Lindberg Nets Another OT Winner
Feb 21, 2015Oscar Lindberg scored an overtime goal for a second straight game Saturday night at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA, lifting the Wolf Pack to a 5-4 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Lindberg’s winner came in 3-on-3 overtime at 5:48, after he scored 33 seconds into OT in the Wolf Pack’s 3-2 victory Friday night at Springfield.
The Wolf Pack had four separate one-goal leads Saturday night, only to see Lehigh Valley come back each time. Danny Kristo added a goal and an assist for Hartford in the win, and Ryan Bourque and Tyler Brown also scored. Chris Bourque tallied his 20th goal of the season and Dylan McIlrath had two assists.
Zack Stortini scored twice for the Phantoms, and Jason Akeson had a goal and two assists.
On the game-winning play, Lindberg broke into the Lehigh Valley end on a two-on-one with Chris Bourque. Lindberg kept the puck on the right side, his off wing, and ripped a shot into the top corner on the stick side of Phantom goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
The overtime strike came after Chris Bourque and Lehigh Valley’s Nick Cousins had traded third-period goals.
Bourque gave the Wolf Pack a 4-3 lead 26 seconds into the third, with an unassisted goal. Bourque faked a shot and then hammered a low drive from the left-wing circle past Stolarz on the short side. That was Hartford’s first goal against Stolarz, after the Wolf Pack scored their first three on starter Martin Ouellette.
Cousins tied it with the Phantoms’ second power-play goal of the game at 12:24, releasing a snap shot quickly from the right circle and beating Wolf Pack goaltender Jeff Malcolm.
The Wolf Pack were outshot 7-3 in the first period but came out of it leading 1-0, courtesy of a shorthanded goal by Ryan Bourque at the 10:05 mark.
With Lindberg in the penalty box for high-sticking, Conor Allen broke the Wolf Pack out from behind his own net, and Chris Mueller tipped the puck ahead to McIlrath to start a two-on-one. McIlrath sent Bourque down the left-wing side in the Lehigh Valley end, and his slap shot found its way through Ouellette.
Malcolm, who improved his AHL record on the year to 5-0-0 with 30 saves, made two big stops later in the period on Jason Akeson, including one on a shorthanded breakaway in the final minute, to preserve the lead.
Both offenses came to life in the second period, as the two teams combined for five goals in a span of less than seven minutes starting at the 4:14 mark.
Stortini got Lehigh Valley on the board at 4:14, camping out in front of Malcolm and tipping in a shot from the left point by Jesper Pettersson.
Just 22 seconds later, at 4:36, the suddenly-hot Brown put the Wolf Pack back in front, with his third goal in three games. Kristo got the puck to the front of the net from the left-wing corner, and Brown was able to dig it out of his skates and fling it past Ouellette.
Stortini struck again on a Phantom power play only 54 seconds thereafter, at 5:20, again on a net-front deflection. This time it was Stortini tipping a shot by Manning from the right point, and that tied the score at two.
Kristo got his 17th of the year for the Wolf Pack at 8:21, chasing Ouellette from the game. Lindberg worked the puck to Kristo at the left side of the slot, and he fired it off of Ouellette’s pads and in.
Stolarz replaced Ouellette at that point, and the Phantoms drew even again on a shorthander by Akeson at 11:05. Akeson got to the puck in the right-wing corner of the Wolf Pack zone and drew it to the front and snapped it up high past Malcolm for a 3-3 tie.
The Wolf Pack return home to the XL Center Sunday, hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3:00 PM game. The Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack” is again featured on Sundays this year. The Family Value Pack features two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35.
Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.
Hartford Wolf Pack 5 (OT) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4
Saturday, February 21, 2015 - PPL Center
Hartford 1 2 1 1 - 5
Lehigh Valley 0 3 1 0 - 4
1st Period-1, Hartford, R. Bourque 10 (McIlrath, Mueller), 10:05 (SH). Penalties-Lindberg Hfd (high-sticking), 8:13; Lauridsen Lv (interference), 13:53; Goumas Lv (tripping), 18:20.
2nd Period-2, Lehigh Valley, Stortini 12 (Pettersson, Cousins), 4:14. 3, Hartford, Brown 4 (Nehring, Kristo), 4:36. 4, Lehigh Valley, Stortini 13 (Manning, Akeson), 5:20 (PP). 5, Hartford, Kristo 17 (Lindberg, McIlrath), 8:21. 6, Lehigh Valley, Akeson 17 (Laughton), 11:05 (SH). Penalties-Spinell Hfd (holding), 4:51; Stortini Lv (tripping), 10:16; O'Donnell Hfd (high-sticking), 16:44; Vaive Hfd (fighting), 19:36; Fyten Lv (fighting), 19:36.
3rd Period-7, Hartford, Bourque 20 0:26. 8, Lehigh Valley, Cousins 17 (Manning, Akeson), 12:24 (PP). Penalties-McIlrath Hfd (cross-checking), 11:59; Laughton Lv (boarding), 16:52; Allen Hfd (high-sticking), 19:17.
OT Period-9, Hartford, Lindberg 16 5:48. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Hartford 3-8-10-2-23. Lehigh Valley 7-12-8-7-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 4; Lehigh Valley 2 / 5.
Goalies-Hartford, Malcolm 5-0-0 (34 shots-30 saves). Lehigh Valley, Ouellette 3-2-0 (7 shots-4 saves); Stolarz 7-11-0 (16 shots-14 saves).
A-8,791
Referees-Kendrick Nicholson (44).
Linesmen-Bill Lyons (27), Matt McNulty (26).