GAME STORY: Utica - 3 at Lehigh Valley - 2 (SO) 2/19/22

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (17-18-9) hung in there against the top team in the Eastern Conference, taking the Utica Comets (30-9-5) through overtime and on to a shootout before ultimately falling short in a 3-2 setback.

Charlie Gerard tallied an unassisted breakaway goal 3:38 into the contest to open the scoring for the Phantoms, who got a third period game-tying goal from Hayden Hodgson to force overtime and get the Phantoms a standings point in the process. Felix Sandstrom (8 saves - 9 shots in 16:18) left the game due to injury late in the first period, and was replaced by Kirill Ustimenko who entered the game and played extremely well given the circumstances, stopping

Alexander Holtz and Nolan Foote tallied goals for the Comets, while Akira Schmid stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced in the win, not to mention a perfect 4-for-4 in the shootout. A.J. Greer, who tallied four goals in a win against Rochester Friday night, scored the eventual shootout winner in the bottom half of the fourth round.

The Phantoms are right back at it Sunday afternoon with a 3:15 p.m. ET puck drop on tap with the Springfield Thunderbirds (25-14-7).

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lineup Notes

Felix Sandstrom got the start in net for Lehigh Valley Saturday night against the Comets, with Kirill Ustimenko serving as the team's backup goaltender.

Forward Tanner Laczynski made his Phantoms 2021-22 season debut in his return from hip surgery earlier in the fall.

Also returning to game action was defenseman Cam York.

Forward Connor Bunnaman cleared waivers and was loaned to Lehigh Valley in advance of Saturday night's game, and Maksim Sushko was reassigned to Lehigh Valley earlier in the week.

Defenseman Mason Millman was loaned to Reading (ECHL).

The Phantoms acquired forward Adam Johnson from Ontario (AHL) Thursday in exchange for future considerations. Johnson was among the Phantoms' scratches Saturday night.

Phantoms Scratches: Samuel Ersson, Pat Nagle, Garrett Metcalf, Cooper Zech, Linus Sandin, Brennan Saulnier, Nick Lappin, Ryan MacKinnon, Adam Johnson and Tyson Foerster

Lines/Pairings:

Jackson Cates - Cal O'Reilly - Hayden Hodgson Garrett Wilson - Tanner Laczynski - Charlie Gerard Maksim Sushko - Tanner Laczynski - Alex Kile German Rubtsov - Matthew Strome - Alexis D'Aoust

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

Felix Sandstrom - Kirill Ustimenko

Utica Comets Lineup Notes

Akira Schmid got the start in net for Utica Saturday night in Allentown. Mareks Mitens served as the team's backup goaltender.

Comets' Scratches: Joe Masonius, Patrick McGrath and Nate Schnarr

Lines/Pairings:

Nolan Foote - Brian Flynn - Joe Gambardella Chase De Leo - Ryan Schmelzer - Alexander Holtz A.J. Greer - Frederik Gauthier - Fabian Zetterlund Samuel Laberge - Aarne Talvitie - Graeme Clarke

Nikita Okhotiuk - Robbie Russo Kevin Bahl - Jeremy Groleau Michael Vukojevic - Reilly Walsh

Akira Schmid - Mareks Mitens

GAME STORY

1st Period

The Phantoms opened the scoring 3:38 into the contest to take an early 1-0 lead, thanks in part to a miscue by the Utica Comets' in the Phantoms' defensive zone.

An attempted pass back to the point hopped over the stick of a Comets' defender, and Charlie Gerard raced ahead with the puck - using his speed down the right wing before letting loose a hard & fast shot low to the far side on Comets goaltender Akira Schmid. The unassisted goal marked Gerard's fourth of the season.

Utica later responded to tie the game with 11:05 left in the opening period, after a bit of a discussion among the officials, with talented New Jersey Devils prospect Alexander Holtz going backhand to forehand on a mini-breakaway and sliding into Phantoms' netminder Felix Sandstrom.

The puck crossed the goal line before the net came off its pegs, and thus counted as a good goal. Michael Vukojevic and Chase De Leo added assists on the play.

Whether or not that collision caused an injury to Sandstrom or not remains to be seen, but after a save and stoppage with 3:42 remaining the Phantoms' goaltender was seen hunched over and flexing a lower body ailment before heading to the bench and removing himself with the game. Kirill Ustimenko came on to replace Sandstrom in net to finish the first period.

2nd Period

Ustimenko remained in the game to begin the middle frame, with Phantoms goaltender Garrett Metcalf initially on the bench as the team's emergency backup goaltender (EBUG).

Things quieted down in the middle frame for the most part after Lehigh Valley killed off a short-lived Jackson Cates' tripping minor in the early stages.

Tanner Laczynski became more noticeable as the period wore on, making his season debut after having hip surgery back in September. He made a great play on the early-period PK, springing himself and captain Cal O'Reilly for a scoring chance before being hooked and drawing his team a brief power play of their own.

Nolan Foote broke the 1-1 tie with 7:46 left before the second intermission, taking a feed from Brian Flynn and blasting a one-timer from the right-wing circle just past the out-stretched Ustimenko to give Utica their first lead of the night. Vukojevic added an assist on Foote's ninth of the season.

Later in the period, Laczynski pushed a rebound just over the top of net while looking to tie the game back up. He seemed to be moving well out there for a guy playing his first hockey game of the 2021-22 season, perhaps feeding off the adrenaline rush that comes from returning to the lineup after a lengthy injury absence.

The Phantoms found themselves in penalty trouble in the closing minute of the period, with Hayden Hodgson and Garrett Wilson taking minor penalties in the final 41 seconds of the stanza.

Ustimenko made the necessary stops to get the Phantoms to the second intermission in a one-goal game, but Lehigh Valley still had 1:19 of five-on-three PK time to kill off to begin the third.

3rd Period

Lehigh Valley was able to kill off the 5-on-3 to begin the third period, and later tied the game at 2-2 with 13:37 left in regulation.

Connor Bunnaman won a puck battle down low and got it up to Egor Zamula at the left point. Zamula fired one to the net that Hayden Hodgson was able to re-direct past Schmid for his team-leading 14th of the season.

After rattling off 14 shots in the opening 15 minutes of the game, the Phantoms had just three total shots in the next 30-plus minutes prior to Hodgson's game-tying goal.

Both teams had chances to break the 2-2 deadlock, but credit both goaltenders coming up with crucial stops to get the game to overtime.

Overtime

Utica had extended offensive zone time in the opening half of the OT, but were unable to get one past Ustimenko.

Lehigh Valley a flurry of pressure in the closing seconds, with Garrett Wilson hitting the post before the 3-on-3 came to an end without providing a game-winner.

Shootout

The goalies remained on their game in the shootout, as Ustimenko and Schmid each stopped the first three shooters before A.J. Greer was able to lift Utica to the shootout win with the lone goal of the skills competition in the bottom half of the fourth round to give Utica the two points.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

3:38: LV - Gerard (4) - unassisted 8:55: UTI - Holtz (18) - Vukojevic, De Leo 11:17: UTI - (PP) Gauthier, minor (tripping)

2nd Period

5:59: LV - (PP) Cates, minor (tripping) 7:04: UTI - (PP) Walsh, minor (hooking) 12:14: UTI - Foote (9) - Flynn, Vukojevic 12:50: UTI - (PP) Okhotiuk, minor (interference) 19:19: LV - (PP) Hodgson, minor (slashing) 19:45: LV - (PP) Wilson, minor (high-sticking)

3rd Period

6:23: LV - Hodgson (14) - Zamula, Bunnaman 10:41: UTI - (PP) Laberge, minor (tripping)

Overtime

No scoring/penalties

Shootout

LV

Laczynski - no goal Clendening - no goal Hodgson - no goal O'Reilly - no goal

UTI

Holtz - no goal Foote - no goal Clarke - no goal Greer - GOAL

BOXSCORE

Utica Comets 1 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 = 3 Lehigh Valley   1 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 = 2

Shots

Utica Comets 10 - 9 - 6 - 5 = 31 Lehigh Valley  14 - 3 - 7 - 3 = 27

Goalies

UTI: Akira Schmid (23 saves - 25 shots) LV: Felix Sandstrom (8 saves - 9 shots in 16:18) and Kirill Ustimenko (20 saves - 21 shots in 48:42)

Power Play

UTI: 0-for-3 LV: 0-for-4

Penalty Kill

UTI: 4-for-4 LV: 3-for-3