After becoming a dad for the third time, Cal O’Reilly put on a show in front of the home crowd at the PPL Center Sunday evening as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-14-6-2) took on the Hershey Bears (21-12-3-2).
Felix Sandstrom started in goal, and the scratches were Egor Zamula (Illness, non-covid), German Rubtsov (injury), Tyson Foerster (injury), Sam Ersson (injury), and Pat Nagle (Olympics).
The Bears nearly took a 1-0 lead three minutes into the first period; however, Felix Sandstrom swatted the puck away. Both teams were physically hitting each other, while the Phantoms did a good job with puck control and taking shots.
Hayden Hodgson was called for hooking seven minutes into the game, putting the Bears on the power play. During the power-play, Charlie Gerard (3) stole the puck from behind the net and found Cal O’Reilly (7), who buried the shot for a shorthand goal 1-0.
The Phantoms nearly had another shorthanded goal between Linus Sandin and Jackson Cates, but Zach Fucale stopped it. Late in the first period, the Bears made one last push before the first period ended. The Phantoms led 1-0 with an 11-7 shot advantage.
The second period was a tale of two halves. The Phantoms got off to another good start looking for goals. However, by the midway point, the Bears had the momentum.
After Nick Lappin went to the penalty box for holding, the Bears took advantage with Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (15) and Lucas Johansen (9), setting up former Phantom Mike Vecchione (8) from the right point that tied the game 1-1 with 2:04 left in the second period.
After the goal, a fight broke out between Hayden Hodgson and Jake Massie, with Hodgson throwing several left-handed hooks before the refs broke it up. The game remained tied 1-1 after two periods, with the shots even at 18 apiece.
In the third period, the Bears were back in the Phantoms’ zone looking to break the tie. Lucas Johansen’s (10) shot was tipped in by Mike Vecchione (9) for his second goal of the game for a 2-1 lead with 13:15 left in the game. Brian Pinho (6) earned the secondary assists.
When the Bears returned to the Phantoms’ zone, the Phantoms’ defense was out for so long they were out of gas and needed a change badly. They were able to get the puck out of the zone for a line change. A delay of game penalty against Adam Clendening put the Bears on the power-play for the fifth time.
However, Linus Sandin (5) got a hold of the puck from behind the net and found a charging Cal O’Reilly (8) with a backhand shorthanded goal to the top of the right side that tied the game 2-2 with 7:46 left in the third period. The Phantoms had new life, and Linus Hogberg (5) earned the secondary assist on O’Reilly’s goal.
Two minutes later, the Phantoms were on the attack when Jackson Cates (6) took a shot that Garrett Wilson (9) tried to squeeze in, but the puck hit the right pad of Zach Fucale, and Linus Sandin (6) finished down low to put the Phantoms back in the lead 3-2.
With 1:15 left, the Bears pulled Fucale for an extra attacker. However, Felix Sandstrom made several great saves as time expired for a 3-2 Phantoms win. The Phantoms defeated two first-place teams in back-to-back games and went 2-1 for the weekend.
The Phantoms finished the evening with 22 shots, 0/2 on the power-play, and Felix Sandstrom made 26 of 28 saves.
The Phantoms are back on the road Wednesday, February 2nd, against the Bridgeport Islanders at 10:30 am.
