GAME STORY: 2019-20 Season - Charlotte at Lehigh Valley 2/29/20

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (24-25-8) aim to continue to claw their way back toward realistic playoff contention when they finish a two-game home matchup with the team they're currently chasing for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division when they host Charlotte (30-21-4) Saturday night.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Lines/Pairings:

Greg Carey - Cal O'Reilly - David Kase Andy Andreoff - Morgan Frost - Isaac Ratcliffe Maksim Sushko - Mikhail Vorobyev - German Rubtsov Carsen Twarynski - Connor Bunnaman - Gerry Fitzgerald

Tyler Wotherspoon - Mark Friedman Chris Bigras - Nate Prosser James de Haas - Andy Welinski

Kirill Ustimenko - Alex Lyon

Phantoms' Scratches: Kurtis Gabriel, Reece Willcox and Chris Stewart

GAME STORY

1st Period

A promising start to the contest saw the Phantoms get a power play on their opening shift after German Rubtsov drew a hooking minor. Soon after, Mark Friedman fell after his skate was hit with a stick and the Phantoms got 51 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time.

Unfortunately for Lehigh Valley, they were unable to cash in on the early power play chances. Later, they were awarded a four-minute power play after Morgan Frost was on the receiving end of a high-stick from Morgan Geekie.

Instead, it was Charlotte opening the scoring shorthanded, as Steven Lorentz picked up a turnover in the Phantoms' defensive zone and sniped Kirril Ustimenko high to the short side for his 20th goal on the season.

It was a tough first period for Frost, who later negated the remainder of the four-minute power play with a hooking minor after a turnover in the Phantoms' offensive zone.

Still, it was a one-goal hockey game heading to the middle frame with Lehigh Valley trailing Charlotte 1-0 after 20 minutes.

2nd Period

Things went from bad to worse for Lehigh Valley in the middle frame. They managed just five shots on goal in the period, while spending a lot of time in the defensive zone.

The Checkers made it 2-0 less than five minutes into the period when Cavan Fitzgerald picked a corner on Ustimenko following a Charlotte offensive zone face-off win.

A Phantoms penalty a few minutes later further prevented the home team from getting to their game. While they didn't surrender a goal against while shorthanded, Lehigh Valley was largely unable to get on the attack in the second stanza in what was a frustrating period of hockey for the orange and black.

Charlotte later extended their lead to 3-0 with 3:09 remaining before the second intermission as Blake Winiecki finished off a net-mouth scramble for his first career AHL goal in his third pro game.

In all, the Checkers fired 18 shots on Ustimenko in the middle frame. If not for some stellar saves from the Phantoms' rookie goalie it would have been much worse than a 3-0 deficit heading to the third for Lehigh Valley.

3rd Period

Charlotte made it 4-0 with just under 13 and a half minutes left to go on a point shot from Oliwer Kaski, and fans at PPL Center headed for the exits. It was simply one of THOSE nights for Lehigh Valley.

The Phantoms didn't quit, going on to out shoot Charlotte 11-4 in the final frame. In fact, they broke Callum Booth's shutout bid with 10:57 left when James de Haas took a pass from Andy Welinski in stride down the right wing before slipping one past Booth to get Lehigh Valley on the board.

The Phantoms pulled Ustimenko with just under five minutes to go, and on a delayed penalty call Andy Andreoff slammed one home in a net-front scrum to get the Phantoms within two, but they ultimately fell by that 4-2 deficit in a loss that really stings in terms of the Phantoms' playoff chances.

Charlotte's win coupled with Lehigh Valley's loss pushes the Phantoms back to 10 points out of the playoffs with 18 games remaining.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

0:37: CHA - (PP) Leier, minor (hooking) 1:46: CHA - (PP) Bishop, minor (tripping) 8:08: CHA - (PP) Geekie, double-minor (high-sticking) 8:30: CHA - SHG Lorentz (20) - unassisted 11:05: LV - (PP) Frost, minor (hooking)

2nd Period

4:46: CHA - Fitzgerald (2) - McCormick, Geekie 7:26: LV - (PP) Welinski, minor (cross-checking) 16:51: CHA - Winiecki (1) - Broadhurst, McKeown

3rd Period

6:34: CHA - Kaski (13) - Fitzgerald, McCormick 7:07: CHA - Smallman, minor (unsportsmanlike) 7:07: LV - Twarynski, minor (unsportsmanlike) 9:03: LV - de Haas (2) - Welinski, Bunnaman 15:40: LV - Andreoff (10) - O'Reilly, Welinski 19:38: CHA - (PP) Broadhurst, minor (hooking)

BOXSCORE

Charlotte 1 - 2 - 1 = 4 Lehigh Valley 0 - 0 - 2 = 2

Shots

Charlotte 6 - 18 - 4 = 28 Lehigh Valley 7 - 5 - 11 = 23

Goalies

CHA - Callum Booth (21 saves - 23 shots) LV - Kirill Ustimenko (24 saves - 28 shots)

Power Play

CHA: 0-for-2 LV: 0-for-5

Penalty Kill

CHA: 5-for-5 LV: 2-for-2