The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (8-6-2) returned to the PPL Center on Saturday night after a four-game road trip taking on the Rochester Americans (10-6-2). Lehigh Valley came into this game on a two-game losing streak but made a statement in this game.
There was one lineup change before the game as Adam Ginning replaced Wyatte Wylie. In addition, Cooper Marody and Sam Ersson remained out with the flu. They joined Adam Karashik, Linus Hogberg, Adam Brooks, Hayden Hodgson, and Troy Grosenick on the scratch list. Nolan Maier started in goal making his AHL debut.
The Phantoms came right out of the gate in the first period with five shots before Charlie Gerard went to the penalty box for high-sticking. Rochester took advantage 15 seconds later off the faceoff when Jiri Kulich (4) shot the puck over Maier’s right shoulder for a 1-0 lead with 16:40 left. Brett Murray (6) and Lukas Rousek (9) assisted Kulich’s goal.
Then, the Phantoms began to attack the Americans’ zone. Lehigh Valley had two chances to tie the game. While they missed both of those shots, the Phantoms kept aggressively getting to the puck. When they were setting up for a shot, Kevin Connauton (1) fired the puck from the right circle that was tipped in by Tyson Foerster (5) past Michael Houser’s left skate and into the net, tying the game 1-1 with 11:56 left. Artem Anisimov (1) picked up the secondary assist.
Midway through the first period, the Phantoms went on their first power play after Kale Clague was called for tripping. During the power play, the Phantoms were setting up a shot opportunity. Olle Lycksell (6) passed the puck over to Artem Anisimov (1), who skated toward Houser and then he flicked the puck over his right shoulder to give the Phantoms a 2-1 lead with 5:56 left. It was Anisimov’s first AHL goal in 13 years. Louie Belpedio (4) picked up the secondary assist.
For the rest of the first period, the Phantoms had five chances to extend their lead but time ran out, and they led 2-1 after one period. The shots were 18-4 Phantoms. They did a stellar job at hustling for the puck, creating turnovers, and breaking Rochester drives.
The Phantoms did not let up in the second period. After Brendan Warren went to the penalty box for slashing, the Phantoms added another goal. As the Phantoms were setting up for a shot, Cam York (9) passed the puck over to Olle Lycksell (3). Lycksell took a shot that hit just under the crossbar, followed by the upper back bar before bouncing out.
While that happened, the horn sounded and play was stopped. The refs went over to review the play and after several minutes, they determined it was a good goal and the Phantoms extended their lead to 3-1 with 9:43 left. Louie Belpedio (5) picked up the secondary assist.
Three minutes later, Olle Lycksell (7) intercepted the puck and rushed to the Americans’ zone. He let the Rochester players come to him before making a cross-ice pass to Artem Anisimov (2) who chipped the puck through the five-hole for a 4-1 lead with 6:41. At that point, the Phantoms were dominating the shots 33-7 in an explosion of effort.
Late in the second period, Tyson Foerster stole the puck and had a breakaway opportunity but could not finish the play. The Phantoms led 4-1 after two periods along with dominating the shots 35-7.
Four minutes and fifty seconds into the third period, Olle Lycksell (8) skated with two Rochester players on him before making a backhand pass to Elliot Desnoyers (7) who unleashed a one-time thundering shot through the five-hole and into the net for a 5-1 lead with 15:10 left. Kevin Connauton (2) picked up the secondary assist.
Afterward, the Phantoms did let up a bit as Rochester was generating chances but Nolan Maier was making some good saves. When the Phantoms got the puck, they were skating around with it taking time off the clock. Then, with 3:30 left, Garrett Wilson and Brandon Davidson dropped the gloves and threw punches before both players were sent to their locker rooms.
Rochester had two chances to add another goal but the Phantoms got a hold of the puck and killed what time was left and won the game 5-1. This was their best performance so far this season, especially for Olle Lycksell, who had a four-point game.
The Phantoms finished the night with 40 shots, 2/2 on the power play, and Nolan Maier picked up his first AHL win with 14 saves. On the other side, the Americans had 15 shots, 1/3 on the power play, and Michael Houser made 35 saves.
The Phantoms’ next game will be on Wednesday against the Hershey Bears at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
