The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (33-26-6) concluded a two-game road trip from the Giant Center on Sunday evening against the Hershey Bears (38-16-9) for the twelfth time this year. Coming into this game, the Phantoms were 2-9-1 against Hershey this year.
Before the game, the Phantoms welcomed back forward Tyson Foerster and defenseman Egor Zamula from the Philadelphia Flyers. Both players were in the lineup. Foerster was on the first line, and Zamula was paired with Louie Belpedio on defense. Furthermore, Emil Andrae played his second AHL game paired up with Adam Ginning on defense.
The other minor lineup change was Zayde Wisdom was scratched for this game. In addition, Troy Grosenick, Ronnie Attard, Cooper Marody, Will Zmolek, Wyatte Wylie, Hayden Hodgson, and Alex Kile were also out for the game. Sam Ersson (21-14-2, 2.70 GAA, .904 SV%) made his second consecutive start for the Phantoms with Nolan Maier backing him up.
In the first period, the Phantoms won the majority of faceoffs and dominated puck possession. However, they had trouble penetrating Hershey’s defense and could not find a way to drive the bus and score despite keeping the pressure on their defense.
In addition, Lehigh Valley had two power-play chances but could not score. At times, the Phantoms were hesitant to shoot during the power play as Hershey’s defense closed the gap and forced them to find another way to shoot.
During the first period, Sam Ersson got hit by Henrik Rybinski’s shoulder but managed to shake it off and continue the game. Hershey had a couple of odd-man rushes but Sam Ersson stopped all six of their shots. The Phantoms had nine shots on goal but the game was scoreless after one period.
In the second period, it was all Hershey. Hershey had 11 shots in the first six minutes of the second period and 21 shots overall. The Phantoms committed six penalties, including a double-minor on Garrett Wilson in ten minutes and fourteen seconds. Two power-plays resulted in goals for Hershey. Again, some of the calls were questionable and head coach Ian Laperriere was having none of it.
The first goal happened four minutes and five seconds into the second period. Hershey generated a rush and the Phantoms could not get established. Aaron Ness (13) found Garrett Pilon (8) and he fired it through the five-hole and into the net for a power play goal. It was 1-0 with 15:57 left and Mike Sgarbossa (35) picked up the secondary assists.
Then, the second goal came ten minutes and thirty-one seconds when Hershey set up for a shot opportunity. Ethen Frank (19) passed the puck to Joe Snively (8) and he fired it which was tipped in by Sam Anas (10) over Ersson’s right shoulder and into the net for another power play. It was 2-0 Hershey with 9:29 left.
The Phantoms had four shots in the second period. Later in the second period, the Phantoms had a five-on-three power play but could not score. They were hesitant to shoot and it cost them. Hershey led 2-0 after two periods. The total shots through two periods were 27-15 Hershey.
In the third period, the Phantoms began to battle back. Three minutes and thirty-two seconds in, the Phantoms made it a one-goal deficit. Artem Anisimov (15) made a pass to Egor Zamula (16). Then, Zamula found Louie Belpedio (6) from the left circle and Belpedio fired it through the five-hole and into the net. It was now 2-1 Hershey with 16:28 left.
A minute and twenty-six seconds later, Hershey got the goal back. Mason Morelli (25) stole the puck inside the Phantoms’ zone and passed it to Henrik Rybinski (12). Rybinski saw Julian Napravnik (5) wide open and passed the puck to him and Napravnik whisked it past Ersson’s left skate and into the net. Hershey led 3-1 with 15:04 left.
The Phantoms cut it back to a one-goal deficit two minutes and twenty-seven seconds later. Egor Zamula (17) made a long stretch pass to Ryan Fitzgerald (1) splitting the defenders and rifled the puck went off of Zach Fucale’s left shoulder and rolled into the net. It was now 3-2 Hershey with 13:35 left. Adam Brooks (17) picked up the secondary assists.
A short time later, Riley Sutter slashed Louie Belpedio and the Phantoms went on their fourth power play of the night. A minute and six seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game. The Phantoms made several passes before Tyson Foerster (21) made a great fake shot toward Artem Anisimov (18) and he tipped the puck over Fucale’s glove and into the net. It was now 3-3 with 10:13 left and Emil Andrae (2) picked up the secondary assists.
The Phantoms had seven shots in the third period. After the goal, Hershey had seven shots in the last eight minutes of the period. The game remained tied 3-3 and went to overtime.
The Phantoms had one shot in overtime, while Hershey had three shots. Neither team scored and the game went to a shootout. Jordy Bellerive went first for the Phantoms and scored. Meanwhile, Sam Ersson made all three saves. Bobby Brink was the last Phantoms player and he got Zach Fucale to byte and scored with a backhand goal. The Phantoms defeated the Bears by the final score of 4-3.
The Phantoms are now 7-3 in their last ten games and are now a point behind the Springfield Thunderbirds for fourth place. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 24 shots, 1-5 on the power play, and Sam Ersson made 37 saves. On the other side, the Bears had 40 shots, 2-6 on the power play, and Zach Fucale made 20 saves.
The Phantoms return to the PPL Center next Friday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
