On Saturday afternoon at the Place Bell, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-5-1) concluded its trip north of the border against the Laval Rockets. In addition, the Phantoms were wrapping up a three-game road trip.
Sam Ersson got the start in goal for the second straight game with Pat Nagle backing him up. Troy Grosenick was scratched with a minor injury. He joined Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, Adam Brooks, Cooper Marody, and Adam Ginning.
Early in the first period, Max Willman had a couple of opportunities to put the Phantoms on the board, including a breakaway but Laval goalie Kevin Poulin stopped him.
The majority of the first period was highlighted by great goaltending from both teams. Kevin Poulin robbed Cam York’s shot with a full extension of his body to make a great glove save, while Sam Ersson stopped five shots.
Midway through the first period, the Phantoms went on their first power play after Jesse Ylönen tripped Olle Lycksell. After that, the Phantoms took a 1-0 lead on the power play after Tyson Foerster (4) made a cross-ice pass to Cal O’Reilly for a one-time shot through the five-hole with 8:06 left. Cam York (4) picked up the secondary assists.
Late in the first period, the Phantoms went on their second power play on a holding call against Lucas Condotta. However, the Phantoms were unable to capitalize on the man advantage. The Phantoms led 1-0 after one period and dominated the shots 18-9. Besides the great play on offense, the Phantoms did not commit a penalty, which was huge compared to Friday night’s game.
In the second period, both offenses generated chances but both goalies continued to steal the show. Midway through the second period, Laval went on the power play after Linus Hogberg was called for kneeing. However, the Phantoms’ defense held its own and the Rockets were unable to take advantage of the power play.
Late in the second period, Laval’s offense picked up and was able to tie the game 1-1 with 3:48 left when Anthony Richard (4) made a pass from the backboards to Peter Abbandonato (2) for a high shot over Ersson’s right shoulder and in for the goal. Mattias Norlinder (5) earned the secondary assist.
Not to be outdone, the Phantoms responded a minute later in a two-on-one play. Zayde Wisdom (3) got control of the puck with Olle Lycksell (2) skating with him. Then, in a brilliant move by Wisdom, he timed the pass perfectly as Corey Schueneman went low for the block, and Wisdom at the last second made the pass to Lycksell with an empty net in front of him for the goal. Jackson Cates (1) picked up the secondary assist and the Phantoms retook a 2-1 lead with 2:12 left.
The Phantoms led 2-1 after two periods. The shots in the second period were 12-9 Laval, but the Phantoms continued to lead the overall shots 27-21.
In the third period, Laval’s offense was creating shot opportunities. The Phantoms’ defense were unable to keep up at times, and every time Lehigh Valley’s offense got the puck, Laval quickly took it away.
Midway through the third period, Laval tied the game 2-2 after Anthony Richard (6) had a breakaway opportunity and jammed the puck through the five-hole and into the net. Danick Martel (5) and Peter Abbandonato (3) assisted Richard’s goal.
Late in the third period, the Phantoms’ offense had four chances to end the game, but Rocket’s goalie Kevin Poulin denied their shots. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the overtime, and the Phantoms led the shots 37-36.
This was the third time this season that the Phantoms played in overtime. In addition to not committing too many penalties, the Phantoms were winning the faceoff battles which was encouraging to see.
Two minutes and thirty seconds into overtime, the Phantoms went on their third power play of the game after Nicolas Beaudin tripped Olle Lycksell. Fourteen seconds later, Cal O’Reilly (3) made a no-look backhand pass to Cam York (2) for a one-timer through the five-hole to give the Phantoms a 3-2 win and ended a two-game losing streak.
The Phantoms finished the afternoon with 39 shots, two-for-three on the power play, and Sam Ersson picked up his first win of the season with 35 saves. Meanwhile, Laval had 37 shots, zero-for-two on the power play, and Kevin Poulin made 36 saves.
The Phantoms return to the PPL Center to begin a two-game homestand starting next Friday against the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
