GAME STORY: Lehigh Valley - 1 at Hershey - 4 (3/6/21)

HERSHEY, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (5-2-2) had a bit of a clunker Saturday afternoon at Giant Center, allowing three goals in a span of 2:01 early in the middle frame to put themselves in an insurmountable 4-0 hole to in-state rival Hershey Bears (6-2-2). Chris Mueller broke the shutout with 1:11 left to play with his first as a Phantom, but the lone tally wasn't enough in a 4-1 regulation defeat.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Lines/Pairings:

Ryan Fitzgerald - Cal O'Reilly - Zayde Wisdom Max Willman - Chris Mueller - Tyson Foerster Garrett Wilson - Tanner Laczynski - Linus Sandin Isaac Ratcliffe - Tanner MacMaster - David Kase

Egor Zamula - Linus Hogberg Sam Morin - Wyatte Wylie Mason Millman - Derrick Pouliot

Felix Sandstrom - Zane McIntyre

Scratches: Eamon McAdam, Tyler Wotherspoon (injured), Maksim Sushko (injured), Matthew Strome, Ralph Cuddemi, Brennan Saulnier, Logan Day (injured) Chris Bigras (lower body) and Pascal Laberge (injured, upper body?)

Hershey Bears Roster Notes

Lines/Pairings

Joe Snively - Michael Sgarbossa - Garrett Pilon Axel Jonsson-Fjallby - Connor McMichael - Damien Riat Matt Moulson - Shane Gerisch - Kody Clark Kale Kessy - Riley Sutter - Brett Leason

Zach Malatesta - Paul LaDue Cameron Schilling - Reece Willcox Rob O'Gara - Will Graber

Zach Fucale - Pheonix Copley

Scratches: Tyler Nanne, Lucas Johansen, Mason Morelli, Macoy Erkamps, , Eddie Wittchow, Martin Fehervary, Blake Pietila and Caleb Herbert

GAME RECAP

1st Period

The two teams exchanged chances back and forth in the opening period, with the Hershey Bears generating the better of said chances before eventually taking a 1-0 goal lead late in the period.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was the last Bears forward out of the offensive zone, but Connor McMichael forced an errant Phantoms' pass and Rob O'Gara quickly got the puck ahead to Jonsson-Fjallby. Jonsson-Fjallby made a quick move and beat Phantoms' goaltender Felix Sandstrom bar-down from just inside the blue line with under two minutes to play in the period, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Things got chippy late in the period, with Zayde Wisdom and Connor McMichael exchanging chirps as the Phantoms' rookie headed to the box for a slashing minor with 32.5 seconds left to play. The two reconvened at center ice after the period ended before later being directed by the officials to head to their respective locker rooms.

While it was a 1-0 game at the time, the Bears had the better of play and were later rewarded for their efforts in the middle frame..

2nd Period

The Phantoms started the second period with a strong effort shorthanded to kill off the remainder of Widsom's slashing minor, but they took a nosedive from there to the tune of three Hershey Bears goals in a span of 2:01 to break the game wide open.

First, Jonsson-Fjallby got his second of the game after some solid work behind the net by Riley Sutter and Brett Leason, with Leason getting a puck out in front to Jonsson-Fjallby for a quick tap in from atop the crease to put Hershey ahead 2-0 just 1:45 into the period - 17 seconds after Wisdom's penalty had expired.

Things went from bad to worse on the next shift, as the Bears' top line caught Lehigh Valley in transition. Michael Sgarbossa scored an easy one on a 2-on-1 rush, waiting out a sliding Sandstrom for a backhander into an empty net to extend the Bears' lead to 3-0.

That spelled the end of the road for Sandstrom, as head coach Scott Gordon opted to pull Sandstrom (5 saves on 8 shots in 22:52) and attempt to stymie the Bears' momentum.

McIntyre came in and allowed a goal on the first official shot he faced, as a shot from the point caught the post and popped right to Kale Kessy in the right-wing circle. The Bears enforcer flung one past McIntyre, and just like that it was a big 4-0 hole for the Phantoms.

To their credit, Lehigh Valley responded and played much better as the period wore on. But the damage was done, and on top of that Bears' netminder Zach Fucale was equal to the task on all 12 Phantoms' shots he faced through 40 minutes.

3rd Period

It was a rather uneventful final frame, as the Bears maintained their 4-0 lead until a late power play tally ended Fucale's shutout bid with 1:11 left to play.

Tyson Foerster got a puck at the right point from David Kase, and his shot through traffic was re-directed in by Chris Mueller to complete the 4-1 final score.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

18:22: HER - Jonsson-Fjallby (3) - O'Gara, McMichael 19:28: LV - (PP) Wisdom, minor (slashing)

2nd Period

1:45: HER - Jonsson-Fjallby (4) - Leason, Sutter 2:52: HER - Sgarbossa (5) - Pilon, Snively 3:46: HER - Kessy (1) - Schilling, Leason 10:11: HER - (PP) Kessy, minor (hooking) 15:04: LV - (PP) Hogberg, minor (interference)

3rd Period

0:19: HER - (PP) Willcox, minor (tripping) 10:31: LV - (PP) Millman, minor (holding) 18:39: HER - (PP) Riat, minor (high-sticking) 18:49: LV - PPG Mueller (1) - Foerster, Kase

BOXSCORE

Lehigh Valley   0 - 0 - 1 = 1 Hershey Bears 1 - 3 - 0 = 4

Shots

Lehigh Valley   3 - 9 - 6 = 18 Hershey Bears 6 - 12 - 5 = 23

Goalies

LV: Felix Sandstrom (5 saves - 8 shots in 22:52) and Zane McIntyre (14 saves - 15 shots in 37:08) HER: Zach Fucale (17 saves - 18 shots)

Power Play

LV: 1-for-3 HER: 0-for-3

Penalty Kill

LV: 3-for-3 HER: 2-for-3