The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-13-3) kicked off the 2023 calendar year on Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena to take on the Rochester Americans (17-11-2). This was the second meeting between these teams.
The Phantoms won in their first matchup on November 26th. Lehigh Valley came into this game on a two-game losing streak and 5-4-1 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Americans are 7-2-1 in their last ten games.
Since the last time the Phantoms played. There have been several transactions. First, Mason Millman went back to Reading. He did not play a game for the Phantoms. Second, Olle Lycksell and Bobby Brink were both loaned to the Phantoms. Brink is coming off hip surgery. Brink was in the lineup making his AHL debut. Secondly, Cooper Marody started his 200th career AHL game.
Third, Felix Sandstrom was sent down to the Phantoms on a conditioning loan. He started in goal for the Phantoms. A conditioning loan is when a player has missed five or more NHL games. Sandstrom can play a maximum of five to 14 games. This move was to prevent the Flyers from placing him on waivers and risk another team picking him up.
With Sandstrom in Lehigh Valley, Nolan Maier headed back to Reading. Kevin Connauton returned to the Phantoms after Team Canada was eliminated from the Spengler Cup. The Phantoms’ scratches for the game were Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Hayden Hodgson.
In the first period, The Americans had nine shots in the first eight minutes of the game. Felix Sandstrom made some terrific saves to keep the game scoreless. The Phantoms did not do a good job early in the first period. They spent too much time chasing the puck and could not get it away from Rochester. In addition, they made some bad passes that resulted in turnovers. Rochester had some additional chances to score but Sandstrom stopped them.
For Rochester, their players did a good job communicating with each other. However, they could not finish the plays. Late in the first period, the Phantoms’ offense finally got going. The game was scoreless after one period, and Rochester led the shots 13-6.
Rochester came close to scoring a goal early in the second period after Michael Mersch stole the puck. Luckily, Chase Priskie’s shot was blocked by Louie Belpedio. The Phantoms had four shots in the first ten minutes of the second period.
The first goal of the game went to Rochester three minutes and twenty-five seconds later. The Phantoms won the faceoff draw. Egor Zamula tried to make a pass to Cal O’Reilly but Brett Murray (11) got a piece of the puck. The puck went in the direction of Lukas Rousek (10). Rousek had a breakaway chance and fired the puck through the five-hole and into the net. Rochester led 1-0 with 6:35 left.
Late in the second period. The Phantoms had four chances to score a goal but Eric Comrie stopped them. Rochester led 1-0 after two periods and led the shots 19-13. The puck was bouncing all over the ice, causing both teams to lose control of it. The Phantoms had ten shots in the second period. Despite giving up a goal, Felix Sandstrom was having himself a good game.
Two minutes and thirty seconds into the third period. The Phantoms tied the game. As the Phantoms started to rush up toward Rochester’s zone. Egor Zamula (5) drew a couple of Americans with him. Then, he made a cross-ice pass to Bobby Brink (1). Brink shot the puck over the right shoulder of Comrie and into the net. The game was tied 1-1 with 17:30 left and Adam Brooks (4) earned the secondary assist.
A minute and twelve seconds later. The Phantoms took the lead. Olle Lycksell (14) stole the puck from behind Rochester’s net and made a pass to Tyson Foerster (9). Foerster got the puck past the right skate of Comrie and into the net. The Phantoms led 2-1 with 16:12 left.
Unfortunately, the lead did not last long. Two minutes and ten seconds later. The Americans tied the game. Rochester had the puck inside the Phantoms’ zone. Linus Weissbach (12) made a pass to Anders Bjork (5). Bjork made a thunderous shot through the five-hole and into the net. The game was tied 2-2 with 15:05 left and Ethan Prow (14) got the secondary assist.
Forty-nine seconds later, the Phantoms got back the lead. The Phantoms generated a rush inside Rochester’s zone led by Jordy Bellerive (9). There was traffic in front of Comrie. Jackson Cates’s (6) initial shot hit Comrie’s left pad but he followed the puck and took another shot. This time, it went through the five-hole and into the net. The Phantoms led 3-2 with 14 minutes left.
The Phantoms had four more shots for the rest of the third period. Afterward, Rochester pulled Comrie with a minute left. The Phantoms’ defense did their job and tossed the puck away from the Americans as time expired. The Phantoms defeated the Americans by the final score of 3-2.
The Phantoms played a good game in the last two periods. Felix Sandstrom looked good in his first start of the season making 24 saves. The Phantoms had 24 shots and went 0/1 on the power play. On the other side, Rochester had 26 shots, 0/3 on the power play, and Eric Comrie made 21 saves.
The Phantoms continue their road trip on Saturday. They will play the Toronto Marlies from the Coca-Cola Coliseum at 4 pm on AHL.TV. This will be the AHL’s Free Game of the Weekend. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
