AHL Preseason 2021: Hershey - 3 at Lehigh Valley - 0 (10/13/21)

ALLENTOWN, Pa.  - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms wrapped up their four-game preseason slate on a sour note Wednesday night in a 3-0 shutout loss to the Hershey Bears in front of the home crowd at PPL Center.

While the end results don't mean a thing, a 1-3-0 showing in the preseason certainly isn't appetizing.

Wednesday night against their in-state rival, the Phantoms had plenty of chances - including seven power play opportunities - but were unable to get anything past Bears' netminder Zach Fucale. Perhaps more concerning was the Phantoms' inability to get pucks on net, as they were limited to just 14 shots on goal. They only had 16 shots on goal in their previous game.

"What concerned me is we miss the net," head coach Ian Laperriere told InsideAHLHockey.com after the game. "We do have chances to put it on net and we don't. We try to be a little bit too fancy, try to hit corners and that's one thing we're preaching - to put traffic at the net, but if we don't put that puck on net it doesn't matter."

The Phantoms won't skate Thursday - they'll have off-ice workouts - but they'll be back on the ice Friday for one last practice before they begin the 2021-22 regular season when they hit the road and take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Lines/Pairings:

Max Willman - Morgan Frost - Linus Sandin Isaac Ratcliffe - Cal O'Reilly - Gerry Mayhew German Rubtsov - Jackson Cates - Samu Tuomaala Brennan Saulnier - Connor Bunnaman - Hayden Hodgson

Cam York - Adam Clendening Mason Millman - Wyatte Wylie Linus Hogberg - Logan Day

Felix Sandstrom - Samuel Ersson

Phantoms scratches: Maksim Sushko, Matt Strome, Ryan MacKinnon, Garrett Wilson, Nick Seeler and Tyson Foerster

GAME RECAP

1st Period

It was a bit of a slow start for both teams Wednesday night, as the Phantoms registered the lone shot on goal in the opening half of the period.

A questionable hit in the early going saw tempers flare momentarily. Eddie Wittchow took several strides through the neutral zone before meeting Brennan Saulnier in the Phantoms' defensive zone, sending the Phantoms' forward sprawling to the ice. Hayden Hodgson chased Wittchow around the netural zone, and challenged the Bears' enforcer to drop his gloves but Wittchow declined the challenge.

After killing off a Linus Hogberg high-sticking minor earlier in the period, Lehigh Valley got a power play chance of their own in the later stages of the stanza and it appeared they opened the scoring.

Morgan Frost got a puck from the center point from Cam York, and in one swift motion one-touched a hard pass through the circles and right onto Isaac Ratcliffe's tape for a one-timer that got in behind Bears' netminder Zach Fucale. The referee in position behind the net signaled goal, but after a review the goal was overturned.

The Phantoms had a second power play opportunity to close out the first period, but were unsuccessful and the two teams headed to the first intermission in a scoreless tie.

2nd Period

The Phantoms were on their heels most of the middle frame.

Hershey's early-period surge offensively allowed them to open the scoring 2:21 into the period. After Felix Sandstrom stopped a shot from the point and a subsequent rebound, the Phantoms defense were unable to clear a puck out of harm's way and Ryan Dmowski made them pay - stuffing home a third-chance past the Phantoms' netminder to put Hershey ahead 1-0.

Lehigh Valley was out-shot 9-1 in the opening half of the period while also failing to convert on a pair of power plays, the second of which came after Ben Hawerchuk cross-checked captain Cal O'Reilly.

Ratcliffe went up to Hawerchuk after the play, and the Bears' forward dropped his gloves. Ratcliffe might've been second to drop his mitts, but was able to land several lefts over the top and connected on Hawerchuk's chin a few times before the Phantoms' forward earned the takedown.

The Phantoms seemingly came alive in the final minutes of the period, but headed to the second intermission with just nine shots on goal through 40 minutes.

Third Period

Lehigh Valley had their chances in the opening half of the period, with two separate power play opportunities, but were unable to even things up.

Instead, after the Bears killed off the second of those two minors, it was Hershey extending the lead on a bit of a broken play. Two Phantoms converged for a hit in the corner, and the puck darted out to the right-wing circle and right to Aliaksei Protas for a quick shot past Sandstrom to make it 2-0 Hershey with 7:15 left in regulation.

The Phantoms opted to pull Sandstrom for the extra attacker with 3:45 left, but it was Shane Gersich hitting the empty net to make it a 3-0 Bears lead in the final two and a half minutes.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:45: LV - (PP) Hogberg, minor (high-sticking) 14:29: HER - (PP) Graber, minor (slashing) 17:06: HER - (PP) Clark, minor (tripping)

2nd Period

2:21: HER - Dmowski (2) - Morelli, Geisser 4:22: HER - (PP) Gersich, minor (cross-checking) 8:12: HER - (PP) Hawerchuk, minor (cross-checking) 8:12: HER - Hawerchuk, major (fighting) 8:12: LV - Ratcliffe, major (fighting) 11:39: LV - (PP) Saulnier, minor (slashing)

3rd Period

3:00: HER - (PP) Johansen, minor (interference) 10:07: HER - (PP) Wittchow, minor (interference) 17:39: HER - ENG Gersich (1) - Jonsson-Fjallby, Clark 18:58: HER - (PP) Johansen, minor (tripping)

BOXSCORE

Hershey  0 - 1 - 2 = 3 Lehigh Valley  0 - 0 - 0 = 0

Shots

Hershey  5 - 11 - 5 = 21 Lehigh Valley  6 - 3 - 5 = 14

Goalies

HER: Zach Fucale (14 saves - 14 shots) LV: Felix Sandstrom (18 saves - 20 shots)

Power Play

HER: 0-for-2 LV: 0-for-7

Penalty Kill

HER: 7-for-7 LV: 2-for-2