Miletic makes his mark after recovering from mono taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS

Sam Miletic in Saturday's game

You wouldn't be able to tell by watching him on the ice tonight, but forward Sam Miletic played his first game in nearly a year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's game on Saturday, a 5-4 overtime win over the Phantoms in Lehigh Valley.

Miletic, 23, is in his third professional season. He participated in Pittsburgh's training camp, but was absent the last several days and for Wilkes-Barre's training camp with what head coach J.D. Forrest initially called a "medial issue," but provided more details on last week.

"Having mono can knock you out for a little bit, it takes some time to get your energy back," Forrest told me. "He's just going through that, but he's getting better and better every day."

Miletic had been practicing with Wilkes-Barre for quite some time after he recovered from mono, but didn't get into a game until now because the coaching staff wasn't comfortable with where his strength and energy levels were yet. It's not unfamiliar territory, after P.O Joseph's bout with mono at the start of last season that sidelined him for a month and caused him to lose 15 pounds.

"That's part of it," Forrest said when I asked about Miletic's strength last week. "He really wants to play, and we just want to make sure we're doing it the right way. We've had that experience with P.O last year, and we know what it can do to your strength, to your overall energy. We want to make sure when Milly does return that he's got those things and he's not trying to fight back at the same time he's trying to play games. We'd like to see him closer to 100 percent so he can just get in and hit the ground running."

Ahead of Saturday's game, Miletic was activated from injured reserve. 

"We took our time with it," Forrest said after Saturday's game. "We wanted to make sure we were putting him in a good situation. Until you get some games under your belt, it's hard to say if you're 100 percent. He was as close as he was going to get with the practice and conditioning we were doing, aside from just playing games. Now it's just getting that feeling back, and it's a good start for him."

Miletic debuted on Wilkes-Barre's third line, on a line centered by Jordy Bellerive, with whom Miletic was linemates last season. That prior chemistry made the transition easier for Miletic, and for Bellerive too, after Bellerive hadn't played for over a week due to a stint on Pittsburgh's taxi squad. That chemistry was evident right away, and each player scored a goal with the other picking up a primary assist. 

"I wasn't surprised," Forrest said of the chemistry between Bellerive and Miletic. "That's one of the reasons we put them together. They're buddies away from the rink as well, so they're happy to be out there playing alongside each other. I thought (Kyle) Olson did a good job with them as well on the right side, that guy brings a lot of energy. He plays a hard game. It was a nice line that we had going tonight."

Bellerive scored early in the second period, with Miletic setting him up:

Miletic scored 27 seconds into the third period, with Bellerive picking up the helper:

"It was great to see," Forrest said of Miletic's immediate success after returning. "He's a great guy, he's really nice in the locker room with everyone. The guys were happy to have him back. When you contribute like that your first game, that's a good feeling for him, I'm sure. He hasn't played since March, so I know he was just real happy to be out there again playing."

Miletic's goal in the third period put WIlkes-Barre up 4-3, after forwards Felix Robert and Nick Schilkey each scored their second goals of the season earlier in the game:

Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom scored his second goal in as many games and second point of the night on a power play to force overtime late in the third period.

Wilkes-Barre's game went into overtime just as the parent club's game did, and just like Pittsburgh's game, a French Canadian came in clutch. 

Freddy Gaudreau, playing in his fourth game of the season after spending some time on Pittsburgh's taxi squad, capitalized on a Phantoms offensive zone turnover and ended the game 40 seconds into overtime, his first goal of the season:

"He played in the NHL," Forrest said of Gaudreau. "I don't want to say we expect those things from him, but it's nice to have someone in the lineup that you know can handle the pressure and come up big."

The win puts Wilkes-Barre on a three-game win streak and increases the record to 4-2-1 to start the season.

"The message is that we just don't change," Forrest said of the run Wilkes-Barre is on. "Whether it's a three-game win streak or a three-game losing streak, we're going to play the same way night in and night out. Our guys are grasping that. They like that concept. They don't care who we're playing, when we're playing, they just going out and battling."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Goaltender Shane Starrett played his first AHL game of the season after testing positive for COVID in Wilkes-Barre's training camp. He stopped 21 of 25 shots, including a couple of big saves on the penalty kill toward the end of the game.

"He was real solid," Forrest said. "He made some big saves for us, some difficult ones for sure. A couple of weird bounces that got him, but it's a good look for us. I'm happy he got the win, he deserved it."

By "weird bounces," Forrest is surely referring to the Max Willman goal that triple-deflected off of Dylan MacPherson once and Cam Lee twice on the way in like a pinball machine. Not the easiest play to read:

Kevin Czuczman earned his first point of the season, the secondary assist on Miletic's goal, in his third game of the season after starting the year on Pittsburgh's taxi squad. He led the team in shots in his first game (4), and in this game (5). Beyond from the offense he's helped bring from the blue line, Forrest has seen Czuczman's calming influence on the rest of the blue line as a veteran among a group of all-rookie defensemen, save for second-year pro Jon Lizotte.

"He's a great presence back there," Forrest said. "Not just for the D, but for the team in general. He's very vocal, and he gets guys talking, so our communication has gone up a notch here. He's been able to help some of the D on the back end just calm down and play hockey. He's very vocal on the ice, and him and Will Reilly have been a very good pair since he's been back. That impact with him coming back in the locker room was immediate, you can see it.'

• Forrest himself has what looks like a bit of a bruise and a cut next to his eye, what might be called an upper-body injury. I asked him what happened, he said he took a high stick in a three-on-three game on Friday.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• 
Video highlights
• 
AHL scoreboard
• 
Standings
• 
Statistics

THE THREE STARS

As selected at PPL Center:

1. Freddy Gaudreau, Penguins
2. Max Willman, Phantoms
3. Jordy Bellerive, Penguins

THE INJURIES

• Defenseman Zach Trotman underwent right knee surgery Jan. 14 to repair a torn meniscus and is off of Pittsburgh's injured reserve and officially on Wilkes-Barre's roster. He's day-to-day.

• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren left the first preseason game after sliding into the boards and underwent successful shoulder surgery this week. He's out indefinitely for the rest of the season.

THE LINEUPS

Forrest’s lines and pairings:

Tim Schaller-Freddy Gaudreau-Nick Schilkey
Felix Robert-Radim Zohorna-Jan Drozg
Sam Miletic-Jordy Bellerive-Kyle Olson

Jonathan Gruden-Chase Berger-Zach Nastasiuk

Jon Lizotte-Billy Sweezey
Cam Lee-Dylan MacPherson
Kevin Czuczman-Will Reilly

And for Scott Gordon's Phantoms:

Ryan Fitzgerald-Cal O'Reilly-Zayde Wisdom
Max Willman-Chris Mueller-David Kase
Garrett Wilson-Tanner Laczynski-Linus Sandin
Brennan Saulnier-Tanner MacMaster-Ralph Cuddemi

Egor Zamula-Wyatte Wylie
Linus Hogberg-Derrick Pouliot
Mason Millman-Logan Day

THE SCHEDULE

The Penguins will host the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday.

THE CONTENT

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