GAME STORY: Charlotte - 5 at Lehigh Valley - 2 (3/4/22)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-22-10) opened two-game weekend set with the Charlotte Checkers (28-21-3) Friday night at PPL Center, but didn't play with enough desperation and compete and deserved their fate - a 5-2 loss - according to head coach Ian Laperriere.

"We don't have enough desperation right now. We want to get back into that playoff race, and I sure need more out of a lot of guys in that room for 60 minutes," Laperriere told InsideAHLHockey.com after the game.

Matt Strome tallied goals in the first and second periods, with Isaac Ratcliffe assisting on both, but it wasn't enough for the Phantoms in the loss. Felix Sandstrom also returned to the Phantoms' lineup, but was tagged with the loss - surrendering four goals on 31 shots.

Five different goal scorers for Charlotte as Logan Hutsko, Zac Dalpe, Henry Bowlby, Chase Priskie and Cole Schwindt (EN) all tallied goals for the Checkers in the win, while Spencer Knight stopped 20 of 22 to improve his own personal record at the AHL level to 7-3-0 on the season.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lineup Notes

Felix Sandstrom returned to game action for the Phantoms for the first time since suffering a lower body injury in the 1st period of February 19th's 3-2 shootout loss to Utica. Pat Nagle served as Sandstrom's backup.

The defense remained the same from Wednesday night's game, but there were a host of changes to the forward core.

Alexis D'Aoust was released from his PTO Thursday, while Hayden Hodgson was assessed a three-game suspension for his 5-minute interference major in the third period of Wednesday's loss to Providence. Tanner Laczynski also missed Friday's game due to illness.

There was some good news on the injury front, as in addition to Sandstrom returning forwards German Rubtsov and Linus Sandin returned from injuries and Isaac Ratcliffe returned from the Flyers.

Phantoms Scratches: Samuel Ersson, Kirill Ustimenko, Cooper Zech, Tanner Laczynski, Brennan Saulnier, Nick Lappin, Hayden Hodgson, Alex Kile and Tyson Foerster

Lines/Pairings:

Adam Johnson - Cal O'Reilly - Charlie Gerard Garrett Wilson - Morgan Frost - Linus Sandin Isaac Ratcliffe - Matt Strome - Connor Bunnaman Jackson Cates - German Rubtsov - Maksim Sushko

Egor Zamula - Adam Clendening Cam York - Wyatte Wylie Linus Hogberg - Logan Day

Felix Sandstrom - Pat Nagle

1st Period

Lehigh Valley opened the scoring 2:08 into the contest after a great play behind the net from Isaac Ratcliffe to thread the needle to Matt Strome out in front for Strome's fourth of the season and second in as many games. Connor Bunnaman added a secondary assist, winning a board battle and getting the puck down low to Ratcliffe on a cycle play in the offensive zone.

Despite giving up an early goal - and the opening three shots of the hockey game - Charlotte responded and took control of the period shortly thereafter - getting a bit of a lucky bounce when Checkers' defenseman Matt Kiersted's shot from the left point hit off the top of the skate of Cam York and changed directions on Phantoms' netminder Felix Sandstrom before going into the net just over two minutes after Strome's opening goal had given Lehigh Valley the early 1-0 lead.

The Checkers made it 2-1 on a power play tally from Zac Dalpe with 7:25 gone in the first frame after Owen Tippett started a tic-tac-toe passing play with Scott Wilson that saw the puck end up on Dalpe's stick in the right-wing circle.

Charlotte held as wide a margin as 9-4 in shots on goal as the period progressed, but after former Phantoms forward Carsen Twarynski was whistled for a cross-checking minor on German Rubtsov the tides seemed to turn toward the Phantoms' favor. Garrett Wilson drew a tripping minor entering the offensive zone with 2:11 left before the first intermission, and it seemed as though the Phantoms gained momentum the late-period power play.

The Phantoms didn't convert on the man advantage, but had two great looks at the net on chances that go in on most nights.

First, Cam York sent a pass from the center point to Morgan Frost at the right-wing wall before Frost zinged one cross-ice to Cal O'Reilly on the backdoor. O'Reilly's bid to the net was stopped by Checkers' goaltender Spencer Knight.

Knight, coming off a 44-save shutout of Hershey Wednesday night, made a big stop in the closing seconds of the period on another backdoor play on the left wing - this time from Strome after a spinning pirouette-style keep in at the center point from Egor Zamula led to extended pressure and Strome's chance.

2nd Period

The Phantoms had a third great chance to tie the game up at 2-2 just under two minutes into the middle frame after another strong shift from the Ratcliffe-Strome-Bunnaman trio led to Bunnaman hitting the post from inside the left-circle.

Charlotte quickly brought the puck up ice the other way and scored seconds after Bunnaman's hit post, with Henry Bowlby making a few Phantoms' defenders miss on a deke and cut to the middle before scoring unassisted to extend the Checkers' lead to 3-1 just 2:06 into the period.

Bowlby's unassisted marker appeared to take the wind out of the Phantoms' proverbial sails, as they spent several shifts hemmed in their own zone before the Checkers made it 4-1 on an unassisted bar-down snipe from Chase Priskie from just inside the blue line with 7:55 played in the period.

The Checkers dominated play as the period wore on, limiting the Phantoms to just one shot on goal through the opening 11-plus minutes of the period and out-shot Lehigh Valley by a 10-4 margin in the stanza.

After killing off a late-period Wyatte Wylie cross-checking minor, the Phantoms cut the deficit to 4-2 before heading into the second intermission on Strome's second goal of the contest.

Ratcliffe made a strong play at the offensive zone blue line to spring himself to a mini-breakaway down low, though he was stopped on his way to the net by Knight. Ratcliffe stuck with it, collecting his own rebound and getting it up top to Cam York for a shot from the point that Strome tipped in from atop the crease with 1:48 left in the frame.

3rd Period

After a bit of a slow start to the period for both teams, the Phantoms appearead to have scored and made it a one-goal game with 12:53 left in regulation after Charlie Gerard slammed home a rebound from the right-wing circle.

The referee in position behind the net immediately ruled no-goal as Phantoms' captain Cal O'Reilly and Checkers' goalie Knight made contact with each other atop the crease just prior to Gerard's rebound goal.

It certainly looked like the Checkers' defender in front initiated the contact with O'Reilly that sent the Phantoms' forward into the goaltender, and I'm sure that's what head coach Ian Laperriere was lobbying for during the officials conference at the scorer's table, but the call stood.

The Phantoms pulled their goalie for the extra attacker down two in the final 3:25 of play, but Cole Schwindt tacked on an empty netter in the final minute of the third to complete the 5-2 final score.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:08: LV - Strome (4) - Ratcliffe, Bunnaman 4:15: CHA - Hutsko (11) - Kiersted, True 6:10: LV - (PP) Clendening, minor (tripping) 7:25: CHA - PPG Dalpe (21) - Wilson, Tippett 12:34: CHA - (PP) Twarynski, minor (cross-checking) 17:49: CHA - (PP) Friend, minor (tripping)

2nd Period

2:06: CHA - Bowlby (10) - unassisted 7:55: CHA - Priskie (5) - unassisted 14:20: LV - (PP) Wylie, minor (cross-checking) 18:12: LV - Strome (5) - York, Ratcliffe

3rd Period

19:01: CHA - ENG Schwindt (14) - McCormick

BOXSCORE

Charlotte     2 - 2 - 1 = 5 Lehigh Valley   1 - 1 - 0 = 2

Shots

Charlotte     13 - 10 - 9 = 32 Lehigh Valley   10 - 4 - 8 = 22

Goalies

CHA: Spencer Knight (20 saves - 22 shots) LV: Felix Sandstrom (27 saves - 31 shots)

Power Play

CHA: 1-for-2 LV: 0-for-2

Penalty Kill

CHA: 2-for-2 LV: 1-for-2