The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-1) opened the 2023-24 season at the PPL Center on Saturday night against the Cleveland Monsters (1-0) to start the 10th season of Phantoms hockey in Lehigh Valley.
The Phantoms were looking to build momentum after exiting the first round of the playoffs in Charlotte last season. The Flyers underwent front office changes this offseason and brought in new players hoping to change the culture. However, the new era did not get off to a good start.
The scratches for the game were Adam Karashik, Evan Polei, Jordy Bellerive, Adam Brooks, and Alexis Gendron. Cal Peterson started in goal for the Phantoms.
Thirty-one seconds into the first period, Cleveland put the pressure on inside the Phantoms’ zone. Stanislav Svozil (1) sent the puck in the direction of Brendan Gaunce (1), who attempted a wrap-around goal but the puck went off the right pad of Peterson. However, Trey Fix-Wolansky (1) skated alone chasing the puck before shooting it through the five-hole for a 1-0 lead.
The Phantoms set the tone struggling on defense, lots of dump and chases, bad puck possession, players not in their right positions, and too many mental mistakes. There was no rhythm to their movements or positioning.
On the other side, Cleveland was quick on the ice. They made a lot of hits playing with an aggressive attitude and forcing turnovers. In addition, they were outstanding with puck control and did not give up a lot of big plays.
Later in the first period, Cleveland won the faceoff inside the Phantoms’ zone. Trey Fix-Wolansky (1) made a nice backhand pass to Brendan Gaunce (2), who later passed the puck to Jake Christiansen (1) near the left boards. Christiansen fired the puck over Peterson’s left shoulder and into the net for a 2-0 lead with 16:40 left.
Late in the first period, Lehigh Valley goalie Cal Peterson made a big mistake leaving his goal net while Cleveland hustled toward their zone. Peterson got the puck behind his net but Tyler Angle (1) wrestled it away from him and scored with a wrap-around shot into an empty net. It was now 3-0 Cleveland at the end of the first period. The shots were 11-8 Monsters.
In the second period, the Phantoms finally responded when Cooper Marody stole the puck inside the Monsters’ zone and hurtled it over the glove of Jet Greaves. It was now 3-1 Cleveland.
Later in the second period, Garrett Wilson appeared to have scored a goal but it was waived off for goalie interference. The replay showed that one of the Cleveland players pushed Rhett Gardner into the goalie but the refs stood by their decision. It was a bad call and the league should have instant replay for incidents like this.
Cleveland would get the goal back three minutes later when Carson Meyer (1) zipped the puck over Peterson’s right pad and into the net for a 4-1 lead with 8:39 left of the second period. Late in the second period, Trey Fix-Wolansky (2) stole the puck from Adam Ginning before shooting the puck under Peterson’s left pad for a 5-1 lead.
Cleveland led 5-1 after two periods and led the shots 23-22. The only thing Lehigh Valley did right in the first two periods was stay out of the penalty box. However, they went 12 minutes without a shot and failed to convert four power plays including a two-man advantage.
In the third period, the game got chippy. Elliot Desnoyers fought Billy Sweezey, and Helge Grans went at it with Dmitri Voronkov. Late in the game, Hunter McKown went to the penalty box for cross-checking. The Phantoms took advantage of the power play when Garrett Wilson (1) was up against the right boards drawing two Cleveland players near him. Wilson passed the puck to Samu Tuomaala (1), who scored his first AHL goal with less than two minutes left of the game, making it 5-2 Cleveland. Matthew Brown (1) also picked up the secondary assist on Tuomaala’s goal.
The Phantoms lost to the Cleveland Monsters by the final score of 5-2. The total shots on goal were 32-31 Cleveland. The Phantoms finished the night 1 for 5 on the power play and goalie Cal Peterson made 27 of 32 saves.
The Phantoms have a quick turnaround as they host the Belleville Senators on Sunday at 1:05 pm on AHL.TV. Purchase Phantoms tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
