There was a little bit of everything in Saturday night’s game between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the visiting Hershey Bears. Goals, big saves, and a game that went to extra rounds of a shootout got a big crowd their money’s worth. The Phantoms took the extra point behind Jon-Randall Avon’s tally in the skills competition by a 4-3 final. The loss is Hershey’s first beyond regulation this season.
Scoring Spree
The first period resembled what fans might want to see from next month’s All-Star festivities in San Jose. Hershey got on the board first with Henrik Rybinski’s third goal of the season, his third consecutive game with a goal. Matt Strome made a great play on the boards to force the puck free, and Rybinski made a sweet move to beat Cal Petersen.
The Phantoms struck back in short order with Olle Lycksell finding the back of the net. Tanner Laczynski made a nifty pass to find Lycksell with time and space to beat Hunter Shepard. Lycksell is up to 15 goals on the year, and he has four points in his last two games.
Hershey got it back just under two minutes later with Garrett Roe’s fifth goal in his return to the AHL. Ivan Miroshnichenko rushed the puck over the blue line, peeling off for help. He set up Roe for a big slap shot from the left faceoff circle to put the Bears back on top.
All-Star Worthy Performance
The teams traded goals from their respective representatives to the aforementioned All-Star Game. Hershey got a goal from Ethen Frank on the power play as he ripped a slap shot past Petersen for his 15th of the year. Frank’s shot somehow found a home on the short side of Petersen, a shot worthy of the skills competition.
Lehigh Valley struck before the first period ended. Samu Tuomaala buried a perfect pass from Ronnie Attard past an outstretched Shepard for his 11th of the year. It was a big goal to bring the Phantoms within a goal at the end of the period. The Bears fired 18 shots on goal in the frame, a single period best this season, but the Phantoms stayed within a goal.
Padded Prowess
After a high-scoring first period, the middle stanza belonged to the goaltenders. Petersen and Shepard shut the door with a sequence of brilliant saves in sequence of each other. The Bears nearly executed on a two-on-one rush shorthanded, but Petersen denied Lucas Johansen on a sprawling save. He threw his pads up like a windmill to kick the shot away with his pad. Shepard would sprawl across the crease moments later to stop Lycksell.
Goaltenders and staunch defense were the theme of the last 40 minutes of play. That would be the case until Attard tied the game with a picture-perfect deflection to the roof of the net. Lehigh Valley played staunch puck possession in overtime, but neither team could end the game. Despite a post hit for Hershey late in the action, the shootout would be required to finish this one.
The Orange and the Black
It’d take four rounds to find a goal in the shootout when Avon scored on a nifty move that would ultimately be the only goal. Matt Strome’s chance to extend the shootout hit the wrong side of the post, sealing a 4-3 win for the Phantoms. It’s the first time Hershey has lost a game that’s gone beyond regulation, including two overtime wins over Lehigh Valley.
The Bears will angle for their 30th win of the season on Monday, with their point total moving to 59 with one more. It’s an important two points for the Phantoms to keep pace with the Charlotte Checkers for the sixth and final playoff spot. Charlotte took a big win over the Rochester Americans outdoors to maintain a two-point lead on that place. Lehigh Valley is picking up the pace a bit, with the win bringing them to 3-0-1-0 in their last four games. They’ll look to extend that point streak in Rochester on Wednesday.
