The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-15-5) returned to the PPL Center to start a five-game homestand on Wednesday night. They took on the first place Hershey Bears (27-8-5) for the sixth time this year. The Phantoms have yet to beat Hershey this year and that streak continued tonight.
The Phantoms came into this game on a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Hershey came in on a six-game point streak. There were no lineup changes for the Phantoms before the game started. Sam Ersson (10-9-1, 2.79, .907) started in goal with Pat Nagle backing him up.
The scratches for the game were Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Linus Hogberg, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Cooper Marody.
A minute and fifteen seconds into the first period. Hershey struck first. Connor McMichael (9) got control of the puck to start a Hershey rush. After his shot went off of Ersson’s left pad. Hershey forced a turnover. The puck went to Dylan McIlrath (8) who made a slapshot that bounced off of Ersson’s left pad before McMichael rebounded it and chipped it into the net. The score was 1-0 Hershey with 18:45 left and Joe Snively (2) picked up the secondary assist.
After the goal, the Phantoms started to play with intensity. Two minutes and eight seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game. Max Willman (7) sent the puck up in the air for a dump and chase and Jordy Bellerive (12) got to it. He skated with the puck from behind the goal net before making a pass to Elliot Desnoyers (14). Desnoyers fought three Hershey players before trotting the puck through the five-hole and into the net. The game was tied 1-1 with 16:37 left.
The Phantoms did a good job covering their assignments. They did not give an inch to Hershey and it was quite a physical battle with lots of hitting. The Phantoms had six shots for the remainder of the first period. For Hershey, they did not register a shot for 15 minutes after scoring the first goal.
The game remained tied 1-1 after one period. The Phantoms led the shots 7-4. Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere wished his team could have made sacrifices by blocking the shots that led to Hershey’s goal.
In the second period, the Bears had eight shots in the first seven minutes. The Phantoms only had three shots. Hershey got aggressive and forced turnovers, which was a problem for the Phantoms throughout this game. Five minutes and twenty-one seconds into the second period. Ronnie Attard went to the penalty box for a delay of game.
The Phantoms had killed 15 straight power plays in four games. However, that streak ended. Garrett Pilon (9) had the puck as Hershey began to set up a shot opportunity. They did a terrific job moving the puck around to keep the Phantoms guessing. Henrik Borgstrom (12) got the puck and started to move toward Ersson before making a cross-ice pass to Joe Snively (4). The pass pulled Ersson away from his net and Snively, who was left all alone, had an easy shot with a wide-open net, and Snively scored. It was now 2-1 with 13:13 left.
The Phantoms caught a break several minutes later. Kevin Connauton (5) banked the puck off the endboards as Connor McMichael went to slap the puck back on the ice. Aaron Ness tried to get control of the puck but Hayden Hodgson intercepted and pelted it top shelf over Zach Fucale’s glove and into the net. The game was tied again 2-2 with 6:32 left. Adam Brooks (8) also assisted with Hodgson’s goal.
The Phantoms started to regain the momentum they had in the first period. They had seven shots in the last six minutes of the second period. The game remained tied 2-2 after two periods. The shots were 20-17 in favor of the Phantoms. However, Hershey dominated physically in winning the faceoffs.
In the third period. The game got away from the Phantoms. A minute into the third period, Hershey went back to the lead. After winning the faceoff, Hershey went at Ersson. The Phantoms were able to get the puck out of the zone to regroup. Then, Dylan McIlrath (9) sent the puck back to the Phantoms’ zone. Kevin Connauton got the puck but Joe Snively (5) wrestled it away from him. He sped up toward Ersson and rifled the puck over Ersson’s right shoulder and into the net. It was now 3-2 with 19 minutes left. Gabriel Carlsson (9) got the secondary assist.
Seven minutes and four seconds later. Louie Belpedio went to the penalty box for a delay of game. Hershey took advantage. On the power play, the Phantoms had trouble getting the puck out of their zone. Mike Vecchione (19) made a pass to Connor McMichael (8). McMichael took a shot that was chipped in by Mason Morelli (6) through the five-hole and into the net. It was now 4-2 Hershey with 11:17 left.
Two minutes and eleven seconds later. Hershey put the game away. After rushing toward the Phantoms’ zone. Shane Gersich (8) drew a couple of Phantoms players to him before passing the puck to Vincent Iorio (11). Iorio fired the puck off the endboards which went in the direction of Mason Morelli (7). Morelli made a backhand shot under Ersson’s left skate and into the net. It was 5-2 Hershey with 9:06 left.
The Phantoms had two shots for the third period. The Phantoms committed two penalties after Hershey’s fifth goal. Hershey did not do much else except kill the clock and won the game by the final score of 5-2.
After the game, Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere mentioned the team did not execute, did not hunt for the puck, or do what they are supposed to do. They made the game complicated instead of keeping it simple. The Phantoms made too many mistakes and Hershey made them pay for it.
The Phantoms’ body language gave away their next moves and they need to shoot the puck more instead of passing it around. The puck control tonight was not great. There is a reason why Hershey is in first place, and I won’t be surprised if they are the team that is raising the Calder Cup trophy at the season’s end.
The Phantoms finished the night with 22 shots, 0/1 on the power play, and Sam Ersson made 22 saves. On the other side, Hershey had 27 shots, 2/5 on the power play, and Zach Fucale made 20 saves.
The Phantoms continue the five-game homestand on Friday night. They take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
