Photo: Nina Weiss/Flyerdelphia
Lately, it seems as Anthony Stolarz went, so did the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
When Stolarz went down with an injury on November 25 in Utica, the Phantoms seemed to struggle. After beating Hershey in a shootout Friday, they were flat against Providence on Saturday.
Stolarz returned to the lineup on Wednesday night, ironically in Utica, and the Phantoms took the two points by a score of 3-1.
The Comets got an early power play just 2:13 in when Jesper Pettersson took a tripping penalty. They couldn't convert, and Evan Rankin got his first goal since being signed to a Professional Tryout early in the season.
Rankin took a feed from Tyrell Goulbourne and put it past Richard Bachmann. The Phantoms held steady for the rest of the period, and went to the locker room with the lead.
Utica knotted the game just 43 seconds into the second, but not without controversy. While going around the net on a wrap-around, Mike Zalewski bumped into Stolarz, impeding the Lehigh Valley netminder. As he scrambled back to the net, Alex Friesen found Zalewski out front, and he put the puck into the open net. Stolarz protested, but the goal was allowed to stand.
The Comets had 3:21 of power play time midway through the period when Taylor Leier got a double-minor for high sticking, but again, the Comets were unable to capitalize.
Lehigh Valley broke the game open in the third. Pettersson tallied his first of the season at 9:10. Assists went to Andrew MacDonald and Brandon Alderson. 1:25 later, Danick Martel forced a turnover, and used his speed to force a two-on-one. He held onto the puck and fired it past the Utica netminder.
Notes: Joe Rehkamp, signed by the Phantoms to a PTO from the Reading Royals on Monday, made his Lehigh Valley debut and centered the fourth line. Defenseman Mark Alt returned to the lineup.
3 Stars: 3) UTI-Alex Friesen (Assist) 2) LV-Andrew Macdonald (Two assists) 1) LV-Anthony Stolarz (28 saves)
Up Next: The Phantoms continue on the road, when they face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday at 7:05 PM.
Brent Baldwin is Lehigh Valley Phantoms beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @BBFlyerdelphia.
