GAME STORY: Hershey - 6 at Lehigh Valley - 1 (4/21/21)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-4-3) returned to game action Wednesday night against Hershey (16-5-2) following 16 days between games after COVID-19 positive cases among the team halted their season. It went about as well as you'd expect for a team returning after a lengthy layoff.

While there was excitement for the return of the Phantoms on the ice, as well as the pro debut of Philadelphia Flyers' 2019-1st round pick defenseman Cam York, it was a long night for the home team in a 6-1 loss to their in-state rivals.

Ryan Fitzgerald tallied a third period power play goal, but that was it for the Phantoms offensively. Cal O'Reilly added an assist on Fitzgerald's 10th of the season, moving O'Reilly into a tie with former Hershey Bears standout Chris Bourque for 11th all-time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with 495 career assists.

### Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Ryan Fitzgerald - Cal O'Reilly - Tyson Foerster Brennan Saulnier - Chris Mueller - Linus Sandin Tanner MacMaster - Connor Bunnaman - Isaac Ratcliffe Max Willman - David Kase - Pascal Laberge

Tyler Wotherspoon - Wyatte Wylie Egor Zamula - Chris Bigras Cam York - Logan Day

Felix Sandstrom - Zane McIntyre

Phantoms Scratches: Eamon McAdam, Linus Hogberg, Zayde Wisdom, Maksim Sushko, Ralph Cuddemi and Garrett Wilson

GAME RECAP

1st Period

Lehigh Valley looked very much like a team that hadn't played in 16 days, as well as a team that had nine days off to quarantine because of a COVID-19 outbreak that went through the team.

Hershey tallied the first nine shots of the game, taking a 1-0 lead after the Phantoms had some trouble breaking the puck out of their defensive zone.

Cam York had trouble handling a pass that was a little behind him, and the Bears quickly pounced on the puck and made the most of it - with Shane Gerisch putting one past Phantoms netminder Felix Sandstrom 5:14 into the contest.

The teams traded penalties shortly thereafter, but the theme of the night kind of surprisingly became the Bears cashing in - and making quick work of - their power play opportunities. Entering the game, the Phantoms had the league's best PK.

Capitals' 1st rounder Connor McMichael sniped Sandstrom from the right-wing circle to extend the Bears' lead to 2-0 with Connor Bunnaman off for holding.

When the horn sounded and the opening 20 minutes were in the books, the Phantoms found themselves trailing by two and out-shot 15-6.

2nd Period

The Phantoms were much better to start the middle frame, opening up the period with the first six shots on goal of the stanza.

It wasn't until a hooking minor 6:49 into the period on Lehigh Valley that Hershey got their first shot on net.

Unfortunately for the Phantoms, the Bears made quick work of the ensuing man advantage - with McMichael getting his second power play tally of the contest to extend Hershey's lead to 3-0.

A bit of a weird sequence moments later saw Bears' forward Mason Morelli whistled for holding and Phantoms' forward Connor Bunnaman called for delay of game for playing the puck out of play. Bunnaman headed to the penalty boxes, saw Morelli enter the Bears' penalty box and thought perhaps the penalty wasn't on him. After skating back to the Phantoms' bench, Bunnaman found out he was indeed tagged for the delay of game minor.

Shortly into the 4-on-4, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby sped through the neutral zone and fired a quick shot past Sandstrom just as the Bears' forward entered the offensive zone. Just like that, on goals 1:35 apart on consecutive shots, Hershey doubled their lead from the opening period.

The physical play and big hits continued, and things boiled over in the final seconds of the frame when Brennan Saulnier took exception to Eddie Wittchow's high hit and shove on rookie defenseman Egor Zamula - resulting in Saulnier dropping the gloves and feeding Wittchow with several lefts.

3rd Period

Things didn't get much better in the third for Lehigh Valley.

After David Kase was whistled for an interference minor for slashing a Bears' defender's stick out of his hands int he Phantoms' offensive zone, the Bears tallied on the power play seven seconds into the man advantage to make it a 5-0 game.

The Phantoms broke Pheonix Copley's shutout bid 6:04 into the third period when Ryan Fitzgerald tallied a power play tap-in at the side of the net, but that was the lone tally on the night for Lehigh Valley.

Brett Leason later added a shorthanded tally for the Bears to cap the scoring in Hershey's 6-1 victory.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

5:14: HER - Gersich (6) - Sutter 5:24: LV - (PP) Bigras, minor (slashing) 6:02: HER - (PP) Schilling, minor (interference) 11:24: LV - (PP) Bunnaman, minor (holding) 11:47: HER - PPG MicMichael (9) - Schilling, Maillet 12:37: HER - (PP) Leason, minor (tripping) 16:59: LV - (PP) Wotherspoon, minor (tripping) 17:50: HER - (PP) Pietila, minor (holding)

2nd Period

6:49: LV - (PP) Fitzgerald, minor (hooking) 6:56: HER - PPG McMichael (10) - Moulson, Schilling 7:58: HER - (PP) Morelli, minor (holding) 7:58: LV - (PP) Bunnaman, minor (delay of game) 12:31: LV - (PP) MacMaster, minor (holding) 19:48: HER - (PP) Wittchow, minor (cross-checking, served by Protas) 19:48: HER - Wittchow, major (fighting) 19:48: LV - Saulnier, major (fighting)

3rd Period

3:11: LV - (PP) Kase, minor (interference) 3:18: HER - PPG Maillet (2) - McMichael, Schilling 5:48: HER - (PP) O'Gara, minor (cross-checking) 6:04: LV - PPG Fitzgerald (10) - O'Reilly, Day 10:52: HER - (PP) Pinho, minor (slashing) 11:21: HER - SHG Leason (6) - Gersich, Fehervary 15:25: LV - (PP) Wylie, minor (holding)

BOXSCORE

Hershey Bears  2 - 2 - 2 = 6 Lehigh Valley    0 - 0 - 1 = 1

Shots

Hershey Bears  15 - 10 - 9 = 34 Lehigh Valley    6 - 10 - 10 = 26

Goalies

HER: Pheonix Copley (25 saves - 26 shots) LV: Felix Sandstrom (28 saves - 34 shots)

Power Play

HER: 3-for-7 LV: 1-for-6

Penalty Kill

HER: 5-for-6 LV: 4-for-7