The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3) visited the Giant Center on Saturday night against their longtime rivals and defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears (5-2).
This week, the Philadelphia Flyers recalled defensemen Louie Belpedio and Victor Mete, while sending Emil Andrae down to the Phantoms. The Phantoms brought up defenseman Mason Millman from the Reading Royals.
With the recent moves, there were several lineup changes. Alexis Gendron, Rhett Gardner, and Cooper Marody started on the first line. The second line featured Olle Lycksell, Elliot Desnoyers, and Samu Tuomaala. The third line featured Garrett Wilson, Matthew Brown, and Zayde Wisdom, and the fourth line featured J.R. Avon, Jacob Gaucher, and Wade Allison.
On defense, Emil Andrae and Ronnie Attard were on the first line. Adam Ginning and Ethan Samson were on the second line, and Adam Karashik and Helge Grans were on the third line. Cal Peterson (1-2, 3.01 GAA, .862 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms.
The scratches for the game were Mason Millman, Tanner Laczynski, Evan Polei, Brendan Furry, Jordy Bellerive, and Adam Brooks. Last season, Lehigh Valley had a tough time beating Hershey going 3-10-0-1. On Saturday night, the struggles continued.
In the first period, the Phantoms did not get their first shot on goal until 11:01 into the game. Lehigh Valley’s offense struggled to execute plays, had poor puck possession, lost one-on-one battles, missed assignments, and got manhandled by an aggressive Hershey team.
At 16:30, Ethan Samson went to the penalty box for hooking. Hershey took advantage a minute and fifty-five seconds later when Ivan Miroshnichenko (2) passed the puck to Joe Snively (4) standing behind the goal net. Then, Snively passed the puck to Pierrick Dubé (2), who blasted the shot on one knee from the right circle through the five-hole for a 1-0 lead with 1:35 left of the first period. The Phantoms had three shots on goal in the first period.
Forty-seven seconds into the second period, Hershey got called for a too many men penalty. The Phantoms had eight power play opportunities in this game but could not score any of them.
At 6:53, Hershey generated a rush when Mike Sgarbossa (4) passed the puck to Aaron Ness (2). Ness and Mike Vecchione (3) created a two-on-one advantage. Ness drew Cal Peterson away from his net before passing the puck to Vecchione, who chipped the puck into the open net for a 2-0 lead.
Later in the second period, the Phantoms attacked the Bears’ zone. There was a traffic jam in front of Hershey goalie Clay Stevenson. Lehigh Valley captain Garrett Wilson shoved the puck into the net but the goal was waived off. The officials went to the replay booth and confirmed it was a no-goal.
Late in the second period, former Phantom Nic Aubé-Kubel went to the penalty box for a double minor high sticking. Two seconds later, Aaron Ness went to the box for slashing, and Lehigh Valley’s Cooper Marody went to the penalty box for holding. It was a bad call by the officials. The Phantoms did better with 11 shots on goal and had 1:34 of power play time to begin the third period.
Ten minutes and two seconds into the third period, Ivan Miroshnichenko (3) led the charge for Hershey. He cut across to shoot the puck but it went off Peterson’s left pad. However, Pierrick Dubé (3) was there for the rebound and scored. It was now 3-0 Hershey and Ryan Hofer (1) earned the secondary assist.
Late in the game, Lehigh Valley pulled Cal Peterson for a six-on-five advantage deep into Hershey’s zone. However, former Phantom Logan Day (1) got the puck before making a long-distance shot into the empty net for a 4-0 lead. Joe Snively (5) assisted Day’s goal.
The Phantoms were shut out by the Bears 4-0. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 32 shots on goal, 0 for 8 on the power play, committed three penalties, and Cal Peterson made 25 saves off 28 shots.
The Phantoms return to the PPL Center on Sunday against the Hartford Wolf Pack at 5:05 pm on AHL.TV. Purchase Phantoms tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
