The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-9-2) were at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday night to take on the Providence Bruins (15-4-6). It was the first of three straight games for the Phantoms. They’ve had success so far against Providence, beating them twice this year.
Since the Phantoms’ last game, they lost Ollie Lycksell to the Flyers. He’s played two games since his call-up. Sam Ersson started in goal. He’s been hot for the Phantoms with an 8-3 record, a 2.17 GAA, and a .927 SV% since November 5th. The scratches for Lehigh Valley were Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Wyatte Wylie.
The Phantoms struck first four minutes and forty-five seconds into the first period. Garrett Wilson (8) had the puck inside the Bruins’ zone. He took a shot that went off the glove of Providence goalie Keith Kinkaid. Then, Kieffer Bellows (3) rebounded the puck and shot it past Kinkaid’s right shoulder and into the net for a 1-0 lead with 15:15 left. Adam Ginning (4) earned the secondary assist.
The Phantoms did a good job for most of the first period. They were hustling toward the puck, disrupting plays, and making good hits on the endboards. Midway through the first period, the Bruins tied the game. Mike Reilly (4) had the puck near the right endboards with a Phantoms player on him. He was able to create some space before taking a shot that was tipped in by Joona Koppanen (2), tying the game 1-1 with 5:53 left. Chris Wagner (1) picked up the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had five chances to get the lead back, including Tyson Foerster’s breakaway late in the first period but Keith Kinkaid stopped his shot. The game remained tied 1-1 after one period, and the shots were tied at 13 apiece.
A minute and sixteen seconds into the second period, the Bruins went on their first power play after Cal O’Reilly was called for tripping. During the Bruins’ power play, Elliot Desnoyers (10) stole the puck and sprinted toward Kinkaid. He scored a shorthanded goal through the five-hole for a 2-1 lead with 17:46 left.
Shortly after the goal, the Phantoms had a chance to extend their lead on back-to-back penalties against the Bruins. However, they were unable to take advantage and were now 0/3. Midway through the second period, Garrett Wilson (tripping) and Linus Hogberg (slashing) put the Bruins on their third power play. The Phantoms had to deal with a five-one-three for two minutes.
The Bruins capitalized on both power plays. First, the Bruins tied the game 2-2 with 8:19 left after Justin Brazeau (5) made a pass in front of Ersson to Fabian Lysell (8), who shot the puck through the five-hole and into the net. Vinni Lettieri (14) earned the secondary assist.
After this, the Bruins went ahead a short time later. On the rush, Jack Ahcan (12) had the puck before they began to set up for a shot opportunity. He passed the puck over to Georgii Merkulov (12). Then, Merkulov made a cross-ice pass to Marc McLaughlin (3) and McLaughlin got the puck over Ersson’s right pad and into the net for a 3-2 lead with 6:54 left.
The Phantoms continued to have trouble staying out of the penalty box as Cooper Marody was the latest Phantom to visit on a high-sticking call. Once again, the Bruins took advantage. Fabian Lysell (11) led the Providence rush into the Phantoms’ zone. Then, he made a nice spinning pass to Samuel Asselin (4) and he fired the puck past Ersson’s left pad and into the net for a 4-2 lead with 2:48 left. Mike Reilly (5) earned the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had a couple of chances late in the second period but the Bruins led 4-2 after two periods. The Phantoms led the shots 22-19. Despite giving up four penalties, the Phantoms remained consistent with their play, forcing the Bruins to get creative which led to those goals.
With their backs against the wall, the Phantoms’ comeback started two minutes and fourteen seconds into the third period. The Phantoms were setting up a shot opportunity inside the Bruins’ zone. Tyson Foerster (11) found Kieffer Bellows (3), who then found Artem Anisimov (6) as Anisimov quickly shot the puck past Kinkaid’s right skate, making it a one-goal game 4-3 with 17:46 left.
In addition to how the Phantoms were playing in the game. One noticeable difference in the third period was they were winning the puck battles off of faceoffs. This led to their game-tying goal midway through the third period.
Elliot Desnoyers (4) won the faceoff battle as Cooper Marody (5) got control of the puck. Then, he passed the puck to Adam Ginning (1) for a thunderous shot through the five-hole, tying the game 4-4 with 8:03 left. It was Ginning’s first career AHL goal.
The Phantoms had numerous chances to end the game but it remained tied 4-4 heading into overtime. The Phantoms were 2-1 in overtime this year.
Two minutes and forty-five seconds into overtime, Luke Toporowski was penalized for closing his hand on the puck. It was the Phantoms’ fifth power play of the night. Just as the power play was set to expire, the Phantoms completed the comeback.
As they were setting up a shot, Kieffer Bellows’s (4) shot hit the stick of Nick Wolff. The puck bounced in the air and as Keith Kinkaid went for a diving save, Artem Anisimov (7) swat it into the net for the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left. The Phantoms won the game 5-4 in overtime and Egor Zamula (3) picked up the secondary assist.
The Phantoms played a great game. Since joining the Phantoms, Artem Anisimov has made a difference for this team. The players are not as disorganized as in previous games before he arrived. Kieffer Bellows is also making a huge contribution to this team. Since joining the Phantoms, he has had three goals and four assists (7 points) in five games. Bellows had a three-point night, and both Anisimov and Adam Ginning had two-point nights.
Tyson Foerster continues his points streak. He now has three goals and four assists (7 points) in the last five games. In addition, the Phantoms remain undefeated against Providence this year.
The Phantoms finished the night with 40 shots, 1/5 on the power play, and Sam Ersson made 24 saves. On the other side, Providence had 28 shots, 2/5 on the power play, and Keith Kinkaid had 35 saves.
The two teams will square off again later tonight from the PPL Center at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
