The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (36-26-6) returned to the PPL Center on Friday night in a potential playoff preview against the Charlotte Checkers (36-24-8). This was the seventh meeting of the season between these two teams. Coming into this game, the series was tied 3-3.
The Phantoms welcomed back Cooper Marody after he missed several games due to an injury. Marody played on the third line and Adam Brooks moved up to the second line. On defense, Will Zmolek made his AHL debut as he was paired with Wyatte Wylie.
Furthermore, Sam Ersson and Ronnie Attard returned from Philadelphia. Ersson (23-14-2, 2.66 GAA, .905 SV%) started in goal with Nolan Maier backing him up but Attard was out for the game.
In addition to Attard, Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Egor Zamula, Mason Millman, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, Hayden Hodgson, and Brendan Furry were out for the game. This game also marked the 300th AHL game for Louie Belpedio.
A minute and thirty-five seconds into the first period, the Phantoms went on their first power play of the game on a hooking call against Grigori Denisenko. Unfortunately, the Phantoms did not get a shot off during the power play and went to 0-1.
Lehigh Valley’s coverage was not the best in the first period. Aleksi Heponiemi had a breakaway chance eight minutes and forty seconds into the period but Sam Ersson blocked his shot to prevent the goal. Shortly after, the Checkers went on their first power play after Tyson Foerster got called for high sticking.
Even though the Phantoms killed the power play, Charlotte scored five seconds after it expired. Logan Hutsko (18) skated around a couple of Phantoms players inside Lehigh Valley’s zone before taking a shot. The puck bounced off Will Zmolek before Cory Conacher (3) spotted it and made a backhand shot through the five-hole and into the net. It was 1-0 Charlotte with 8:50 left.
A minute and twenty-seven seconds later, the Phantoms tied the game. Adam Brooks did a spectacular job drawing Jean-Francois Berube away from his net before firing the puck that missed the net. Then, there was a scramble for the puck as Louie Belpedio (7) emerged to finish the play when he fired it into the net. The game was tied 1-1 with 7:22 left. Bobby Brink (14) and Garrett Wilson (22) assisted in Belpedio’s goal.
The Phantoms had six shots in the first period. They recovered nicely after a rough start to the game. Charlotte had nine shots and the game remained tied 1-1 after one period.
The Phantoms took the lead two minutes and seven seconds into the second period. Cooper Marody (23) fought a Charlotte player for the puck and won the battle. Then, he found Elliot Desnoyers (22) from the left circle and Desnoyers whisked it over Berube’s left pad and into the net. It was now 2-1 Phantoms with 17:53 left and Adam Ginning (16) earned the secondary assist. With the goal, Desnoyers tied former Phantom Danick Martel’s record for goals by a rookie in a season that was set in 2015.
Another milestone was achieved seven minutes and thirty-three seconds in when Garrett Wilson went to the penalty box for hooking. He surpassed Tyrell Goulbourne (313) with 314 penalty minutes this season.
Later in the period, the Phantoms extended their lead. Adam Brooks (19) passed the puck to Tyson Foerster (25) but his shot hit the iron. Olle Lycksell (12) stayed with the play and flipped it over Berube’s glove and into the net. It was 3-1 Phantoms with 9:15 left.
Three minutes after the goal, Adam Brooks almost had a goal but the puck did not completely cross the net as a Checkers player covered the puck. The Phantoms did a nice job executing plays, creating turnovers, winning battles, and playing a physical game. The Phantoms had eight shots and led 3-1 after two periods. The overall shots in the second period were 18-14 Charlotte.
Five minutes and twenty-nine seconds into the third period, Max Willman was interfered with by Anthony Bitetto and the Phantoms went on their third power play of the night. Thirty-nine seconds later, the Phantoms added another goal. Louie Belpedio (19) passed the puck to Elliott Desnoyers (20) before it went to Cooper Marody (13). Marody went back to Desnoyers who whiffled the shot and the puck went toward Marody. Marody went after it and fired it over Berube’s right pad and into the net. It was now 4-1 with 13:54 left.
With their backs up against the wall, Charlotte played with desperation. The Phantoms were now in survival mode. With 5:52 left, former Phantom Connor Bunnaman (15) cut the Phantoms lead to 5-2.
Then with 3:39 left, the Checkers pulled Berube for an extra attacker. Charlotte had 13 shots in the third period. Luckily, the Phantoms were able to put the game away on an empty net goal by Cooper Marody (14) for a 5-2 lead with 28 seconds left.
Kevin Connauton (12) and Adam Brooks (20) assisted with Marody’s goal. The Phantoms had six shots in the third period. Lehigh Valley defeated Charlotte by the final score of 5-2.
In other scores, the Hartford Wolf Pack defeated the Bridgeport Islanders 6-2. This means that the Phantoms can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a Bridgeport Islanders loss on Saturday against the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Tickets for Saturday’s game are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
The Phantoms have now won five of their last six games. They finished the night with 20 shots, 1-3 on the power play, and Sam Ersson made 29 saves. On the other side, the Checkers had 31 shots, 0-3 on the power play, and Jean-Francois Berube made 16 saves.
