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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

Angello Hat Trick Leads T-Birds Past Phantoms

November 20, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


Springfield Thunderbirds right wing Anthony Angello scores against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Springfield Thunderbirds right wing Anthony Angello scores against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Springfield Thunderbirds)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (7-6-0-3) saw their power play explode for the second time in three games, as the T-Birds emerged on top, 6-4, over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-6-1-0) on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center in a wild affair.

After the T-Birds took until the final five minutes to strike on Saturday, the blue line jump-started the offense on Sunday, as Brady Lyle connected for his first goal of the season, reaching a long rebound in the right circle and beating Pat Nagle after the Phantom goaltender had stopped Dmitri Samorukov's initial bid. The tally at 6:51 gave Springfield the 1-0 lead.

The Phantoms' power play would find an answer at 13:19 when Garrett Wilson got a piece of an Alex Kile half-slapper from the top of the left circle to tie the game, 1-1. Less than three minutes later, Wyatte Wylie got his first goal of the season, joining a rush down the center lane and wristing an opportunity past the blocker side of T-Birds netminder Vadim Zherenko to give Lehigh Valley a 2-1 lead at intermission.

Zherenko and the T-Birds defense had to withstand an early barrage in the opening minutes of the second, but at 6:35 of the middle period, the game flipped considerably. As he was getting knocked to the ice in front of Nagle's crease, Anthony Angello got his stick on a long-range shot by Greg Printz to tip it home and tie the score, 2-2. Ludlow, Mass. native Jake Ryczek, making his T-Birds and AHL debuts, got the secondary helper on the play.

Lehigh Valley then opened the door for Springfield to retake the lead as they took two penalties just 11 seconds apart to give the T-Birds a 5-on-3 advantage. Following a timeout, the T-Birds got to work, and Martin Frk blasted a one-time slapper over Nagle's glove to make it 3-2 at 11:44. At one point following the Angello goal, Springfield attempted 19 consecutive shots in the contest in the middle stanza en route to a 21-shot period.

The Phantoms power play could not strike with the period winding down, but just a second after the man advantage ended, Jackson Cates found a loose puck and beat Zherenko upstairs to tie the score, 3-3, with just 4:02 left on the second-period clock.

At 8:46 of the final period, with Springfield on another power play, the T-Birds restored their lead as Matt Kessel found Angello in the crease, and the winger beat Nagle along the ice to give the home team the 4-3 lead.

Less than four minutes later, in the midst of a sea of penalties, Springfield got a 4-on-3 advantage, and Jake Neighbours fired a shot from the right side that glanced off Angello and past Nagle, giving Angello his first T-Birds' hat trick and a 5-3 advantage at 12:39.

The wild third period still had fireworks, as the two clubs finished the night with a combined 76 minutes in penalties. The scoring still continued into the final minute when Printz got his first goal as a T-Bird, the team's fourth of the evening, to make it 6-3 with 57 seconds to play.

Ronnie Attard would get one back for Lehigh Valley at the 19:24 mark, but the Phantoms would run out of time in their late comeback try. Zherenko earned his third win in his first five AHL starts, stopping 37 of 41 for Springfield. In defeat, Nagle made 40 saves for Lehigh Valley.

The T-Birds are now 1-1-0-1 on their five-game homestand. They look to get in the win column again on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. when they welcome former T-Bird Sam Anas and the Hershey Bears.

Thunderbirds fans can reserve their seats for the 2022-23 season and lock in the best prices and member benefits by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

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Images from this story

Springfield Thunderbirds right wing Anthony Angello scores against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Springfield Thunderbirds right wing Anthony Angello scores against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
   



American Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2022


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