On Saturday night, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (28-30-15) were on the road for the final time at the Giant Center against the Hershey Bears (34-31-10). This was the 14th and final meeting between these two teams. The Phantoms led the season series 7-6.
The Hershey Bears officially eliminated the Phantoms from the playoffs Friday night with a 4-3 overtime win. The Phantoms’ players were now using these last four games to make a statement heading into next year.
Pat Nagle (9-4-6, 2.59 GAA, .905 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms, with Darion Hanson as the backup. Meanwhile, the Bears started Zach Fucale (11-14-5, 2.64 GAA, .896 SV%). The Phantoms’ scratches for the game were Ryan Fitzgerald, Jackson Cates, Nick Lappin, Will Riedell, Ryan MacKinnon, Hayden Hodgson, Sam Ersson, and Kirill Ustimenko.
There was a lot of end-to-end action, including hits, steals, pushing, shoving, lots of shots hitting the post, and lots of back-and-forth action. The Phantoms’ did not register their first shot until 8:04, left in the first period by Brennan Menell.
The Phantoms’ had two chances on the power-play but could not score. Meanwhile, the Phantoms’ killed three Bears’ power-plays. Phantoms’ goalie Pat Nagle did a good job and stopped all 14 Hershey shots.
After one period, the game was scoreless, and Hershey dominated the shots 14-4. Garrett Wilson was injured in the first period and did not return to the game.
In the second period, Phantoms’ forward Wade Allison tried to go around Dylan McIlrath, but he never got a shot off as he lost his footing and crashed into the goal post.
With 14:43 left, Bears’ defenseman Dylan McIlrath interfered with Max Willman, and no penalty was called. However, Phantoms’ forward Matt Strome hooked Lucas Johansen, and the Bears went on their fourth power-play. The Phantoms killed the power-play, and Hershey was now 3-49 on the power-play against the Phantoms this year.
Both goalies, Phantoms’ Pat Nagle and Bears’ Zach Fucale were stopping every puck that came their way. With 2:41 left, Hershey forward Brett Leason had a breakaway opportunity, but his shot hit the right post. After two periods, the game remained scoreless, and Hershey led the shots 29-11.
A minute into the third period, Lucas Johansen collided with Wyatte Wylie, and both players limped back to their benches and stayed in the game.
With 18:04 left, the Phantoms broke the scoreless tie. Lehigh Valley forward Isaac Ratcliffe had the puck rushing towards the Bears’ zone. He tried to take a shot, but Hershey defenseman Bobby Nardella knocked the puck away from him. Then, the puck touched the stick of Linus Sandin (12) and sat there until Cooper Zech (1) got to it and fired the puck past Fucale’s right side and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
With 16:16 left, Maksim Sushko tripped Garrett Pilon, putting Hershey on their fifth power-play. During the power-play, Phantoms’ forward Adam Johnson had a breakaway opportunity, but Bears’ goalie Zach Fucale left his net and hit Johnson, getting the puck back to Hershey’s possession. The Phantoms killed the power-play, and Hershey was now 0/5.
The Phantoms added another goal with 11:11 left in the game. Phantoms’ forward Logan Day (12) did an excellent job drawing Lucas Johansen away from Linus Sandin (7), leaving him alone. Then, Day passed the puck to Sandin, who fired the puck past Fucale’s right side and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
As time was ticking down, Hershey aggressively tried to get back into the game. Pat Nagle continued to make terrific stops. With 3:02 left, Hershey pulled Fucale for an extra attacker. The Phantoms came close to putting the game away but missed their shots wide. Nevertheless, the Phantoms held on to a 2-0 win.
With the win, the Phantoms win the season series 8-6. Pat Nagle played lights out and was unstoppable. He recorded his second AHL shutout of his career, stopping all 42 shots.
The Phantoms played a well-balanced game and now head back home for the final three games of the regular season. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 20 shots and were 0/3 on the power-play.
Lehigh Valley host the Springfield Thunderbirds on Tuesday at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
