Springfield attempted to clear the puck behind its zone after the opening faceoff. However, it didn’t go as planned as Olle Lycksell regained possession. Moments later, the right-winger located Anisimov with a between-the-legs pass for a wrister past Zherenko, ensuring the Phantoms an early 1-0 lead with 19:37 remaining in the first period.
Anisimov only trails Elliot Desnoyers (11) for the team lead in goals with his 10th in 12 games, while Lycksell posted his 13th assist.
Following back-and-forth action, the Thunderbirds earned their best scoring opportunity upon forcing a turnover. As Springfield approached the opposing net, Jake Neighbours received a cross-pass through traffic. But it was to no avail, as Nagle made one of his 12 first-period saves to keep Lehigh Valley ahead through 13 minutes of action.
Despite 24 combined shot attempts, the Phantoms maintained a one-goal lead against Springfield entering the break.
Moments after the Thunderbirds came up short during the game’s first power-play attempt, Lehigh Valley regained control. In response, Lycksell attempted to double his team’s lead to 2-0 behind a wrister down low. But as Zherenko made the initial blocker save, Lycksell appeared to knock home the rebound.
The call was ultimately reversed, as referees declared the puck was guided forward by the skate — keeping it a one-goal game through 30 minutes of action.
With 4:19 remaining in the second period, Springfield earned its third power-play attempt as Kieffer Bellows was called for tripping. The Thunderbirds previously converted 23.19% of their man-advantage opportunities at home coming into Friday. But none of that mattered as the Phantoms’ defensemen didn’t allow many options as they continuously blocked attempted shots, keeping them 0-for-4 on the power play.
“It was a low-event game,” Bannister said. “(The Phantoms) did a good job defending. But even in low-event games, you must find ways to sneak a goal out. Each line did a nice job squeezing out shots through traffic, and that’s how most goals normally happen. We understand it doesn’t need to be a pretty play, but we didn’t do enough of that to tie the game up.”
Through 40 minutes of action, Lehigh Valley remained ahead 1-0 despite being outshot by Springfield 21-19.
In the end, O’Reilly scored his 697th career point on a rebound attempt with 7:32 remaining in regulation, helping the Phantoms come away victoriously. The goal was O’Reilly’s third of the season, while Adam Brooks and Ronnie Attard earned their second and eighth assists on the drive.
The Thunderbirds look to turn things around following the holiday break as they welcome the Hartford Wolf Pack to town for their second meeting in under one week, scheduled for Dec. 28 at 7:05 p.m.
“There’s still a lot of hockey to play,” Bannister said. “Moving forward, we’ll start getting healthier over the next few weeks. With that being said, some lineups will change, and some guys will be disappointed with where they are. These guys have had plenty of opportunity from day one with the bodies that have been out. Now we’ll have some good hockey players coming in that will possibly take some players’ spots.
“There will certainly be more competition when everyone comes to the rink each day.”
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