On Sunday afternoon at PPL Center, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-1-1) took on the Cleveland Monsters (3-2) in the final game of the weekend doubleheader.
Before the game started, the Philadelphia Flyers loaned forward Jackson Cates to Lehigh Valley, and was in the lineup. Troy Grosenick started in goal, and the scratches for the game were Adam Karashik, Cooper Zech, Ryan Fitzgerald, Adam Brooks, Cooper Marody, and Charlie Gerard.
In the first period, Max Willman and Jordy Bellerive got a couple of good chances to score but Jet Greaves stopped them. Cleveland had four straight shots which Troy Grosenick denied. After this, Phantoms’ forward Isaac Ratcliffe headed to the penalty box for a check to the head, putting Cleveland on the power play.
During the power play, Cleveland took a 1-0 lead with 11:36 left when Trey Fix-Wolansky (2) blasted the shot from the left circle over the right shoulder of Troy Grosenick and into the net. Gavin Bayreuther (3) and Jake Christiansen (3) assisted Wolansky’s goal.
Then, the Phantoms responded two minutes later. On the rush, Alex Kile (1) had the puck and was pushed up against the boards, but made a pass to Max Willman. Furthermore, Willman (2) made a backhand pass to Ronnie Attard (1), who charged his way to the front before shooting the puck under the five-hole of Jet Greaves, tying the game 1-1 with 4:51 left.
Four minutes later, the Phantoms went on their first power play after Billy Sweezey was called for hooking. Afterward, the Phantoms took advantage when Ronnie Attard (2) shot the puck that was redirected off the stick of Monsters’ forward Justin Richards, and over the right pad of Greaves, giving Lehigh Valley a 2-1 lead with 3:03 left. Jordy Bellerive (2) and Olle Lycksell (2) assisted Attard’s goal. The Phantoms led 2-1 after one period, but Cleveland led the shots 9-8.
In the second period, Cleveland came right out of the gate with five straight shots all stopped by Troy Grosenick. Then, Cleveland went on their second power play after Tyson Foerster was called for slashing.
Eight seconds later, Cleveland tied it up 2-2 when Carson Meyer (4) whiffled the shot, and the puck headed to Brendan Gaunce (3) as he shot over the glove of Grosenick, and into the net with 15:22 left. Emil Bemstrom (4) picked up the secondary assist. It was the second power-play goal for Cleveland.
However, less than a minute later, the Phantoms went on their second power play on a delay-of-game call against Billy Sweezey. On the power play, Lehigh Valley defenseman Cam York (3) shot the puck off the boards, and into the direction of Garrett Wilson (1), who quickly retrieved it and put it into the net for a 3-2 lead with 13:53 left. Cal O’Reilly (1) picked up the secondary assist.
Moving ahead late in the second period, Phantoms’ forward Hayden Hodgson headed to the penalty box for slashing. After this, the Monsters scored with eight seconds left on the rush as Kirill Marchenko (3) quickly made a pass to Carson Meyer (2) shooting top shelf over the left shoulder of Grosenick, tying the game 3-3. David Jiricek (4) picked up the secondary assist. The Phantoms were late in getting their defense back, leading to the goal. The game remained tied 3-3, and the shots were 27-17 Monsters.
Twenty-nine seconds into the third period, the Phantoms got the lead back when Garrett Wilson (3) made a long backhand pass to Tyson Foerster (1) as Foerster turned on the jets, spun around, and shot the puck past the right side of Jet Greaves for a 4-3 lead. Wilson did a great job spotting Foerster which led to the goal.
Later in the third period, Adam Ginning was called for a delay of game. However, while the Monsters were setting up, Ronnie Attard stole the puck for a shorthand breakaway, but missed the shot, only for Max Willman to come in and clean it up over the right pad of Greaves for a 5-3 lead with 14:38 left. It was a terrific play by the Phantoms.
Last but not least, the Monsters made it a one-goal game 5-4 on the rush when Justin Richards (3) attempted a pass that deflected off the stick of Cal O’Reilly, but Trey Fix-Wolansky (3) batted the puck in the air and into the net. Emil Bemstrom (5) got the secondary assist.
With less than two minutes left, Cleveland pulled their goalie, and the Phantoms held on to a 5-4 win, splitting the weekend series. The shots were 43-29.
The Phantoms played a terrific game. Troy Grosenick was outstanding, making 39 saves, while the Phantoms had 29 shots, and 2/6 on the power play. Meanwhile, the Monsters had 43 shots, 3/6 on the power play, and Jet Greaves made 24 saves.
The Phantoms are back in action next Friday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from the PPL Center at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
