The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (16-13-4) visited the Total Mortgage Arena on Wednesday night to conclude a three-game road trip. They took on the slumping Bridgeport Islanders (14-14-7) in their third meeting of the season.
The Phantoms came into this game 4-4-2 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Islanders have been struggling, losing ten consecutive games. The last time these two teams played each other was on December 28th in a 6-5 Phantoms win.
Before the game started, the Phantoms sent forward Zayde Wisdom and defenseman Adam Karashik to the Reading Royals. In addition, Cam York and Tyson Foerster were selected to participate in the 2023 AHL All-Star game in Laval on February 6th.
Felix Sandstrom started in goal for the Phantoms. The scratches for the game were Troy Grosenick, Linus Hogberg, Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Hayden Hodgson.
In the first period, the Phantoms had six shots in the first five minutes of the game. The game was scoreless until the Islanders struck first midway through the first period. Arnaud Durandeau (16) led the Islanders’ rush into the Phantoms’ zone. Then, Durandeau passed the puck to Chris Terry (23). The Phantoms were aggressively trying to get the puck away from Terry that they forgot about Andy Andreoff (18). Terry passed the puck to Andreoff as he skated right up toward Sandstrom and shot it over his left shoulder and into the net. The Islanders led 1-0 with 5:52 left.
Two minutes and fifty-one seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game. Jordy Bellerive (10) led the Phantoms’ rush into the Islanders’ zone. They pushed their way toward Ken Appleby and tried to get the puck into the net. Bellerive’s shot deflected up the in the air when Egor Zamula (6) used his stick to knock it down. Right after, Adam Brooks (4) went down low to shoot the puck under the left leg of Appleby and into the net. The game was tied 1-1 with 3:01 left.
In the last two minutes of the first period. Garrett Wilson and Olle Lycksell came close to adding two more goals for the Phantoms but Ken Appleby stopped them. The game remained tied 1-1 after one period with Lehigh Valley leading the shots 14-9.
In the second period, Bridgeport came out looking to take the lead with four shots in four minutes but Felix Sandstrom stopped them. One noticeable difference in this period was the Phantoms’ defense protected Sandstrom. Bridgeport had 18 shots throughout the second period and the Phantoms’ defense did a good job preventing them from becoming goals.
After Kevin Connauton headed to the penalty box for tripping. Bridgeport went on their second power-play. In a SportsCenter top-ten play, the Phantoms fought to get the puck out of their zone. Max Willman (4) got control of the puck and got it out of their zone. Then, Ken Appleby came out of his net, put his paddle down and the puck hit it before redirecting into the net. The Phantoms led 2-1 with 11:33 left.
Throughout the second period. The Phantoms kept pounding the Islanders’ zone. Every time the Islanders would get control of the puck, someone was there to break up the play and force a turnover. However, they were not getting out of their zone fast enough to generate more rushing opportunities.
With a minute and three seconds left in the second period. The Phantoms added another goal. Garrett Wilson (10) led the charge into the Islanders’ zone. He took a shot that hit the pad of Appleby. Then, Elliot Desnoyers (7) tried to take a shot Appleby denied him. When he slid toward the left-hand side of the net to make the stop, the puck was pushed back in front of the net. Waiting there was Bobby Brink (2) who charged at the puck and fired it past Appleby’s extended paddle and into the net. The Phantoms led 3-1 after two periods. In addition, the Phantoms led the shots 26-18.
In the third period, the Islanders made the Phantoms uncomfortable. Despite the Phantoms’ defense protecting Sandstrom. The Islanders attacked the defense. Bridgeport spent the majority of the third period inside the Phantoms’ zone.
With 7:13 left, the Islanders came close to making it a one-goal game but Felix Sandstrom got his paddle in front of Andy Andreoff’s shot and later Ronnie Attard blocked a shot. Not long after that, Max Willman had a breakaway opportunity to put the game away but he was tentative and missed the shot. Despite this, the Phantoms held on to a 3-1 win over the Islanders.
The Phantoms finished the night with 32 shots, 0/1 on the power play, and Felix Sandstrom had a terrific night with 35 saves. On the other side, the Islanders had 36 shots, 0/2 on the power play, and Ken Appleby made 29 saves.
The Phantoms return to the PPL Center on Friday night. They will have a rematch with the Bridgeport Islanders at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
