Phantoms Lineup

Ryan Fitzgerald – Cal O’Reilly – Zayde Wisdom

Max Willman – Chris Mueller – Linus Sandin

Garrett Wilson – Tanner Laczynski – Pascal Laberge

Ralph Cuddemi – Tanner MacMaster – Brennan Saulnier

Egor Zamula – Linus Hogberg

Tyler Wotherspoon – Wyatte Wylie

Mason Millman – Logan Day

Zane McIntyre – Eamon McAdam

Brennan Saulnier, Chris Bigras

Tyson Foerster (fractured shin bone), Kirill Ustimenko (hip surgery)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

In a season of never-ending changes (just ask the Philadelphia Flyers who will now play their outdoor game under the lights in Lake Tahoe) the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were subject to yet another schedule change this week when their Friday night game in Binghamton was postponed. The reason? With so many players on the Flyers roster out due to COVID-19 protocols, the Phantoms roster had been depleted with callups and lagging injuries. The game will now be played on Wednesday, February 24th.

But one thing that didn’t change was the home opener tonight for the Phantoms, as they finally took to the ice at the PPL Center, and even had a few hundred fans in attendance. Tanner Laczynski and Linus Sandin returned from injury to round out the Lehigh Valley lineup.

First Period

The Phantoms looked energized to begin the game, putting up 13 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes. Laczynski wasted no time getting back to work, putting a puck on Gilles Senn in the opening minutes that the Binghamton netminder was able to cover.

Young Zayde Wisdom also had a good centering pass setup for Ryan Fitzgerald that couldn’t get through, and Egor Zamula rang a shot off the post early on. The Phantoms were buzzing.

Just over five minutes into the frame Fitzgerald dished the puck out in front and captain Cal O’Reilly quickly snapped a shot that trickled through Senn for Wisdom to tap in for the first Phantoms home goal of the season.

With a commanding 9-1 shot lead at the midway point of the period, the penalties started for both teams. Former Phantom Danick Martel headed to the box for roughing when he put a hard hit on Mason Millman in open ice that left the defenseman slow to get up. He seemed to be okay when he got back to the bench, thankfully, but the Phantoms were unable to get their first power play goal of the year.

Logan Day then took two consecutive penalties, for high-sticking and delay of game, but Lehigh Valley killed them both off. Day then had a good scoring chance when he jumped out of the box and picked up the puck, dangled through the slot, and got a shot off. Senn was still up to the task, though, and kept the game at 1-0 for the Phantoms.

Second Period

If the first period was a dominant performance by the Phantoms, then the second period just built on that. Lehigh Valley controlled the puck, the pace, the play, and Binghamton simply did their best to keep up.

Max Willman, who has one assist on the season so far, gave the Phantoms a two-goal lead when he fired a laser of a wrister from the top of the circle. Then Wisdom, on the power play, snapped off a quick shot from the low slot for his second of the night.

That goal would mark Wisdom’s second consecutive two-goal night, Lehigh Valley’s first power play goal of the season, and would catapult him into an eight-way tie for the league lead in goals scored.

Third Period

In the third period, Binghamton’s frustrations started to show as scrums began to pile up after whistles, and guys showed more of an edge in their hits and checks.

A few roughing penalties were handed out, as well as a boarding call on Martel, and the two teams even found themselves playing four-on-four hockey for a bit. 

But the one thing that didn’t change was the score. The Devils couldn’t figure out a way to beat Zane McIntyre, who looked very strong in net especially when the penalties started to pile up for the Phantoms toward the end of the game.

What’s Next?

For the first time this season, the Phantoms did not need extra minutes to determine the outcome of a game, and now boast a 3-0-1-0 record to start the season. They’ll have a few days of practice before heading to New Jersey on Wednesday to play the Devils once again. They’ll play three games in four days next week, with a home-and-home with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday and Saturday.

Be sure to scroll down to hear full post-game audio from our AHL Report team and other media members as they interview Wisdom, Willman, and Gordon.

Plus / Minus

▲  Zayde Wisdom, Linus Sandin, Tanner Laczynski, Max Willman, Zane McIntyre

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