Phantoms' Gordon Haunts Former Team with Late Winner
January 10, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
St. John's IceCaps News Release
Former St. John's IceCaps MVP Andrew Gordon played the role of spoiler on Saturday night as he scored the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the game as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms topped the IceCaps 4-2 at Mile One Centre.
The Phantoms' Robert Hagg, Brett Hextall and Ryan White rounded out their scoring while Gordon's winner came with just under three minutes remaining.
Blair Riley and Kyle MacKinnon replied for the IceCaps, who saw their winning streak halted at three games. Connor Hellebuyck had yet another strong game between the pipes for the IceCaps and finished the night with 24 saves.
The Phantoms' Rob Zepp came away with the victory thanks to a 29-save performance.
Lehigh Valley was the first to find the back of the net as Swedish prospect Hagg, who recently represented his country at the World Junior Hockey Championships, blasted a shot from the high slot and beat Hellebuyck for a power play goal at 14:52, giving the opposition the lead heading into the first intermission.
Brett Hextall made it 2-0 Phantoms with 7:44 left in the second period after Jason Akeson circled the net on a wraparound attempt and Hextall was there on the doorstep to knock home the rebound.
The IceCaps started their comeback less than a minute later as Riley fired a seeing-eye shot from the right corner that eluded Zepp with 7:19 remaining in the period.
MacKinnon tied it up with 6:01 left in the third as he threw a puck on goal from the top of the right circle that beat Zepp cleanly over his blocker.
As the teams started considering the possibility of overtime, Gordon picked up the puck near Hellebuyck's right side and made a great move to cut across the crease and tuck it under the goalie's pad for a beautiful go-ahead goal with just 2:59 left in the contest.
White scored into the empty net with eight seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Phantoms.
The IceCaps and Phantoms hook up for a rematch Sunday afternoon at Mile One (4:00 p.m. NST). Fans attending the game are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the Purolator Shut Out Hunger Food Drive in support of the Community Food Sharing Association. In exchange, fans will be entered to win a replica IceCaps jersey.
Tickets are available at the Mile One Centre Box Office, by phone at (709) 576-7657 and online at www.mileoncecentre.com. Catch all the action with Brian Rogers at www.stjohnsicecaps.com, 930 AM, Rogers TV and www.ahllive.com.
Notes | Not dressed: Brenden Kichton, Eric O'Dell, Ralfs Freibergs, Ryan Olsen, Patrick Holland, Kris Fredheim... St. John's went 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill... St. John's outshot Lehigh Valley 31-28, marking the first time in five games in which the IceCaps held the edge on the shot clock ... Molson Canadian Three Stars: 1. Andrew Gordon 2. Will O'Neill 3. Blair Jones ... IceCaps Hardest Working Player: Scott Kosmachuk.
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