Phantoms' Inaugural Season Ends With Loss

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Sticks raised at center, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms skated somberly off into the offseason, falling to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 5-1 at the PPL Center on Sunday evening.

Three Penguins power play goals proved to be the difference in a very chippy affair. The Phantoms' penalty kill, which had been around the middle-of-the-pack all season long, failed them on this night. The unit killed off the final two man-down situations, but the first two did the team in early.

"We gave up some goals that we usually don't," Phantoms defenseman Oliver Lauridsen said after the game. "Our penalty kill kind of fell apart."

It all started (and ended) with two straight penalties within the first two minutes of the contest. For starters, Scott Laughton was flagged down for a holding call. Almost immediately after that, Kevin Goumas closed his hand on the puck during a faceoff, leading to a delay of game penalty.

The Penguins took advantage of both of those opportunities, as Jean-Sebastian Dea stashed a rebound off of a point shot, and Tom Kuhnackl emerged from a board battle and ripped a shot over the shoulder of Phantoms starter Rob Zepp to make it 2-0.

"[If] they get a lead, it's very, very hard to get back into the game," head coach Terry Murray said. "I thought we stayed competitive, but it's very hard to score against them."

"We didn't get the job done."

Lauridsen injected some momentary life into the Lehigh Valley faithful with a goal of his own in the second period. He took a pass from fellow defenseman Robert Hagg and broke down the left wing, beating Penguins starter Jeff Zatkoff with a shot along the ice.

Zatkoff, who got the start in place of folk hero Matt Murray, performed just as admirably as Murray did all season long—he just didn't get the shutout like his goaltending partner did three previous times against this Phantoms team.

As it stands at season's end, the Phantoms will not be a playoff team. That had been decided for several weeks leading up to this game. That now extends a dubious streak without a Calder Cup playoff berth for the Flyers' AHL affiliate to six seasons.

Yet in the midst of all of this, development proved to be the number one priority, and according to Murray, it was accomplished.

"I thought guys overall improved," Murray said. "We've got young guys that are seeing more minutes, more critical situations. We have players that were called up this year and I thought handled themselves pretty well at the next level. It's a process, and this is year one of it."

"The process is to play games at the pro level," he added. "This is exactly what you have to do. They're going to be twice the players they are next year because of this first year of pro hockey for a lot of these guys. It was a real good year for that."

And so another journey ends, and the opportunity for many of these players to make the parent club presents itself in just a few months' time. A player like all-star defenseman Brandon Manning, who recently signed a one-year deal, will be the most notable Phantom to get a chance.

"I really like to see what he has done," Murray said of Manning. "To me, he's ready to make the next step. He contributes in all parts of the game."

"I think each level you play at you want to get better and improve," Manning said. "I think being an all-star this year and the numbers I put up speak for themselves. It's obviously a big step for me."

The Phantoms ended the season with 33 wins—their highest total since 2011-12, where they won 37 games under then-head coach Joe Paterson.

Phantoms Shut Out By Penguins, Again

ALLENTOWN - The legend of 20-year-old Penguins goaltender Matt Murray continues to grow even crazier and more improbable. He notched his 24th win, and his league-leading 12th shutout in a 3-0 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday night at the PPL Center.

That win effectively knocked the Phantoms out of the playoff race, and punched the Penguins' ticket to the Calder Cup playoffs for the thirteenth straight season. Most of this run for Wilkes-Barre Scranton has been on the back of Murray, who, according to AHL PR, has amassed 13 wins in 15 games with a 0.80 goals-against average and a .970 save percentage since February 3.

Rookie Kasperi Kapanen got the party started for the Penguins early, scoring his first pro goal on his first pro shot about five minutes into the contest. Kapanen, son of former Flyer Sami, intercepted a Petr Straka pass at the blue line and ripped a shot over the glove of Phantoms starter Rob Zepp.

Zepp, making his eighth straight start, suffered his third straight loss after stopping 29 shots.

Murray held the fort against an impressive Phantoms foray in the first period. His best stop came on Andrew Gordon, who took a Taylor Leier pass on the goal line. He also denied that first line on a late flurry of action, and got a little lucky when Scott Laughton just missed the target on a clear-cut shorthanded chance with four seconds left.

As impressive as the Phantoms were in the first period, the second period was all Penguins. They outshot the homestanding Phantoms 20-6 in the middle frame. Those numbers were aided by four Penguins power plays, including a 5-on-3 power play opportunity, and an extended man advantage thanks to a Jay Rosehill double minor penalty.

"Those numbers add up pretty quickly," head coach Terry Murray said. "I don't want [penalties] to haunt us for the remaining six games."

"We need to show better composure in those situations."

The Penguins connected during the Rosehill series of penalties. Kapanen, the first star of the game, dished a shot pass from the left wing, finding the stick of Tom Kuhnackl to tap the puck past Zepp. It proved to be one of two tallies by the German forward, who put the game away with a late empty net goal.

Up 2-0 after two periods of play, the Penguins turned to their frustrating style of defense. That defensive structure has led to a 29-2-2 record when leading after the second period coming into the contest.

Agonizing defense aside, the Phantoms ended the game with 30 total shots on goal, and 11 in the third period. But to the players' admission, the chances needed an extra element—traffic.

"We had 30 shots, but I think we gotta create five or seven more rebound opportunities off of those 30 by getting guys in the dirtier areas and finding a way to sort of bang home an ugly [goal]," Phantoms forward Andrew Gordon said.

"It was up to par. It needs to be better," Murray said of his team getting to said dirty areas. "When you're playing against one of the the premier goalies, maybe the premier goalie in the league, you've gotta be better. Average is not good enough."

Now out of the playoff picture, the Phantoms still have six games left this season, with all of them against divisional opponents.

"You have to build on something," Murray said. "You have to build on your game, to take to it to training camp, to take it into next year. That's what his is all about."

"We got a bunch of young guys that need to continue to stay focused and just play. Play hard, competitive hockey. Play between the whistles, and go from there."

The march to April 19, and to a brighter tomorrow, begins Friday, when the Phantoms welcome the Norfolk Admirals to town for a back-to-back.

Misericordia's NCAA Journey Ends

MARIETTA, Ohio -- Misericordia's second foray into the NCAA Tournament ended the way their first one did, falling in the first round.

The College of Wooster capitalized on a strong second-half shooting performance, defeating the Cougars 84-59. In this edition of sparkling offense vs. stingy defense, it was the Fighting Scots' 19th-best points-per-game output that came out on top on this night.

The Cougars were forced to play from behind for the final 35 minutes of regulation time. They last led 12-11 with 13:57 remaining in the first half. Seemingly, the Fighting Scots could not miss from that point on, ending the night shooting 51% from the field in total.

The balance of the game seemed to hinge on one play in the waning seconds of the first half. A trey by sophomore Griffin Sponaugle combined with a layup by fellow sophomore James Hawk trimmed a large Wooster lead to as few as 4. Off of the transition play, Wooster's Evan Pannell received an argued illegal screen from behind the arc at the top of the key, draining a three-point shot of his own as the buzzer sounded. That re-established the lead back to seven points at the half.

"It changed my mood," Misericordia coach Trevor Woodruff said. "I thought there was a clear missed illegal screen that got the kid open. Give him credit, he made the shot."

After that point, Wooster rode that emotional wave by outscoring the Cougars 40-22 in the final frame.

"I don't think that had a huge effect on the second half, but psychologically maybe going down four, not really having shot all that well, maybe that gives us a brighter outlook in the second half," Woodruff added.

"They came out and punched us in the face and we just couldn't get it back," senior guard Joe Busacca said after the game. "They were just making shots, and we weren't."

A usually reliable offense went completely silent in the second half. Misericordia made just seven buckets from the field in the second half, shooting 25%. They also only made two three-pointers all day, shooting a season-low 11.8% for the game.

The swan song for two of the most productive players in Misericordia basketball history ended in productive fashion. Busacca splashed 17 points in 39 minutes, and fellow senior Steve Ware added 12 points in 30 minutes of play. Busacca ended his career on a massive 19-game double-figure scoring streak.

"It was emotional," Busacca said of his exit. "I gave [the coaching staff] all I could."

Misericordia dictated the pace early, holding the lead within the game's first five minutes. Wooster led by as many as 10 thanks to Dan Fanelly's domination in the post. He finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Wooster's largest lead inflated to as many as 27 on two separate occasions in the second half. Their depth and speed outclassed the Cougars, who, according to Busacca, never gave up on the game.

Wooster had entered this game with loads of NCAA Tournament experience. They had reached the big dance for 20 of the last 21 years under experienced head coach Steve Moore. That aside, Woodruff did not see fear in his players' eyes.

"I didn't think our guys were just happy to be here," he said. "That's why I didn't see this coming. I thought we were even-keeled and focused. I thought they were really good offensively, they were equally as good defensively."

"Give credit to Wooster," Busacca concluded. "They were the better team tonight."

Wooster will move on in the tournament to play the winner of the nightcap between Marietta and Medaille.

Cougars Capture Second Freedom Conference Championship

Dallas, Pa -- Almost a year ago to the day, Misericordia University's men's basketball team stood inside Billera Hall with the culmination of a journey ending just short to DeSales University in the Freedom Conference championship game.

This time, however, the Cougars had no intention of coming up short for a second time. No ECAC tournament bid. No other option except to win. They did just that, defeating Delaware Valley College in the 2015 edition of the championship game 77-66 on Saturday.

Tournament MVP, Freedom first-teamer, player-of-the-year and two-time champion Joe Busacca led the way for the Cougars with 29 points in the win. At every turn, he outdueled opposing point guard Francis Arnold, and led his team, who never trailed, to a championship victory.

"I think we were just ready to go," Busacca said. "We had [the game] here on our home court, so we were just ready to go."

For the Cougars, it was their second Freedom championship victory since joining the MAC, and their fourth foray in a championship game in total. Yet, between the two championship victories, there is seemingly no comparison at all—at least, according to Misericordia head coach Trevor Woodruff.

"It's like picking between your children," he said. "I wouldn't say it's better or worse."

Woodruff only had one child to choose from to help him cut the net during the postgame fracas. His three-year-old son Bryce climbed the ladder among friends and family, completing the hallowed tradition to raucous applause.

“He asked me last night before bed. I told him 'we're going to cut the nets down tomorrow,' and he said 'dad, I want to help,'” an emotional Woodruff said. "So how could I say no?"

The ever-dangerous Arnold scored 15 of his team-leading 30 points in the contest in the second half, with 6 of them coming in the final minute of play. Yet, with each bucket he splashed, sophomore guard Jesse Urich responded at the free throw line after each foul, going a perfect 8 for 8.

A 14-4 run to start the game set the tone for Misericordia, led by Busacca’s 7 points in that span. His downtown three-pointer four minutes into the first half extended the Cougars’ lead to 10. While the Aggies sliced that lead to as few as four with 11:49 remaining in the first, the Cougars scored 22 of the final 37 points of the stanza to take an 11-point lead to the room.

“We were aggressive the entire day,” Woodruff said of his team's effort. "I thought starting with Joe, he just went, and the other guys followed him."

A journeyman of life, senior Steve Ware, added a double-double in the victory with 14 points and 11 rebounds—his sixth double-double in his last seven games, and fourth in a row. Ware, just a few years removed from an embattled existence in Atlanta, found himself celebrating with his teammates on this day.

He did not get to contribute to the first Freedom championship in 2012. He proved to be a significant reason why they won this season’s championship, scoring 31 points and grabbing 29 boards in the tournament.

"We said when we were freshman we were going to do this again," Ware said of his senior teammates. "To have it happen in our senior year, it's just a great feeling."

Delaware Valley fought its way to the championship game for the second time in three years. This time, however, they did not get the scoring depth they had all season. Freedom first-team forward Chris Moran, who averaged over 14 points per game, added 8 points. Third-leading scorer Nick Sullivan scored a lone three-pointer in the contest.

“We were kind of like a deer in headlights a little bit to start the game off,” Aggies head coach Casey Stitzel said postgame. “We did not have the same approach to the first half that we did [Wednesday].”

A confident Delaware Valley team dismantled DeSales in the Freedom semifinal game Wednesday, but the Cougars’ 19^th-best shooting defense held the Aggies to just 27.5% shooting from the field in the first half.

Woodruff outlined from the outset that he wanted his team to defend Anderson Center floor all season long. They ended the year with 13 wins and two losses at home.

“We thought we would be very difficult to beat [on home court],” Woodruff said. "I think you could argue we played our best game in the championship game. I think that says a lot about our team."

Woeful Second Period Pushes Bruins over Phantoms

Allentown, Pa. -- Ryan Spooner's second period goal just eight ticks into the second period set the tone for what was a long night for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on their home ice Friday night.

It proved to be one of many defensive lapses that led to a 5-1 defeat to the hands of the Providence Bruins. The Bruins struck four times in the middle frame, forcing an early exit for starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

Perhaps the only good news was the game was scoreless after the first period. Then, a sudden rash of penalties and defensive breakdowns allowed Providence to take control of the game, and slam the door shut at their end of the ice.

"They just made us pay for our mistakes," forward Petr Straka said. "We weren't sharp passing the puck. We weren't sharp receiving the puck. With that, you can't possibly get anything going, and they just took advantage of it."

Straka's late third-period tally while down five goals proved to be a fleeting celebration in the midst of a flat effort. This game had playoff implications all the way, with the Bruins just three points ahead of the Phantoms in the AHL's Eastern Conference standings.

That deficit lengthened not only due to the loss, but because of the thorough defeat to a team the Phantoms were chasing in the playoff race.

"We're aware of the opportunity that's being missed," Phantoms coach Terry Murray said after the game. "We've gotta clean up a lot of stuff, obviously, with the mistakes we're making, the turnovers we're making. Everybody's going to need to be better."

Stolarz was pulled after allowing four goals on 26 shots in his return from the Philadelphia Flyers. His replacement, Martin Ouellette, stopped five of six shots in relief. Stolarz faced a rough stretch late in the second period, allowing two goals in the span of a minute.

Andrew Cherniwchan took advantage of a sloppy Phantoms line change, breaking away from an absent defense, snapping a shot past the outstretched blocker of Stolarz to increase the Providence advantage to 3. Then, after an Adam Comrie high-sticking penalty shortly thereafter, Spooner rocketed his second goal of the game with a one-time shot on the power play on a cross-ice dish from Seth Griffith.

Colin Stuart also added two goals in the contest, starting the tough night for the Phantoms penalty kill with a power-play goal to make it 2-0 early in the second period.

"There wasn't anything [specific] that they did," Murray added. "It was our mistakes."

Providence's Jeremy Smith flummoxed the Phantoms all night, stopping 26 shots in the victory. He also stifled two Phantoms power plays in the victory. The offense was as ice cold as the wind chills outside of the arena walls.

"I think we just needed guys to step up," forward Brett Hextall said. "I don't think we had anyone step up, outside of maybe [Brandon] Manning, trying to scrap with their tough guy over there."

"Other than that, we didn't have anybody step up, anybody try and bring the energy and change the momentum in any way. Myself included."

This defeat meant back-to-back losses for the reeling Phantoms, who still believe they have a shot at the playoffs in their inaugural season in Lehigh Valley.

The uphill climb begins with the stretch drive looming, and four of the next five games played on their home ice.