GAME STORY: Providence - 1 at Lehigh Valley - 5 (2/4/22)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-15-8) got off to a solid start in the first frame, tallying the opening three goals of the contest and never really looking back in a () win Friday night at PPL Center.

Wyatte Wylie had a game-high three points (one goal, two primary assists) while Hayden Hodgson (two goals), Morgan Frost (one goal, one assist), Cal O'Reilly (two assists) and Linus Sandin (two assists) each recorded two points in the win. Felix Sandstrom made some timely saves throughout the contest, stopping 25 of 26 to pick up his sixth win of the season.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lineup Notes

Felix Sandstrom got the start in net for Lehigh Valley Friday night against Providence. Garrett Metcalf served as the team's backup.

Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, Cam York and Egor Zamula returned to the Phantoms' lineup Friday.

Phantoms' Scratches: Samuel Ersson, Pat Nagle, Cooper Zech, Mason Millman, German Rubtsov, Nick Lappin, Alex Kile and Tyson Foerster

Lines/Pairings:

Maksim Sushko - Cal O'Reilly - Hayden Hodgson Garrett Wilson - Morgan Frost - Linus Sandin Isaac Ratcliffe - Jackson Cates - Charlie Gerard Brennan Saulnier - Matthew Strome - Ryan MacKinnon

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

Felix Sandstrom - Garrett Metcalf

Providence Bruins Lineup Notes

Veteran Troy Grosenick got the start in net for Providence Friday night with Kyle Keyser serving as the team's backup.

Bruins Scratches: Jeremy Swayman, Nick Wolff, Jakub Lauko, Ian McKinnon, Alex-Olivier Voyer, John Moore, J.D. Greenway, Aaron Ness and Oskar Steen

Lines/Pairings:

Samuel Asselin - Jack Studnicka - Jesper Froden Cameron Hughes - Steven Fogarty - Zach Senyshyn Matt Filipe - Curtis Hall - Chris Wagner Eduards Tralmaks - Joona Koppanen - Justin Brazeau

Jack Ahcan - Tyler Lewington Victor Berglund - Josiah Didier Brady Lyle - Andrew Peski

Troy Grosenick - Kyle Keyser

GAME RECAP

1st Period

The Phantoms opened the scoring 2:35 into the first period on a bit of a fortuitous bounce in front after captain Cal O'Reilly won a face-off back to Wyatte Wylie.

Wylie's shot from the center point was blocked down to the corner, where O'Reilly turned and threw one to the net. The puck banked in off a PBruins' defender in front and into the net behind Troy Grosenick to give the Phantoms an early 1-0 lead.

From there, Providence had a few shifts of extended offensive zone pressure and seemed to be throwing pucks toward the net from wherever they could - some on set plays with guys cutting to the net for a rebound.

Felix Sandstrom was equal to the task in the first frame, stopping all nine shots he faced to keep the Phantoms ahead 1-0 into the final eight minutes of the period.

Isaac Ratcliffe was tripped in the offensive zone, sending the Phantoms to their first power play of the night with 7:24 left before the first intermission.

The Phantoms didn't convert on the man advantage, but tallied two goals in 37 seconds shortly after it expired.

First, Wylie jumped up in the offensive zone - taking a pass from Garrett Wilson and feeding a beautful back door pass for a wide open Morgan Frost for a tap-in goal past Grosenick.

Then, on the next shift, Hayden Hodgson re-directed a Maksim Sushko give to the net to put the Phantoms up 3-0 with 4:38 left in the opening period - giving them a commanding lead heading into the middle frame.

2nd Period

After surrendering two quick goals late in the first period, Providence went back to work in the middle frame and their top line of Samuel Asselin, Jack Studnicka and Jesper Froden had a dominant shift early in the period to give Providence some life on a goal from defenseman Victor Berglund to cut the Phantoms' lead to 3-1 at the 4:16 mark.

While the Phantoms appeared to be on their heels a bit to begin the frame, play evened out as the period wore on.

A late Hodgson boarding penalty gave the Bruins a chance to close within a goal heading to the third, but credit the Phantoms' penalty killers for getting the job done and getting to the third with the 3-1 lead still intact.

3rd Period

The Phantoms killed off the remaining 15 seconds of Hodgson's carry-over penalty from the middle frame, and quickly added to their goal total to restore their three-goal lead 1:09 into the final frame.

Wylie made it his second three-point night in his past six games, getting a point shot through traffic amid a screen at the top of the crease from Garrett Wilson. Grosenick immediately put his arms in the air to argue for goalie interference prior to Wylie's shot, but the goal stood as called to put Lehigh Valley ahead 4-1 with 18:51 left to play.

From there, the Phantoms kept their foot on the gas - drawing what was essentially back-to-back power plays before converting on the latter chance to put the nail in the coffin with 10:16 left to play.

Hodgson collected a pass from Isaac Ratcliffe and snapped one past Grosenick from the right-circle for his second of the game to give the Phantoms a commanding 5-1 lead in what ended holding up as the final score.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:35: LV - O'Reilly (9) - Wylie 12:36: PRO - Berglund, minor (tripping) 14:45: LV - Frost (4) - Wylie, Sandin 15:22: LV - Hodgson (10) - Sushko, O'Reilly

2nd Period

4:16: PRO - Berglund (2) - Studnicka, Asselin 18:15: LV - (PP) Hodgson, minor (boarding)

3rd Period

1:09: LV - Wylie (2) - Sandin, Frost 5:12: PRO - (PP) Froden, minor (hooking) 7:59: PRO - (PP) Studnicka, minor (tripping) 9:44: LV - PPG Hodgson (11) - Ratcliffe

BOXSCORE

Providence  0 - 1 - 0 = 1 Lehigh Valley   3 - 0 - 2 = 5

Shots

Providence  9 - 11 - 6 = 26 Lehigh Valley   10 - 11 - 13 = 35

Goalies

PRO: Troy Grosenick (30 saves - 35 shots) LV: Felix Sandstrom (25 saves - 26 shots)

Power Play

PRO: 0-for-1 LV: 1-for-3

Penalty Kill

PRO: 2-for-3 LV: 1-for-1