Philadelphia Flyers

Phantoms Playoff Gameday (Gm 2 vs HER), Bunnaman and More
April 22, 2017, 9:27 AM ET [30 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
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PHANTOMS PLAYOFF GAMEDAY: LEHIGH VALLEY SEEKS TO EVEN SHORT SERIES

On Saturday night, Scott Gordon's Lehigh Valley Phantoms take on Troy Mann's Hershey Bears in Game 2 of their best-of-five Calder Cup playoff series. Game time at the PPL Center is 7:05 p.m. EDT.

The Bears won Game One of the series on Friday night in Allentown. In a battle of the AHL's two highest-scoring teams during the regular season, the result was the 12th game in Calder Cup playoff history to be scoreless at the end of regulation. Nathan Walker won the game for Hershey at 7:38 of overtime to send his team to a 1-0 victory.

Veteran goaltender Phoenix Copley earned a 32-save shutout for Hershey. The Phantoms held Hershey to just 20 shots in 67:38 of hockey but rookie Alex Lyon came up with several tough saves in stopping 19 shots in a losing cause.

Lehigh Valley went 0-for-4 on the power play. Hershey was 0-for-3.

The Phantoms dominated the first period (15-5 shot advantage) but could not get a puck into the net. Checking forward Cole Bardreau came the closest but hit the post from the right circle. Lyon stepped to the forefront in the second period, as the Phantoms got outshot by 10-4 margin and killed two penalties. Lehigh Valley had the better of the territorial play in the third period and held a 9-3 shot edge. The third period was also marked by fight between the Phantoms' Tyrell Goulbourne and Liam O'Brien after Goulbourne took exception to an O'Brien hit away from the puck. The Phantoms received a power play but did not convert it.

In overtime, shots were 4-1 in the Phantoms' favor through the first seven a half minutes of the period. With the Scott Laughton line (flanked by Taylor Leier and Colin McDonald) and the defense pairing of Robert Hägg and Travis Sanheim on the ice, a Tyler Lewington point shot got through the Lyon. The Phantoms' goalie made the initial save by left a rebound in the goal mouth. Walker stashed it him at 7:38 to win the game for Hershey. Stanislav Galiev collected the secondary assist.

FLYERS SIGN BUNNAMAN TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT

The Flyers announced yesterday that they had signed 2016 fourth-round (109th overall) pick Connor Bunnaman to an entry-level contract. The slide-rule eligible deal will allow the 19-year-old center to continue his junior hockey career with the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers.

Listed at 6-foot, 183 pounds heading into the 2015-16 season, he had a growth spurt and is now 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds. Bunnaman used the added size to his advantage this season, honing his presence around the net to go from 16 goals the previous season to 37 goals in 2016-17.

"You can be assured Connor will give you an honest effort every night. He works hard and plays a heavy game," Flyers assistant general manager Chris Pryor said.

"He wants to be a player and he will do whatever it takes to give himself a chance. He's taken a step this year in his development. Hopefully, with his work ethic and attitude he will continue to improve."

Bunnaman in hard to take off the puck and is willing to battle in the trenches despite compiling just 30 penalty minutes in the regular season. His skating is still a work in progress but showed improvement this past season. Likewise, his play away from the puck and non-shooting puck skills are trending in the right direction. If the 2016 NHL Draft were reheld now, he would likely have been a second-round pick according to a non-Flyers scout.

Bunnaman usually plays a clean brand of hockey despite his willingness to do battle in the high-punishment areas of the ice. However, during the OHL playoffs, he was suspended two games for a slew-footing incident in Kitchener's first-round playoff series with the Owen Sound Attack. His absence hurt, as the Rangers lost in five games. In his three games of playoff action, Bunnaman scored four goals.

For an in-depth look at Bunnaman's breakout goal-scoring season and development path to date, see his profile article written last month on the Flyers' official website.

SHL FINALS SET FOR GAME FOUR

Game Four of the Swedish Hockey League finals is on Saturday in Gävle, Sweden. Brynäs IF Gävle is looking to take a three games to one lead over pre-series favorite HV71 Jönköping.

Flyers goaltending prospect Felix Sandström, who started the first and second games of the finals, backed up veteran David Rautio last game and is also the backup for Game Four. Flyers left wing prospect Oskar Lindblom scored in a losing cause in Game One but has been held off the scoresheet the last two games. HV71 was the SHL's stingiest defensive team during the regular season and has particularly keyed on containing Lindblom's line.