The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (24-17-5) returned to the PPL Center on Saturday night. They took on the Bridgeport Islanders (19-19-8) for the fifth time this year. The season series was tied heading into the game.
Before the game started. There were some minor moves. Olle Lycksell was recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, Kieffer Bellows cleared waivers and returned to Lehigh Valley. He was in the game playing on the first line.
Cal O’Reilly returned to the lineup as well. The scratches for the game were Troy Grosenick, Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, Adam Brooks, Wyatte Wylie, and Hayden Hodgson. Sam Ersson (15-10-2) started in goal with Pat Nagle backing him up.
Early in the first period. Elliot Desnoyers came close to putting the Phantoms on the board with a wrap-around shot but Cory Schneider stopped him. The Phantoms had problems controlling the puck early in the game and Bridgeport took advantage of some of them but Sam Ersson was there to stop them.
In addition to the puck control problems, the Phantoms still have difficulty playing positions, these left too much room for the Islanders to maneuver in. Bridgeport had ten shots total in the first period. Late in the first period, Bobby Brink made a nice pass to Jackson Cates for a mini breakaway but could not get the shot off.
Adam Ginning and Chris Terry went at it a short time later and both went to the penalty box. The Phantoms had ten shots in the first period and the game remained scoreless. There was a minute and fifty-eight seconds left of four-on-four play.
The Phantoms struck first a minute and forty-five seconds into the second period. After several minutes of fighting for the puck. Cooper Marody (13) stole it. He made a pass to Elliot Desnoyers (16) from the left circle and fired it over Cory Schneider’s glove and into the net. It was 1-0 Phantoms. Ronnie Attard (12) got the secondary assist.
The Phantoms dominated the second period. They tightened up coverage, won the one-on-one battles, created turnovers, and played pretty good defense. Sam Ersson didn’t need to do too much tonight. Adam Karashik made a couple of nice blocks and was hurting in the game. He went to the locker room for a bit but returned to finish the game.
Lehigh Valley almost added another goal when Ronnie Attard found Max Willman for a breakaway opportunity but Cory Schneider robbed him. The Phantoms struck again ten minutes and ten seconds later.
Tyson Foerster fought for the puck inside the Islanders’ zone. He tried to make a cross-ice pass to Elliot Desnoyers (17). However, the puck hit the skate of Kieffer Bellows (7), then off Seth Helgeson’s skate before Desnoyers whisked it over Cory Schneider’s left pad and into the net. It was now 2-0 Phantoms with 8:25 left.
Not long after the goal. Kevin Connauton and Chris Terry got into a fight and went to the penalty box. The Phantoms had six additional shots for the rest of the second period. Bridgeport tried to get some momentum going but the Phantoms were right there to kill it.
The Phantoms led 2-0 after two periods. They had 17 shots in the second period, while Bridgeport had two. The shots were 27-12 Phantoms.
In the third period. Bridgeport tried to generate momentum but had problems controlling the puck. With 13:27 left, Bridgeport got caught with too many men on the ice and the Phantoms went on their second power play.
Two minutes and thirty-one seconds later. The Phantoms added an insurance goal. Tyson Foerster (15) made a cross-ice pass to Bobby Brink (8) and he took a shot. The puck went off the skate of Vincent Sevigny before Artem Anisimov (13) scored the power play goal. A closer look showed that Sevigny’s stick was the one that knocked the puck into their own net. Nevertheless, it was 3-0 Phantoms with 11:56 left. For Brink, he now has five points in the last three games.
The Phantoms had five shots for the remainder of the third period. Bridgeport pulled Cory Schneider with 3:18 left. The Phantoms did a wonderful job keeping the Islanders away from Ersson and came away with a 3-0 win.
It was the first career AHL shutout for Sam Ersson, who made 15 saves. It was the first shutout win at the PPL Center since November of 2021 by Felix Sandstrom. Head Coach Ian Laperriere was pleased with the team’s performance. He said that they committed to a team effort, worked hard, played the right way, and had good puck management.
The Phantoms had 30 shots and went one-for-two on the power play. On the other side, the Islanders had 15 shots, 0/1 on the power play, and Cory Schneider made 27 saves.
The Phantoms visit the Bojangles’ Coliseum on Tuesday night. They take on the Charlotte Checkers in a crucial Atlantic Division showdown at 7 pm. If the Phantoms win these next two games in Charlotte. They can take over third place. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
