The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (16-15-5-1) continued their three-game road trip by visiting the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday night for a two-game series against the first-place Cleveland Monsters (24-20-1-1). The Phantoms are 0-1 against Cleveland this season
The starting lineup featured Olle Lycksell, Tanner Laczynski, and Samu Tuomaala on the first line. Garrett Wilson, Rhett Gardner, and Cooper Marody were on the second line. J.R. Avon, Elliot Desnoyers, and Adam Brooks were on the third line, and Brendan Furry, Jacob Gaucher, and Zayde Wisdom were on the fourth line.
On defense, Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard were on the first line. Email Andrae and Helge Grans were on the second line, and Victor Mete was paired up with Ethan Samson on the third line.
Cal Petersen (5-7-2, 3.20 GAA, .894 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms. The scratches for the game included Adam Karashik, Louie Belpedio, Mason Millman, Evan Polei, Jordy Bellerive, and Wade Allison.
In the first period, Lehigh Valley’s defense allowed a couple of odd-man rushes from Cleveland but they could not take advantage of them. The puck was bouncing all over the ice with both teams having trouble controlling it.
Lehigh Valley had a couple of power play chances but could not take advantage of them. The Phantoms had 14 shots on goal in the first period. They came close several times including two shots by Samu Tuomaala.
At 17:31, Lehigh Valley moved the puck inside the Monsters’ zone. Adam Brooks (3) passed the puck to Adam Ginning (7), who fired the shot but it was blocked by a Cleveland player and bounced off the endboards. Then, the puck rolled past a couple of Cleveland players where Samu Tuomaala (12) made the rebound before shooting it over the right pad of goaltender Jet Greaves and into the net for a 1-0 lead with 2:29 left of the first period.
Twelve seconds later, Cleveland won the faceoff. Adam Ginning tried to pass the puck but instead turned it over to Luca Del Bel Belluz (5) inside their zone before Belluz zipped it over Cal Peterson’s glove and into the net tying the game 1-1 with 2:17 left of the first period.
Late in the first period, Lehigh Valley’s Rhett Gardner was called for interference giving the Monsters their second power play of the game. Cleveland had 1:35 left of power play time to begin the second period. The game remained tied 1-1 after one period of play, and Cal Peterson made six saves off seven shots.
A minute and thirty-three seconds into the second period, Cleveland’s Hunter McKown (9) made a pass to Stanislav Svozil (11) near the right circle. Svozil took a shot that hit the stick of James Malatesta (9) before rolling past both Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning, then rolled past Cal Peterson into the net for a 2-0 lead with 18:27 left of the second period.
Shortly after the goal, Cleveland struck again at 3:14. Cole Clayton (6) made a long pass to Justin Pearson (6) entering the Phantoms’ zone. Then, Lehigh Valley’s Victor Mete attempted to block Pearson’s pass to James Malatesta (10), who pulled Cal Peterson away from his crease before chipping the puck past Peterson’s left skate and into the net for a 3-1 lead with 16:46 left of the second period.
Lehigh Valley had six shots on goal. They struggled to generate chances plus Cleveland’s defense was all over them. The only time Lehigh Valley came close was when Olle Lycksell stole the puck before shooting it at Jet Greaves, who made the save. At 17:29, Lehigh Valley’s Rhett Gardner went to the penalty box for high sticking and Cleveland took advantage.
At 18:11, James Malatesta (7) got the puck to Luca Del Bel Belluz (12) inside the Phantoms’ zone. Belluz patiently waited for Jake Christiansen (7) before passing the puck to him. Christiansen rushed toward Peterson before sniping it over his left shoulder and into the net for a 4-1 lead with 1:49 left of the second period. It was the second Cleveland power play goal.
Lehigh Valley’s defense did not do a good job. They left too much room for Cleveland and they took advantage of everything the Phantoms gave them. Cal Peterson did not have a good period with six saves off nine shots. Lehigh Valley trailed 4-1 after two periods of play.
Seven minutes and fourteen seconds into the third period, Lehigh Valley generated a rush led by Branden Furry (2). Just before Furry got hit from behind, he made a backhand pass to Victor Mete (8), who was wide open. Mete skated from the left side before passing the puck to Jacob Gaucher (4), who jammed it over the right pad of Jet Greaves and into the net cutting Cleveland’s lead down to 4-2 with 12:46 left in the game.
With 11:22 left in the game, Cleveland’s Cameron Butler had a breakaway chance but Cal Peterson stopped his shot. Lehigh Valley had a couple of chances on the power play to get back into the game but continued to struggle. At 17:26, Cal Peterson was pulled for an extra attacker and that did not work either. The Phantoms had six shots on goal in the third period and went on to lose to the Cleveland Monsters by the final score of 4-2.
The Phantoms finished the night with 26 shots on goal, committed four penalties for eight minutes, went 0 for 4 on the power play, and Cal Peterson made 18 saves off 22 shots.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 7 pm on AHL.TV. Purchase Phantoms tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
