Phantoms Lineup

Ryan Fitzgerald – Cal O’Reilly – Zayde Wisdom

Max Willman – Chris Mueller – Pascal Laberge

Garrett Wilson – David Kase – Maksim Sushko

Matthew Strome – Tanner MacMaster – Ralph Cuddemi

Egor Zamula – Linus Hogberg

Tyler Wotherspoon – Wyatte Wylie

Mason Millman – Logan Day

Zane McIntyre – Eamon McAdam

Brennan Saulnier, Linus Sandin, Chris Bigras

Tyson Foerster (fractured shin bone), Tanner Laczynski (groin)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

The Phantoms have played two games so far this season, and in both instances extra minutes were needed to determine the outcome. They won the first one, and lost on Wednesday’s game against the Binghamton Devils.  So today, on Valentine’s Day, as Lehigh Valley traveled to the town commonly known as “the sweetest place on Earth”, could the Phantoms get back in the win column, and in regulation for the first time, when they took on the Hershey Bears?

First Period

It didn’t take long for the Bears to put an early stamp on the score board, when Joe Snively scored on the first shot of the first shift of the game, just 16 seconds after opening faceoff. But unlike the first time they faced this opponent, the Phantoms didn’t let that goal stifle them. 

In fact, Lehigh Valley soon tied the game when Garrett Wilson got the puck to David Kase below the goal line, who then dished the puck out in front for Logan Day. Day put the puck past Ilya Samsonov blocker side. Samsonov had been assigned to Hershey earlier in the day from the Capitals, as he works to return to the NHL after contracting COVID-19 in mid-January.

Late in the period, after the Phantoms finished the first power play of the game, it looked like the teams would head to intermission tied at 1-1. But with just 25 seconds left in the frame, rookie Zayde Wisdom was finally rewarded for his consistent presence in front of the net. Kase earned his second assist of the day on the goal.

Second Period

The scoring continued for the Phantoms in the second period, when Day got his first assist of the game feeding the puck across the ice to Matthew Strome. The pass fooled Samsonov, expecting Day to shoot the puck, and Strome buried the puck back door into a yawning net.

But the Bears aren’t that easy to put away. They rallied with two goals of their own, just minutes apart, to bring the score even again at 3-3. First it was Cameron Schilling who snuck the puck through Zane McIntyre five-hole, followed by Mike Sgarbossa with his second goal of the season, the result of a quick give-and-go off a feed from Martin Fehervary.

Third Period

The scoring continued for Hershey in the third when Rob O’Gara potted an unlikely goal from the far side to give the Bears the lead for the first time since the opening goal.

But young Wisdom took matters into his own hands yet again, bringing the score even at 4-4 when O’Gara coughed up the puck in the defensive zone and Wisdom wristed the puck right past Samsonov.

For the third time this season, it meant the Phantoms would go to overtime, and for the second time against Hershey they came out on top. It was Wisdom who set up Kase to put home the game winner in one of the most exciting games Lehigh Valley has played in this short season.

What’s Next?

Despite having players sidelined with injury or called up to Philadelphia’s taxi squad, the Phantoms have found a way to get at least one point in each of their three games so far this year. That’s a testament to the resilience of Scott Gordon‘s young team. If they can get guys healthy, and start generating some scoring on the power play (which hasn’t yet produced a goal), the Phantoms could have a dangerous team this year.

Lehigh Valley plays one more road game, Friday against Binghamton, before hosting the Devils at the PPL Center for their home opener on Saturday night.

Plus / Minus

▲  David Kase, Zayde Wisdom, Logan Day, Wyatte Wylie

▼  Linus Hogberg, Pascal Laberge