The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (16-14-5) closed out the three-game homestand Saturday night at the PPL Center. They took on the Syracuse Crunch (15-13-5). This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. In addition, the Phantoms welcomed back Philippe Myers. It was his first game back in Lehigh Valley since the 2019-20 season.
The Phantoms made some minor lineup adjustments before the game. After suffering an injury in Friday night’s game. Wyatte Wylie was given the night off as Adam Karashik took his place. Karashik played three games for the Royals since returning from injury.
Wylie joined Troy Grosenick, Egor Zamula, Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Hayden Hodgson as the Phantoms’ scratches for the game. Felix Sandstrom (2-1-2, 2.97, .894) made his fifth straight start with Nolan Maier backing him up.
Syracuse won the opening faceoff to begin the first period. It took two minutes and twenty-six seconds for the Crunch to get on the board. Gage Goncalves (19) led the Crunch rush inside the Phantoms’ zone. He passed the puck to Alex Barré-Boulet (30). Then, Boulet made a cross-ice pass to Darren Raddysh (10) for a shot past Sandstrom’s left skate and into the net. Syracuse led 1-0 with 17:36 left.
Three minutes and thirty-six seconds later. The Crunch struck again. Shawn Element (7) skated with the puck near the right end board with Kevin Connauton on him. He made a backhand pass to Daniel Walcott (10). Then, Walcott found Jack Finley (6) as he flipped the puck over Sandstrom’s left pad and into the net.
The Crunch extended their lead to 2-0 with 14:01 left. The Phantoms could not keep up with the Crunch as they used their speed to blow by the Phantoms’ players. Syracuse played with intensity throughout this game.
Midway through the first period. The Phantoms got on the board. Adam Brooks (6) made a pass to Ronnie Attard (9) inside the Crunch zone. Both players were hesitant in shooting the puck before Kevin Connauton (1) got the puck. He rifled the puck from the left point over Hugo Alnefelt’s glove and into the net. The score was now 2-1 Crunch with 7:50 left.
36 seconds later, the Crunch got the goal back. Cole Koepke (3) stole the puck from Bobby Brink and skated around the goal. He patiently waited for someone to come to him. Simon Ryfors (14) was the guy and Koepke quickly passed the puck to him. Ryfors pelted the puck over Sandstrom’s right shoulder and into the net. The Crunch led 3-1 with 7:14 left.
The Phantoms had five more shots for the rest of the first period. Syracuse led 3-1 after one period but the Phantoms led the shots 12-9. The Phantoms played sluggishly and were not attacking the puck. The Phantoms spent too much time chasing the puck and gave Syracuse too much room for shooting opportunities.
A minute and fifty-five seconds into the second period. Syracuse added another goal. On the odd man rush. Darren Raddysh (31) made a long pass to Ilya Usau (6) with Gage Goncalves (6) on the other side, and Adam Ginning all alone to cover both players. Usau quickly passed the puck to Gage Goncalves and Goncalves ripped it over Sandstrom’s right shoulder and into the net.
There was nothing Sandstrom could’ve done to prevent the goal. He had no defense to protect him. It was now 4-1 Crunch with 18:05 left. The Phantoms had no answers in this game. Syracuse had six more shots for the remainder of the second period but no more goals were scored by them.
Late in the second period. Syracuse goalie Hugo Alnefelt went away from his net to retrieve the puck. He went to make a pass to one of his teammates but Garrett Wilson (11) was there to intercept it. This caused panic for the Crunch and the Phantoms took advantage of it. Wilson passed the puck to Elliot Desnoyers from the side of the net. Desnoyers was able to jam the puck into the net for a team-leading 13th goal of the season.
It was now 4-2 Crunch with 3:16 left. The Phantoms committed two penalties after the goal but the Phantoms did a good job killing both penalties. Syracuse led 4-2 after two periods and the Phantoms led the shots 18-17.
Four minutes and forty-one seconds into the third period. Tyson Foerster tripped Trevor Carrick to put the Crunch on their third power play. For the third time, the Phantoms killed it off. The Phantoms played a better period but they only had nine shots on goal.
With 5:41 left in the game. Adam Karashik fought Daniel Walcott. After the fight, both men went to the penalty box but Walcott was tacked with an elbowing penalty that was served by Ilya Usau.
The Phantoms pulled Sandstrom with five minutes left but the Crunch put the game away with an empty net goal by Cole Koepke (4). It was now 5-2 with 15 seconds left. Gabriel Dumont (6) and Alex Barré-Boulet (31) assisted with his goal. The Phantoms lost the game 5-2.
The Phantoms were not prepared to play a physical and quick team. Their feet seemed sluggish and their decision-making with the puck can be questioned. But they are still hesitant when shooting the puck. They pass when they should shoot. This was not their night.
The Phantoms finished the night with 27 shots, 0/2 on the power play, and Felix Sandstrom made 20 saves. On the other side, Syracuse had 25 shots, 0/3 on the power play, and Hugo Alnefelt made 25 saves.
The Phantoms start a three-game road trip on Tuesday. They play the Cleveland Monsters at 7 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
