The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-11-3) returned from the holiday break on Wednesday night. They took on a slumping Bridgeport Islanders (14-10-6) from the PPL Center. This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams. The Islanders won their first meeting on October 29th.
The Phantoms came into this game 5-4-1 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Islanders were coming off a five-game losing streak and were 2-7-1 in their last ten games. However, they have lost players along the way due to either injury or call-up.
Hours before game time, the Phantoms lost forward Olle Lycksell as he was recalled up to the Flyers. In addition, forward Max Willman was placed on waivers with the purpose of being re-assigned to Lehigh Valley. There is a chance Willman could get claimed and not go to Lehigh Valley tomorrow.
Nolan Maier (2-0-1, 2.58 GAA, .882 SV%) started in goal with Pat Nagle as the backup. The scratches for the game are Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Mason Millman, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Garrett Wilson.
A minute and thirty-five seconds into the first period. The Phantoms went on their first power-play of the game on a holding call against Chris Terry. The Phantoms had a couple of chances to score on the power play but came away empty-handed. The Phantoms’ offense kept pounding the Islanders’ zone and scored a minute and six seconds later after the power play.
Adam Ginning (7) led the Phantoms’ rush up to the Islanders’ zone. After his shot was blocked by Ken Appleby. Adam Brooks (3) retrieved the puck behind the goal net. Then, he found Zayde Wisdom (1) and Wisdom shot the puck over Appleby’s left shoulder and into the net. The Phantoms led 1-0 with 15:31 left.
Neither team registered a shot for over six minutes until the Islanders tied the game. Bridgeport went into the Phantoms’ zone. Cole Bardreau (6) made a pass to William Dufour (11). Dufour fought off a couple of Phantoms players before initially taking a shot that went off of Maier’s right pad. However, he retrieved it and got the puck past Maier’s left skate and into the net. The score was 1-1 with 9:41 left.
Two minutes and two seconds later, the Islanders took the lead. Kieffer Bellows got whacked twice, including a high-stick by Ruslan Iskhakov and no call was made. It was one of several calls the refs missed in this game.
Bridgeport rushed up toward the Phantoms’ zone. As they were setting up for a shot opportunity, Ruslan Iskhakov (13) passed the puck to Andy Andreoff (11). Andreoff fired the puck that was tipped in by Samuel Bolduc (6) through the five-hole and into the net. The score was now 2-1 Islanders with 7:39 left.
Late in the first period, the Phantoms went on their second power-play of the game on a high-sticking call against Arnaud Durandeau. Unfortunately, the Phantoms did not get a shot off and went 0/2. They were hesitant to shoot the puck and kept passing it around hoping for a shot but it did not come to fruition.
With two seconds left, Elliot Desnoyers nearly put the Phantoms back on top when he tried a wrap-around but he ran out of time. The game remained tied 1-1 after one period. Bridgeport led the shots 8-4. It was a good period for the Phantoms but there were some small glitches. Bridgeport had too many shooting opportunities, and Lehigh Valley stood around waiting for the puck to come to them instead of going toward it.
Six minutes and twenty-four seconds into the second period. The Phantoms went on their third power-play after Paul Thompson tripped Cal O’Reilly. A minute and eleven seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game.
After Elliot Desnoyers (12) passed the puck to Artem Anisimov (4). Anisimov patiently waited for a shot opportunity but instead gave it back to Desnoyers. Desnoyers got the puck past Appleby’s left stake and into the net for the power-play goal. The score was now 2-2 with 12:25 left. Kieffer Bellows (6) picked up the secondary assist.
Fourteen seconds later, Bridgeport regained the lead. Chris Terry (8) made a backhand shot over Maier’s right pad and into the net for a 3-2 lead with 12:11 left. Ruslan Iskhakov (14) and Andy Andreoff (12) assisted his goal.
Late in the first period, the Phantoms once again tied the game. Islander’s goalie Ken Appleby had a hard time finding the puck as the Phantoms did a good job with creating traffic in front of the net. Next, Adam Ginning (8) took a shot that went off the left pad of Appleby. Then, Cooper Marody (3) found the puck and scored the goal. The score was 3-3 with 1:05 left. The game remained tied 3-3 after two periods. The Islanders continued to lead the shots 20-17.
Three minutes and forty seconds into the third period, the Phantoms regained the lead. Isaac Ratcliffe (1) led the charge toward the Islanders’ zone. He passed the puck over to Adam Ginning (9). Ginning blasted the puck that was redirected through the five-hole and into the net by Cooper Marody (4). It was his second goal of the night. The Phantoms led 4-3 with 13:54 left.
Three minutes and thirty-four seconds later, the Phantoms padded their lead. Cal O’Reilly’s (9) shot went off of Appleby’s pad. Jordy Bellerive (8) was unable to find the net but Adam Brooks (3) made a nice backhand shot through the five-hole and into the net. The score was now 5-3 Phantoms with 12:25 left.
It looked as if the Phantoms were headed for a win. However, Bridgeport had other plans. They aggressively fought for the puck and forced turnovers. Jimmy Lambert (2) stole the puck before attempting a shot. After Nolan Maier made an error, Erik Brown (3) got the puck past Maier’s right skate and into the net. The Phantoms’ lead was down to one, 5-4 with 10:22 left.
Late in the third period, the Islanders pulled Appleby for an extra attacker. With 47 seconds left, Bridgeport tied the game. Dennis Cholowski’s (13) shot was tipped in by Andy Andreoff (17) through the five-hole and into the net. The game was tied 5-5 and Chris Terry (21) pick up the secondary assist. The game remained tied 5-5 heading into overtime.
After neither team scored in overtime. The game went into a shootout. Kieffer Bellows scored to start the shootout. Then, Jordy Bellerive scored in the fifth overtime. Finally, Cal O’Reilly sealed the game by shooting over Appleby’s right shoulder to end the game. The Phantoms won their second shootout of the season with a 6-5 win. Overall, the Phantoms played a good game.
The big issue in this game was once again the referees. The Phantoms should’ve had four more power plays but the refs ignored them and the fans at the PPL Center let them have it. It’s troubling to watch the game when they call one penalty against one team and not the other. Luckily, the Phantoms were able to find a way to win this game.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 28 shots, 1/3 on the power-play, and Nolan Maier made 29 saves. On the other side, the Islanders had 34 shots, 0/3 on the power-play, and Ken Appleby made 22 saves.
The Phantoms are back on the road on Friday. They take on the Utica Comets from the Adirondack Bank Center at 7 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
