The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (28-22-6) wrapped up a two-game homestand at the PPL Center on Sunday afternoon against the Providence Bruins (32-13-10). This was the sixth meeting between these teams as the Phantoms were 3-1-1 against the Bruins coming into this game.
The Phantoms made a minor lineup change before the game. They carried 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Adam Karashik was the extra defenseman and Zayde Wisdom was a healthy scratch.
In addition to Wisdom, Troy Grosenick, Cal O’Reilly, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jordy Bellerive, and Alex Kile were out for the game. Nolan Maier (3-1-2, 2.75 GAA, .889 SV%) got the start in goal with Sam Ersson backing him up.
In the first period, the Phantoms had a couple of power play chances but could not score. It was a goalie showdown in the first two periods. Lehigh Valley was putting up a fight, taking chances, winning one-on-one battles, executing plays, and making big blocks. J.D. Greenway took a cheap shot at Nolan Maier leading to Adam Karashik coming in and fighting him. The game was scoreless after one period and the Phantoms had ten shots on goal.
The second period picked up right where the first period left off. The Phantoms had seven shots in the first six minutes of the second period. Garrett Wilson got called for roughing and the Phantoms killed the power play.
Shortly after Garrett Wilson left the penalty box, he went after Samuel Asselin near Maier but Asselin did not touch him and Wilson was given a roughing penalty. In a separate incident, Hayden Hodgson fought J.D. Greenway. Hodgson joined Wilson in the penalty box and Greenway was given a ten-minute game misconduct/instigating along with a slashing penalty that was served by Samuel Asselin.
With 6:53 left, the Phantoms almost got on the board with a two-on-one play. Max Willman and Adam Brooks rushed toward Brandon Bussi but Bussi denied Brooks’s shot. Late in the second period, a too many men penalty was called against the Bruins that was served by Fabian Lysell. The Phantoms had 14 shots in the second period and had 28 seconds of power play time to begin the third period. The game was still scoreless after two periods.
The Phantoms could not score on the power play to start the third period. Shortly after the power play expired, the Phantoms went on their fourth power play on a hooking call against Fabian Lysell. Once again, the Phantoms could not score and went 0-4 on the day.
Kevin Connauton got called for tripping three minutes and fifteen seconds into the third period. Everyone knew in the building it was a makeup call to even out the penalties. Thirteen seconds later, the Bruins took a 1-0 lead when Fabian Lysell’s (18) shot went off the glove of Nolan Maier as there was a scramble for the puck before Justin Brazeau (15) fired it past Maier’s right skate and into the net. Georgii Merkulov (24) picked up the secondary assists.
Less than two minutes later, the Phantoms tied the game when Max Willman stole the puck and tried to pass it but it was picked off by a Bruins player. Then, Adam Brooks (9) got the puck back and found Bobby Brink (7) coming in hot and passed it to him and Brink fired it over Bussi’s left shoulder and into the net. It was 1-1 with 14:43 left.
The Phantoms started to take control of this game after the goal. Max Willman (12) tried to dangle around a Bruins player but had no chance to shoot. Willman found Cooper Marody (16) before finding a wide-open Adam Brooks (7) and he pelted the puck through the five-hole and into the net. The Phantoms led 2-1 with 8:12 left.
Later in the third period, Garrett Wilson and Marc McLaughlin agreed to drop the gloves and Wilson destroyed McLaughlin as he bled pretty badly on his jersey and both players went to the locker room. The Bruins pulled Brandon Bussi and the Phantoms tacked on one more goal.
Max Willman (13) fired the puck from the Phantoms’ blue line and it hit the iron but Adam Brooks (24) rushed up toward it and scored an empty-net goal. It was now 3-1 Phantoms with 1:17 left and Louie Belpedio (15) picked up the secondary assists.
Providence did not quit despite being down two goals. They dumped the puck that took an odd bounce off the board as Nolan Maier went behind the goal net. Once he saw the puck take an awkward bounce, he quickly got back to the goal net and made the save of the year, robbing Oskar Steen’s shot. Maier made 25 saves in this game. The Phantoms ended the weekend with a 3-1 win over the Bruins.
After the game, head coach Ian Laperriere said this was the team’s best performance this weekend. They responded to big plays, played with physicality, and were making the right plays. The Phantoms did a good job in this game. They are now tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Phantoms finished the afternoon with 38 shots.
On the other side, the Bruins had 26 shots, 1-2 on the power play, and Brandon Bussi made 35 saves. He too played a terrific game.
The Phantoms are back on the road on Friday night. They take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub.
