On Saturday night, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-23-7-3) wrapped up a three-game homestand with game two against the Charlotte Checkers (29-21-3). The Phantoms were looking for better results after losing to the Checkers 5-2 Friday night for their fourth straight loss.
Earlier today, Wade Allison was activated and loaned to Lehigh Valley. However, he was not in the lineup, and Kirill Ustimenko was loaned to the Reading Royals.
Meanwhile, Cooper Zech, Tanner Laczynski, Brennan Saulnier, and Nick Lappin were in the lineup tonight. Maksim Sushko, German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin, and Logan Day were out.
Pat Nagle started in goal with Felix Sandstrom as the backup. Joey Daccord was in goal for the Charlotte Checkers. The scratches for the game were Maksim Sushko, German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin, Logan Day, Sam Ersson, Hayden Hodgson, Alex Kile, and Tyson Foerster.
Neither team had registered a shot in the game’s first five minutes in the first period. With 15:47 left, the Phantoms made their first shot on goal. Isaac Ratcliffe got caught with a hook at 5:28, putting the Checkers on the power-play.
Charlotte capitalized with 13:26 left when Owen Tippett (2) shot the puck top shelf over the right shoulder of Pat Nagle into the net for a 1-0 lead. Kole Lind (18) and Cale Fleury (21) assisted the goal. It was also Charlotte’s second shot of the game.
Less than a minute after the first goal, the Checkers were on the rush as Henry Bowlby (13) made a nice backhand pass to Dennis Cholowski (3) for a one-time blast over the left shoulder of Nagle into the net for a 2-0 lead with 12:32 left in the first period.
Lehigh Valley’s defense were pulling double duty, positing themselves near the blue line to help the offense with scoring chances. However, they had to rush back to their zone to prevent the Checkers from doing more damage. The Phantoms were getting opportunities to score but constantly missed their shots wide and nowhere near the net.
The Phantoms went on their second power-play with 6:33 left on a cross-checking call against Jacob Friend. Unfortunately, the power-play didn’t last long.
With 4:46 left, Isaac Ratcliffe and Zac Dalpe exchanged punches. Ratcliffe was called for fighting (5 minutes) and slashing (2 minutes). Charlie Gerard served the Ratcliffe fighting penalty. Luckily, the Phantoms killed the power-play. After one period, the Phantoms trailed the Charlotte Checkers 2-0 and led the shots 9-3.
Less than a minute into the second period, Garrett Wilson checked Kole Lind and was called for interference, putting the Checkers on the power-play for the third time.
However, during the power-play, Jackson Cates got the puck and hustled towards Joey Daccord but got shoved from behind by Lind and went straight into the boards headfirst and was down. No penalty was called on Lind.
Cates was put on a stretcher and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd before being taken to the hospital. There was no update on Cates for the rest of the game. Shortly after play resumed, the Checkers rushed towards the Phantoms’ zone.
With 18:03 left, Alexander True (20) skated on the right side and cut across for the shot, but Nagle could not cover it up and slid out of his net before Chase Priskie (6) finished the play with a backhand shot into the net for a 3-0 lead.
After that goal, Felix Sandstrom replaced Nagle. With 16:17 left, Owen Tippett (8) skated around four Lehigh Valley players and found Kole Lind (17) for a slapshot past Sandstrom’s right side into the net for a 4-0 lead.
This was déjà vu all over again for Lehigh Valley. The Phantoms had a couple of chances on the power-play but could not score. Like last night’s game, they were being outplayed and outmatched.
Late in the second period, Adam Clendening was called for slashing, putting the Checkers on the power-play for the fifth time. They had 20-seconds left of power-play after two periods up 4-0.
The shots were 22-12 Phantoms. However, good teams with 22 shots should have four or five goals. The Phantoms didn’t have any goals, while the Checkers had 12 shots and four goals.
The Phantoms killed the Checkers’ power-play in the third period. With 17:42 left, the Phantoms were threatening the Checkers zone when Cal O’Reilly (13) made a no-look backhand shot into the top center shelf, ending the shutout 4-1. Tanner Laczynski (4) and Adam Johnson (6) assisted O’Reilly’s goal.
Then with 13:13 left, the Checkers got the goal back when Logan Hutsko (24) got the puck and skated with Alexander True (21). Egor Zamula was left to defend Sandstrom. Alexander True took a shot that Sandstrom blocked, but Carter Robertson (1) came from behind and flipped the puck into the net over Sandstrom’s right side for a 5-1 lead.
The Phantoms, with 11:14 left, made another rush attempt with Wyatte Wylie (12) controlling the puck. He took a shot that was tipped in by Morgan Frost (6), cutting Charlotte’s lead 5-2. Garrett Wilson (15) earned the secondary assists.
Lehigh Valley made a couple more attempts to score but were unable to. As a result, the Checkers defeated the Phantoms 5-2. It is Lehigh Valley’s fifth straight loss.
This was another poor showing for the Phantoms. However, when you don’t see players and coaches communicating with each other, you will not win any game.
They finished the game with 35 shots compared to Charlotte’s 19. They went 0/3 on the power-play, and Pat Nagle made two of five saves, while Felix Sandstrom made 12 of 14 saves.
The Phantoms will look to end their five-game losing streak Tuesday night against the Hershey Bears from the Giant Center at 7 pm.
