The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (11-10-1) hosted the Laval Rocket (7-12-3-2) on Friday night from the PPL Center. This was the second meeting of the season. The Phantoms won their first matchup against Laval on November 17th in Laval.
Before the game, the Phantoms got Louie Belpedio from the Flyers. Felix Sandstrom also returned to the Phantoms after getting recalled by the Flyers on an emergency basis last night when the Flyers beat the Capitals in overtime 4-3. In addition, Matthew Brown and Mason Millman were sent to the Reading Royals (ECHL).
The starting lineup featured Garrett Wilson, Rhett Gardner, and Wade Allison on the first line. J.R. Avon, Adam Brooks, and Samu Tuomaala were on the second line. Alexis Gendron, Elliot Desnoyers, and Cooper Marody were on the third line, and Jordy Bellerive, Jacob Gaucher, and Zayde Wisdom were on the fourth line.
On defense, Emil Andrae and Louie Belpedio 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 Petersen (4-5-2, 3.11 GAA, .903 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms. The scratches for the game included Helge Grans, Adam Karashik, Tanner Laczynski, Evan Polei, and Brendan Furry.
At 2:29 of the first period, Laval’s William Trudeau slashed Cooper Marody which put the Phantoms on their first power play of the game. During the power play, the Phantoms did an excellent job moving the puck around the Rocket’s zone. Emil Andrae took a shot that bounced off the pads of Jakub Dobeš but it was recovered by Cooper Marody (16).
Marody skated with the puck before passing it back to Emil Andrae (7). Then, Andrae passed the puck to Samu Tuomaala (7) from the left side before Tuomaala hammered it through the five-hole and into the net for a power play goal. The Phantoms led 1-0 with 16:52 left of the first period.
After the goal, Laval’s offense pressured the Phantoms’ zone. Lehigh Valley’s defense left a couple of Laval guys open and they took their chances but Cal Peterson made those stops. Peterson stopped seven shots on goal.
At 16:39, Lehigh Valley’s Louie Belpedio was slashed by Laval’s Jared Davidson. During Lehigh Valley’s second power play, they once again moved the puck well inside the Rocket’s zone leading to several chances by Lehigh Valley’s fourth line. Unfortunately, the Phantoms did not score on the power play and went 1 for 2. Lehigh Valley had 11 shots on goal and led 1-0 after one period of play.
Thirteen seconds into the second period, Lehigh Valley’s Ronnie Attard (9) intercepted a Laval pass before passing the puck to Garrett Wilson (9). Then, Wilson passed the puck to Wade Allison (5), who turned on the jets before firing the puck over the left shoulder of Jakub Dobeš and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Shortly after the goal, Laval’s Riley McKay charged at Elliot Desnoyers using his shoulder to hit Desnoyers’s head. Desnoyers was slow to get up but stayed in the game. McKay was given a four-minute penalty. Lehigh Valley only had one shot on goal during the power play and could not score.
Later in the second period, Lehigh Valley made two costly turnovers, leading to goals. At 10:05, the Phantoms were on another power play when Brandon Gignac (8) picked off J.R. Avon which led to a short breakaway. Gignac used the backhand to send the puck over Peterson’s right pad and into the net cutting Lehigh Valley’s lead to 2-1.
Next, in blown coverage, Lehigh Valley’s Ethan Samson missed a shot wide left. There was no Lehigh Valley player near the puck, which Joshua Roy retrieved (13). Roy passed the puck to Lucas Condotta (4) for another breakaway. Condotta pelted the puck through the five-hole and into the net tying the game 2-2 with 8:49 left of the second period.
At 15:43, Laval’s Philippe Maillet went to the penalty box for tripping. During the power play, there was a tie-up inside the Rocket’s zone. Samu Tuomaala (15) emerged with the puck before passing it to Cooper Marody (17). Then, Marody sent the puck in the direction of Emil Andrae (3 from center point. Andrae found his shot and fired it under the right pad of Jakub Dobeš and into the net giving the Phantoms a 3-2 lead with 3:25 left of the second period.
Lehigh Valley’s offense had 18 shots on goal in the third period. Their defense allowed Laval to shoot the puck 13 times at Peterson. Laval attacked the Phantoms’ zone several times and for the most part, the defense did a decent job getting the puck out of their zone. The Phantoms led 3-2 after two periods of play.
At 7:14 of the third period, Laval’s Nolan Yaremko (3) chased the puck down into the Phantoms’ zone. He sent the puck toward Alex-Olivier Voyer (1). Victor Mete and Zayde Wisdom went after Voyer but left Jan Myšák (4) wide open. Voyer passed the puck to Myšák, who fired the puck over Peterson’s glove and into the net tying the game 3-3 with 12:48 left in the game.
Lehigh Valley had 16 shots on goal in the third period but could not score. Laval did a great job taking advantage of the changes. Every time Lehigh Valley went for a change, Laval’s offense quickly generated a rush which forced the Phantoms to use all of their energy chasing them. Lehigh Valley was gassed and they made a ton of mistakes.
At 17:46, Lehigh Valley’s Ronnie Attard went to the penalty box for tripping. During the power play, Gabriel Bourque (3) got in front of Cal Peterson to set up a screen. Arber Xhekaj (3) took a shot but missed and there was a brief scramble before Riley Kidney (6) got control of the puck, spun around, and fired the puck passed a standing Cal Peterson and into the net for a 4-3 lead. Laval had four shots on goal in the third period.
With 1:07 left, Lehigh Valley pulled Peterson for an extra attacker. They had the final three shots of the game but could not score. The Phantoms lost to the Rocket by the final score of 4-3.
Lehigh Valley had 42 shots on goal, committed four penalties for 15 minutes, went 2 for 6 on the power play, and Cal Peterson made 20 saves off 24 shots.
The Phantoms conclude the five-game homestand on Saturday against the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7:05 pm on AHL.TV. Purchase Phantoms tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
