The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (8-6-2) returned to the PPL Center on Friday night against the Providence Bruins (7-8-1) after a successful four-game road trip in which the Phantoms won all four games including a Canadian sweep.
The starting lineup featured Olle Lycksell, Tanner Laczynski, and Samu Tuomaala on the first line. Garrett Wilson, Rhett Gardner, and Wade Allison were on the second line. J.R. Avon, Elliot Desnoyers, and Cooper Marody on the third line, and Jordy Bellerive, Jacob Gaucher, and Zayde Wisdom on the fourth line. This was Desnoyers first game since sustaining an upper-body injury on November 11th against the Hershey Bears.
On defense, Emil Andrae and Helge Grans were on the first line. Victor Mete and Ronnie Attard were on the second line, and Adam Ginning was paired up with Ethan Samson on the third line. Cal Peterson (3-3-0, 3.01 GAA, .900 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms. Felix Sandstrom returned to the Phantoms after going unclaimed through the waiver wire to back up Peterson.
The scratches for the game were Adam Karashik, Evan Polei, Brendan Furry, Adam Brooks, Alexis Gendron, and Parker Gahagen. In addition, the Phantoms sent defenseman Mason Millman back to the Reading Royals.
In the first period, Lehigh Valley’s offense dominated with 16 shots on goal but could not put one into the net including two power play opportunities. The closest the Phantoms came to taking the lead was a minute and forty-two seconds into the game when J.R. Avon’s shot was rebounded by Elliot Desnoyers, and he nearly put them on the board.
On defense, the Phantoms did not allow Providence to get a shot on goal until 11:38 in the first period. At 17:13, Lehigh Valley’s Adam Ginning went for a block in a two-on-one Providence advantage but got called for tripping Fabian Lysell.
The Bruins had three shots on goal during the power play before they struck first with 11 seconds left of the power play. Providence’s Anthony Richard (7) made a pass to Alec Regula (2), who then passed the puck to Jayson Megna (5). Megna fired the puck through the five-hole and into the net for a 1-0 lead with 58 seconds left of the first period. Providence had five shots on goal.
Just as time expired, Lehigh Valley’s Ethan Samson was called for slashing and Providence was going to start the second period on the power play. The Phantoms trailed 1-0 after one period of play.
The Phantoms killed the power play to begin the second period. Lehigh Valley continued to move the puck well but still could not get one past Providence goaltender Brandon Bussi. Wade Allison, Ethan Samson, and Brendan Furry came close to tying the game. The Phantoms had eight shots on goal in the second period.
The highlight of the second period featured Lehigh Valley captain Garrett Wilson agreeing to fight Dan Renouf and he took him down within seconds after throwing two punches. On defense, they left Peterson to fend for himself several times. Cal Peterson made some great saves including a breakaway by Fabian Lysell Lehigh Valley defenseman Emil Andrae whiffled on a pass.
Cal Peterson stopped 10 shots on goal by the Bruins. Late in the second period, Helge Grans was irresponsible with his stick as he hit Reilly Walsh in the face. Walsh was bleeding which resulted in a double-minor high-sticking penalty on Grans. The Bruins had 1:51 left of power play time to begin the third period and the Phantoms still trailed 1-0 with one more period left to play.
In the third period, the Phantoms pressured inside the Bruins’ zone. They had 15 shots on goal and came close several times to scoring. While they were good shooting-wise, they didn’t give themselves a chance to set up to try and get Bussi away from his crease. At 14:02, Providence’s Vincent Arseneau was called for roughing.
Twelve seconds later inside the Bruins’ zone, Lehigh Valley tied the game. Off the faceoff, Cooper Marody made a cross-ice pass to Tanner Laczynski (11), who then passed the puck to Samu Tuomaala (11). Tuomaala found Olle Lycksell (12) and Lycksell took a shot that bounced off Brandon Bussi. Lycksell did not give up on the play. He shot the puck past Bussi’s glove and into the net. It was now 1-1 with 5:46 left of the game.
Lehigh Valley goaltender Cal Peterson stopped nine shots on goal by Providence. The game was still tied 1-1 after 60 minutes of play and went to overtime.
In overtime, Lehigh Valley defenseman Victor Mete was taken down but no penalty was called. Then, Mete got called for a hooking penalty, giving the Bruins their seventh power play of the night. The refs continue to make inconsistent calls and they are hurting the game.
At 2:25, Providence’s Jesper Boqvist (6) made a pass to Georgii Merkulov (7), who then made a cross-ice pass to Fabian Lysell (5). Lysell quickly shot the puck over Peterson’s right pad and into the net for the game-winning goal.
The Phantoms’ four-game winning streak came to an end with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Providence Bruins. After the game, Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperrière sarcastically congratulated the refs.
The Phantoms had 42 shots on goal, committed seven penalties for 27 minutes, went 1 for 3 on the power play, and Cal Peterson did a good job making 26 saves off 28 shots.
One note regarding the refereeing. The inconsistencies, phantom calls, and giving the advantage to one team regardless of the play have been a problem all season. If this is training for referees before going up to the NHL then we have a huge problem.
Perhaps some of the retired referees could come out of retirement and retrain these refs. The missed calls, made-up calls, and irregular penalties have made the league hard to watch. Perhaps having them coached by professionals could improve their refereeing.
Lehigh Valley concludes the two-game homestand on Saturday against the Rochester Americans at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Purchase Phantoms tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
