The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-20-7-3) were back at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for game two Saturday afternoon against the Cleveland Monsters (17-21-6-3). The Phantoms were looking for a different result after losing to the Monsters 2-1 in overtime Friday night.
Pat Nagle (7-0-3) started in goal with Kirill Ustimenko the backup. This was Nagle’s first start since January 29th, before he represented the USA in the Beijing Olympics.
The scratches for the game were Cooper Zech, German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin, Ryan MacKinnon, Adam Johnson, Alex Kile, Sam Ersson, Felix Sandstrom, and Garrett Metcalf.
Unlike last night’s game, both teams spent several minutes in each other’s zones. The Phantoms didn’t register a shot until seven minutes into the first period. Pat Nagle made several terrific sliding saves to keep the game scoreless. With 4:39 left, Cam York left the game after blocking a shot and was holding either his hand or arm as he headed to the locker room.
With 25-seconds left, Lehigh Valley’s defense were chasing the Monsters. Cole Cassels (7) had the puck behind the goal net on the left side, and the Phantoms defense missed Justin Scott (11) cutting across as Cassels sent the puck his way for a one-time blast past Nagle’s left side to take a 1-0 lead.
Tristan Mullin (6) earned the secondary assist. The Phantoms trailed the Monsters 1-0 after one period, with the Monsters having the shot advantage 12-7.
Before the second period started, Cam York returned to the ice. Brennan Saulnier stole the puck less than a minute into the second period, and Matt Strome went with him for a two-on-one situation. Saulnier made a cross-ice pass to Strome for the shot, but Jet Greaves blocked the shot. Strome was frustrated heading to the bench.
After that play, the Monsters were in control of the game, spending much of their time in the Phantoms’ zone. As the Monsters took shots, Pat Nagle did his best to stop them. Unfortunately, the defense did him no favors. The Phantoms were frustrated, and rightfully so.
The referees were missing calls against the Monsters and were having more conversations with no penalties issued to the Monsters. The Phantoms players were frustrated and retaliated. That led to a cross-check on Hayden Hodgson and a Brennan Saulnier high-stick.
Despite both teams chirping at one another, no gloves were dropped. With five seconds left on Cleveland’s power-play, Thomas Schemitsch (11) made a nice backhand pass to Robbie Payne (3) for a slapshot past Pat Nagle’s left shoulder for a 2-0 lead. Cole Cassels (8) earned the secondary assist. After two periods, the Monsters led 2-0 with a 26-16 shot advantage.
Less than a minute into the third period, Wyatte Wiley (4), from the left side, fired the puck past the left shoulder of Jet Greaves, cutting Cleveland’s lead 2-1.
It looked like Hayden Hodgson tipped it, but the goal was given to Wylie. Tanner Laczynski (3) and Cam York (9) assisted Wylie’s goal. After that goal, the Phantoms started to gain momentum.
However, that didn’t last long after Brennan Saulnier was called for high-sticking and issued two ten-minute game misconducts with 12:57 left in the game. For several minutes Ian Lapierre was highly disgusted with the call and let the referees know this.
The Monsters were looking to seal the game early, but Pat Nagle kept making great saves. With 5:33 left, Adam Clendening made a nice pass to Garrett Wilson as he sprinted past Cleveland’s defense and nearly tied the game, but Greaves made a right-pad save.
Pat Nagle was pulled for an extra attacker with less than a minute left in the game. Unfortunately, the Phantoms were unable to tie the game and lost to the Monsters 2-1. Outside of Wylie’s goal, Lehigh Valley’s offense was silent.
The Phantoms finished the game with 25 shots, 0/3 on the power-play, and Pat Nagle made 35 of 37 saves. It was Nagle’s first regular-season loss of the season.
The Phantoms return to the PPL Center to start a three-game homestand beginning Wednesday night against the Providence Bruins at 7:05 pm.
