The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-10-3) returned to the Giant Center for the third time on Sunday afternoon against the first-place Hershey Bears (18-6-3). The Phantoms are winless against Hershey in their third meeting. The last time these two teams played each other was on November 30th, in a Hershey 4-2 win at the PPL Center.
The Phantoms got some of their firepower back. After the Flyers’ 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night, they sent forwards Kieffer Bellows and Olle Lycksell back to the Phantoms. Bellows came into this game with seven points in the last five games, and Lycksell has four points in the last two games.
Both players were inserted into the starting lineup. Lycksell was on the first line and Bellows on the second line. There is a chance they could be recalled before the Flyers’ next game on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Sam Ersson (9-7-1, 2.58 GAA, .915 SV%) got the start in goal with Nolan Maier as the backup. The scratches for the Phantoms were Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Wyatte Wylie.
A minute and thirty-seven seconds into the first period, Hershey went on their first power play on a holding call by Elliot Desnoyers. The Phantoms killed the power play and Hershey went 0/1. Hershey did a good job winning the puck battles and forcing turnovers which led to them scoring the first goal of the game.
Hershey was setting up a shot opportunity inside the Phantoms’ zone and Aaron Ness (2) made a hard slapshot past Ersson’s left skate and into the net. The Bears led 1-0 with 10:09 left. Riley Sutter (3) assisted Ness’s goal.
Later in the first period, Hershey almost added another goal when Mason Morelli tried the backhand shot but Sam Ersson made the save. The Phantoms got off to a slow start early in the first period. They were disorganized and outplayed by Hershey.
As the first period went along, they got better, especially in the last three minutes. Lehigh Valley did not score a goal but had some momentum heading into the second period.
Hershey led 1-0 after one period and led the shots 9-7. There was a lot of pushing, shoving, and a couple of fights between Adam Ginning and Riley Sutter. The second fight was between Jordy Bellerive and Aaron Ness after the period ended.
A minute and seven seconds into the second period, the Phantoms went on their first power play on a tripping call against Connor McMichael. Forty-three seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game. Egor Zamula (4) had the puck looking for an opening. He took the shot that was tipped in by Artem Anisimov (8) through the five-hole. The score was 1-1 with 18:10 left.
The Phantoms were dominating in the second period. They forced turnovers, disrupting plays and everyone was covering their guy. Later in the second period, Adam Brooks went to the penalty box for a delay of game penalty.
The penalty did not stop the Phantoms. During Hershey’s power play, Jordy Bellerive (2) tipped a Hershey pass and sprinted toward Clay Stevenson. He fired the puck through the five-hole and into the net for a 2-1 lead with 9:59 left. It was the Phantoms’ fourth shorthanded goal of the year.
However, 33 seconds later, Hershey tied the game. They generated a rush before the Hershey players began to set up for a shot opportunity. Henrik Borgstrom (7) went right at Ersson before making a cross-ice pass to Hendrix Lapierre (8). Lapierre had a slight opening in front of him to get the puck past Ersson’s left skate and into the net. The score was now 2-2 with 9:26 left. Sam Anas (8) picked up the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had three shots for the rest of the second period whereas Hershey had four shots. The game remained tied 2-2 after two periods. The Phantoms led the shots 19-13. This was a good period for the Phantoms. They had 12 shots in the second period.
However, they got called for three penalties and should’ve had a fourth against them when Louie Belpedio got an extra punch in on Henrik Borgstrom and the refs did not see it. The battles that the Phantoms were choosing to engage in were not smart. It only fueled Hershey going into the third period.
Twelve seconds into the third period, Hershey almost took the lead by Ethen Frank but Sam Ersson made the save. Hershey had seven shots in the first seven minutes of the third period, while Lehigh Valley had two.
Midway through the third period, the Phantoms regained the lead. Once again, it was Jordy Bellerive (3). He had the puck and initially took a shot. Afterward, he rebounded the puck and shot it again. This time, it went off the left leg of Gabriel Carlsson and past the right skate of Clay Stevenson, and into the net. The Phantoms led 3-2 with 10:32 left.
Like a flick of a light switch, Hershey went on a tear and the Phantoms fell apart. First, Mike Sgarbossa (10) tied the game for Hershey 3-3 when he shot the puck past Ersson’s right skate with 6:01 left. Ethen Frank (8) and Dylan McIlrath (6) assisted his goal.
Less than a minute later, Hershey went ahead. A bad turnover by the Phantoms led to Henrik Borgstrom (8) stealing the puck. He passed it to Connor McMichael (5) and he shot it over Ersson’s glove and into the net. The score was 4-3 with 5:31 left.
Finally, former Phantom Mike Vecchione (11) put the final nail in the coffin with 4:11 left. Mike Sgarbossa’s (11) shot went off of a Phantoms player before Vecchione rebounded the puck and put it past Ersson’s left skate and into the net. The score was now 5-3 Hershey.
The Phantoms pulled Ersson to try and get back into the game. Unfortunately, a slashing call against Tyson Forester ended that chance. Hershey took control of the puck to run out the clock and beat the Phantoms by the final score of 5-3.
The Phantoms remain winless against Hershey this year. They played a good game despite some minor hiccups. It was nice to see Jordy Bellerive have a good game scoring two goals.
Meanwhile, Artem Anisimov now has eight goals and three assists (11 points) in ten games. That is terrific. If he keeps this up, he is going to get another opportunity in the NHL. The Phantoms end the weekend with a 1-2 record.
The Phantoms finished the afternoon with 28 shots, one-for-two on the power play, and Sam Ersson made 24 saves. On the other side, Hershey had 29 shots, one-for-five on the power play, and Clay Stevenson made 25 saves.
The Phantoms will get another crack at the Bears this coming Wednesday from the PPL Center at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
