The Lehigh Valley Phantoms were at the Giant Center for their third preseason game Sunday afternoon against the Hershey Bears.
The Bears struck first at 7:11 in the first period on a power-play goal by center Mike Sgarbossa (1) for a 1-0 lead. Cody Franson (1) and Mike Vecchione (1) assisted Sgarbossa’s goal.
Midway through the first period, the Bears tacked on another 2-0 from defensemen Dylan McIlrath (1) with assists from Mason Morelli (2) and Joe Snively (2). Thus, the Bears led 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Phantoms only had one shot in the first period. Meanwhile, the Bears had 22 shots.
In the second period, the Bears added to their lead 3-0 by defensemen Eddie Wittchow (3). Shane Gersich (1) and Ben Hawerchuk (2) assisted Wittchow’s goal.
The Phantoms cut the Bears lead 3-1 on a goal by Wyatte Wylie (1) with under two minutes left in the second period. Assisting the goal were Connor Bunnaman (1) and Isaac Ratcliffe (2). The game remained 3-1 after two periods.
Then, in the third period, the Phantoms caught a break when two Bears were penalized, giving them a five-on-three. They capitalized on the power-play with Linus Sandin (1), scoring the goal that made it 3-2. Tyson Foerster (2) and Gerry Mayhew (1) assisted the goal. Unfortunately, the Phantoms were unable to tie the game and would lose 3-2 to the Bears. The Phantoms had four shots in the third period.
The shots were 36-12 for the Bears. Phantoms goalkeeper Felix Sandstrom made 28 saves, while backup Samuel Ersson had five saves.
The Phantoms wrap up the preseason from the PPL Center on Wednesday at 7:05 pm.
