On Saturday night at the PPL Center. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-13-3) took on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (14-9-5) to close out 2022. This was the fourth meeting of the year between these two teams. The last time these teams played each other was November 25th it resulted in a 3-2 Penguins win.
The Phantoms came into this game 5-4-1 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Penguins had lost five straight games. The Phantoms made some minor lineup adjustments as Garrett Wilson returned from injury. Adam Brooks moved up to the first line, and Kieffer Bellows went down to the third line.
Pat Nagle (1-4-1, 3.03 GAA, .905 SV%) started in goal. The scratches for the Phantoms were Troy Grosenick, Adam Karashik, Mason Millman, Ryan Fitzgerald, Zayde Wisdom, and Isaac Ratcliffe.
Four minutes and twenty-five seconds into the first period. The Penguins struck first. They generated a rush inside the Phantoms’ zone. Filip Hållander (14) fired the puck that was redirected by Sam Houde (5). The puck went underneath Nagle’s left arm and into the net for a 1-0 lead with 15:35 left. Jon Lizotte (4) was credited with the secondary assist.
Shortly after the goal. Sam Houde tripped Elliot Desnoyers to put the Phantoms on their first power play. The Phantoms capitalized to tie the game with 51 seconds left on the power play. Lehigh Valley created traffic in front of goalie Taylor Gauthier. Artem Anisimov (5) took a shot that hit Gauthier’s left pad before Cooper Marody (5) rebounded the puck and shot it past Gauthier’s left skate and into the net. The game was tied 1-1 with twelve minutes left. Garrett Wilson (9) got the secondary assist.
With 6:53 left, Adam Ginning was called for holding the stick penalty, putting the Penguins on their first power play. It took 24 seconds for the Penguins to extend their lead. Alexander Nylander (12) took a shot that was blocked by Louie Belpedio. The puck hit the endboards before moving behind Nagle’s leg. Valtteri Puustinen (12) spotted it and quickly got the puck across the goal line and into the net. The score was now 2-1 Penguins and Mitch Reinke (9) got the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had one more shot before the first period ended. They trailed the Penguins 2-1. The Penguins led the shots 9-5.
In the second period, the Phantoms had nine shots in the first ten minutes. They would get an opportunity on the power play after Lukas Svejkovsky was called for hooking. Unfortunately, the Phantoms did not get a shot off during the power play and went to 0/2.
After the Phantoms’ power play ended, the Penguins tacked on another goal. Lukas Svejkovsky (4) missed a shot but recovered the puck. He went around the goal net before passing the puck to Drake Caggiula (5). Caggiula made a thunderous shot past Nagle’s left skate and into the net. The score was now 3-1 with 7:16 left. Raivis Ansons (2) earned the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had five more shots for the rest of the second period. They trailed the Penguins 3-1 after two periods. Lehigh Valley had 14 shots in the second period. They had three power-play chances in the second period and could not score. Cooper Marody was interviewed by Kristi Fulkerson and said they were not finding ways to finish plays.
He’s right, The Phantoms did a great job being aggressive toward the puck throughout this game. They were forcing turnovers, breaking up plays, and taking chances at the net.
However, despite their great play on the ice, they had problems trying to put the puck into the net. In addition, the Phantoms continue to leave their opponents with too much room for shot opportunities. On the other side, the Penguins’ defense did a great job protecting Taylor Gauthier. The way they protect their goalie is how the Phantoms should be protecting theirs.
In the third period, the Phantoms had four shots in the first three minutes. Later in the third period, head coach Ian Laperriere pulled Pat Nagle with over five minutes left in hopes to spark the offense. It didn’t work. The Penguins put the game away with 4:22 left on an empty net goal by Corey Andonovski (5) with an assist from Filip Hållander (15). It was now 4-1 Penguins.
The Phantoms did not register a shot for the rest of the game and ended up losing to the Penguins by the final score of 4-1. After the game, Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere said the team had no energy, no pushback, and no legs. In addition, he said that the guys were not showing that they wanted to stay in the lineup, and he is going to juggle the lineup for next weekend.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 30 shots, 1/4 on the power play, and Pat Nagle made 30 saves. The Penguins had 34 shots, 1/4 on the power play, and Taylor Gauthier made 29 saves for his first AHL win.
The Phantoms will be on the road for the next three games. They will play the Rochester Americans next Friday from the Blue Cross Arena at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
