Phantoms Lineup

Ryan Fitzgerald – Cal O’Reilly – Zayde Wisdom

Isaac Ratcliffe – Max Willman – Wade Allison

Maksim Sushko – Chris Mueller – Pascal Laberge

Garrett Wilson – David Kase – Tyson Foerster

Egor Zamula – Logan Day

Derrick Pouliot – Linus Hogberg

Samuel Morin – Wyatte Wylie

Zane McIntyre – Felix Sandstrom

Mason Millman, Tanner Laczynski, Matthew Strome, Eamon McAdam, Tanner MacMaster, Ralph Cuddemi, Brennan Saulnier (suspended)

Kirill Ustimenko (hip surgery), Chris Bigras (DTD), Tyler Wotherspoon (DTD), Linus Sandin (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

The Phantoms last game, on Wednesday against the Binghamton Devils, ended in a 1-1 tie. How is that possible, you ask? After just one period of play, the AHL suspended the game due to COVID-19 protocols affecting Binghamton. The Phantoms packed up and headed back to Allentown. Then, on Friday, they learned that their Saturday game against the Devils would also be postponed due to continue COVID-19 precautions.

So on Sunday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey, the Phantoms finally were able to get back to game action. For some of the same reasons, the Bears had not played a game in just about a week, which meant both teams were eager to play and also had some rust to shake off.

Scott Gordon‘s lineup looked a bit different today, too. With Brennan Saulnier out serving a one-game suspension, Wade Allison drew into the lineup for his professional debut. Logan Day and Max Willman returned from injury, and Maksim Sushko worked his way back in as well.

First Period

It was a whirlwind opening 20 minutes of play for the Phantoms, but only after Hershey opened the scoring with a goal by Damien Riat. He received a centering pass from Blake Pietila and snapped the puck top shelf past Zane McIntyre.

42 seconds later, Tyson Foerster scored his first professional goal when David Kase fed him a tape-to-tape cross-crease pass which Foerster tapped across the goal line.

Derrick Pouliot added to the Lehigh Valley tally when he wasted no time on the first Phantoms power play of the game and roofed a shot from the left circle.

The teams exchanged penalties throughout the period, but the Phantoms stood strong – particularly McIntyre, who turned away 11 shots in the frame. At the other end of the ice, Zach Fucale worked hard in the crease, and even had to fight off an accidental moment of friendly fire.

Before the period ended, while the Phantoms were on a five-on-three power play, Ryan Fitzgerald potted his fifth goal of the season when he batted in a rebound.

Second Period

The second period had its fair share of excitement as well, as Allison also scored his own first professional goal. Max Willman set him up, and the Flyers prospect ripped a wicked wrister past Fucale to score in his pro debut. 

On a scarier note, toward the end of the period Wyatte Wylie took a puck to the face off a Hershey one-timer and needed assistance from the athletic trainer to get off the ice and down the tunnel for repairs. He did not return for the third period.

Third Period

Hershey worked to mount a comeback in the final frame, but couldn’t muster much in terms of sustained offensive pressure. A string of penalties against the Bears didn’t help their efforts, either.

Isaac Ratcliffe showed some leadership when Garrett Pilon laid a big hit on Cal O’Reilly along the boards and the young forward immediately tangled with him in defense of his captain.

The Phantoms maintained good defensive structure throughout the third period, maintaining solid puck possession and keeping play to the perimeter to protect their three-goal lead.

What’s Next?

Plus / Minus

▲  Tyson Foerster, Zane McIntyre, Derrick Pouliot

▼  Linus Hogberg, Chris Mueller, Maksim Sushko