The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (25-21-5) started a four-game road trip on Wednesday night. They took on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (22-21-7) for the eighth time at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Since the Phantoms’ last game, there have been several roster moves. Charlie Gerard, Jacob Gaucher, and Pat Nagle went back to the Reading Royals as Cooper Marody and Jordy Bellerive returned from an illness and injury.
With Nagle back to Reading, Nolan Maier was recalled and backed up Troy Grosenick (3-2, 3.32 GAA, .892 SV%). One last move by the Phantoms was sending Alex Kile back to the Maine Mariners. The scratches for the Phantoms were Cal O’Reilly (Injury), Ryan Fitzgerald, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Kevin Connauton (Illness).
In the first period, the Penguins had five shots on goal in the first three minutes of the game. The Phantoms’ defense could not contain the Penguins’ offense to keep them away from Grosenick. Grosenick made three great saves to keep the game scoreless.
However, midway through the first period, Lukas Svejkovsky had a breakaway chance but he slid right into Grosenick. Unfortunately, Svejkovsky’s right skate hit Grosenick’s left ankle before banging into the cage. Grosenick was in pain. He managed to stay in the game but he was hobbling on the ice. Luckily, the Phantoms played defense and kept them away from Grosenick for the rest of the first period.
The first goal of the game went to the Phantoms. Elliot Desnoyers (17) kept the puck inside the Penguins’ zone and Cooper Marody (15) took it from there. He skated around the goal net before finding Garrett Wilson (9) in front of Dustin Tokarski. He shot the puck over Tokarski’s glove and into the net. It was 1-0 Phantoms with 8:54 left.
The Phantoms had two chances to extend their lead on the power play but could not do it. The Phantoms had seven power play opportunities in this game and only scored once. They had chances as the Penguins were playing undisciplined hockey. Lehigh Valley on the power plays were indecisive with the puck, not in their positions, and they had 15 shots on goal. Despite this, they led 1-0 after one period.
Before the second period started, Nolan Maier replaced Grosenick at goal. Grosenick was not on the Phantoms’ bench and did not return for the rest of the game. He finished with eight saves on eight shots.
The Phantoms extended their lead four minutes and nineteen seconds into the second period. Adam Karashik (3) made a nice pass to Max Willman (7) as he was headed to the bench. Willman used his speed to rush from the right circle and fired the puck through the five-hole and into the net. It was now 2-0 Phantoms with 15:41 left.
One of the Phantoms’ Achilles heels this year is not being able to stay out of the penalty box. While they did a better job of staying out of the box, Adam Karashik started the penalties when he got called for tripping. The Penguins took advantage and made it a one-goal game.
Valtteri Puustinen (21) took a shot that bounced off of Maier’s left pad. There was a scramble in front of Maier but Drake Caggiula (12) found the puck and put it past Maier’s glove and into the net for a power play goal. It was now 2-1 Phantoms with 6:43 left and Filip Hållander (21) assisted in Caggiula’s goal.
The Phantoms had eleven shots in the second period and maintained a 2-1 lead after two periods. Nolan Maier was doing all he could with no help from the defense.
In the third period, the Phantoms collapsed for the second straight game. They committed four penalties in the third period and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took advantage. The Penguins were winning the one-on-one battles and the Phantoms played a sloppy third period. Nathan Légaré (6) tied the game 2-2 for the Penguins with 5:21 left after he made a backhand shot past Maier’s right skate and into the net. Corey Andonovski (9) and Tyler Sikura (17) assisted with his goal.
Two minutes and five seconds later, the Penguins took the lead on the power play. The Penguins had a five-on-three power play when Alexander Nylander (22) whisked the puck over Maier’s right shoulder and into the net. It was 3-2 with 3:16 left. Valtteri Puustinen (22) and Mitch Reinke (21) assisted with his goal.
Less than a minute later, the Penguins added another power-play goal. Colin Swoyer’s (6) shot was redirected past Maier’s right skate by Sam Houde (10) and into the net. It was now 4-2 with 2:40 left. Lukas Svejkovsky (8) got the secondary assist.
Shortly after the Penguins’ goal, Tyler Sikura was called for slashing and the Phantoms went on the power play. Egor Zamula (12) took a shot from the Penguins’ blue line and it bounced off of Tokarski’s right pad. Elliot Desnoyers (19) was there to finish the play and scored. It was now 4-3 Penguins with 1:24 left. Tyson Foerster (17) picked up the secondary assists.
The Phantoms pulled Maier for an extra attacker with 1:13 left but the Penguins kept the puck away from them and ran out the clock. The Phantoms lost to the Penguins by the final score of 4-3. The Phantoms are now on a two-game winless streak and 5-5 in their last ten games.
This was a poor performance by the Phantoms. They had trouble executing plays and not taking advantage of power plays. The team has struggled in these areas all season, like a dysfunctional family, the success and failures are the results of no leadership, in this case, the coaching staff. It’s games like these that are critical if you want to make the playoffs. Again, teams in a dysfunctional state don’t make the playoffs and this team isn’t going anywhere.
This team does have some tough skilled players. Sure, they have some struggles but you can see from their play that they play with passion. They are playing for a chance, a chance to win a Calder Cup, a chance for a call up to the NHL, a chance. With the trade deadline coming up, there is a chance that most of these guys won’t be on the Phantoms’ roster at the season’s end.
The Phantoms finished the night with 37 shots, 1/7 on the power play, and Nolan Maier did his best tonight with 19 saves. On the other side, the Penguins had 31 shots, 3/5 on the power play, and Dustin Tokarski made 34 saves.
The Phantoms visit the Giant Center to take on the Hershey Bears on Saturday at 7 pm. Purchase your tickets today on StubHub.
