Phantoms Post-Game EXTRA! (10/30/21)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-5-2) found themselves doing a lot of the right things for a second straight game, but ultimately finding ways to lose games rather than holding on to win.

For a second straight night, the Phantoms held a 2-1 lead going into the third period. Saturday vs. Syracuse, it was the Crunch tying the game up at 2-2 early in the third and eventually completing the comeback 1:01 into overtime after Jimmy Huntington batted a rebound in out of mid-air at the netfront.

Saturday night's Game Story -> https://insideahlhockey.com/article/game-story-syracuse-3-at-lehigh-valley-2-ot-103021

Three Things

1. Mental Mistakes Make The Difference

The Phantoms once again controlled play for large portions of the contest, but some turnovers and/or mistakes here and there allowed Syracuse enough offensive scoring chances to win the game.

"We had the lead, and they came back," Laperriere said after the game, "A couple mistakes here and there, and that's a good team on the other side, and we couldn't find a way to win the game in overtime. Just a couple of brain cramps there."

Some tough luck on the overtime goal for multiple reasons. First off, the Phantoms had started OT with the puck and gained the offensive zone. Morgan Frost entered the right-wing with speed, and left a solid pass to the middle for a semi-open Cam York. York's shot from the high-slot was partially deflected and missed the net.

Then the Phantoms got caught while changing two players as York and Tyson Foerster headed off, and Egor Zamula and Max Willman raced to get back into the defensive zone while the Crunch tried to counter.

They seemingly broke up the 3-on-1 rush but a missed coverage left Jimmy Huntington alone atop the crease. And while the rebound rolled up the shaft of his stick, he was able to bat the puck in out of mid-air to give the Crunch the 3-2 OT win.

"It was a tough change, but we recover and they [should] pick up the same guys," Laperriere explained. "A young guy's mistake, and hopefully we'll learn from it."

2. The Wilson-Frost-Mayhew Line

The second line of Garrett Wilson (two assists), Morgan Frost (one goal, one assist) and Gerry Mayhew (one goal, one assist) dominated most of their shifts Saturday night, creating scoring chances consistently and ended up scoring both of the Phantoms' goals in the game.

"Well, they created offense," Laperriere said. "I think it's a good mix of, you know, a goal scorer, a passer and a grinder. [Wilson] brings those two smaller guys into the fight, and I like the mixture of that line for sure."

In the first period, in the final seconds of their opening power play, Frost got a puck in the right-wing circle and from the bottom of the circle sent a hard pass to the top of the crease for Garrett Wilson. Though Wilson's re-direct on net was stopped, Mayhew was able to get a stick on it during the scramble for the loose puck to nudge it across the line. The goal marked Mayhew's third of the season and 100th career AHL goal.

"Yeah, I think that's the message, get the puck to the net. And don't try and do anything too fancy," Frost told InsideAHLHockey.com after the game. "So I think that's kind of what you saw on that first goal there, just get it to the net, and we kind of jammed it in. And that's what we need to start doing at 5-on-5 and on the power play."

More on Frost for a story coming later this week, so be on the lookout for that.

3. Crowded Press Box

No, there weren't many media outlets at Saturday night's game. It was just Inside AHL Hockey and Service Electric News for post-game.

But for the first time this season, and perhaps not coincidentally while the Flyers were finishing up a road trip in Western Canada, injured forwards Wade Allison and Tanner Laczynski were at the rink and watching the Phantoms' game upstairs with the AHL roster's injured/scratched players on Saturday night.

Zayde Wisdom has been in Allentown for all of the teams' home games to this point as well. The latest on his timetable to return suggests he won't be back until around mid-December if not the start of the 2022 calendar year.