The Lehigh Valley Phantoms were down, but not out in Game Two of the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Trailing 3-1 entering the third period, the Phantoms erased two deficits to force overtime. In the extra session, the Phantoms got an opportunistic goal on a rebound for Jacob Gaucher to take the game 5-4.
The win completes an upset of epic proportions for the Phantoms, who swept the Penguins from the postseason. Lehigh Valley will match up with the Hershey Bears in the second round. That series will get underway on May 1 at Giant Center.
Penguins Push the Pace
Friday’s tilt saw playoff hockey return to the PPL Center for the first time in six years. Lehigh Valley entered play off of a 2-1 win in Game One on Wednesday. It was a tight, hard checking game that saw animosity build quickly between two familiar foes. A crowd of 5,502 filled the stands for the game and became a sea of orange for the occasion.
However, Wilkes-Barre quieted the crowd early as Valtterri Puustinen struck just over two minutes in. It was a better start for the Penguins, who seemed slow to find their game in the first outing. Wilkes-Barre looked much more like themselves to begin the game. They would take a 3-1 lead on goals from Radim Zohorna and Jack Rathbone. Ronnie Attard had the only goal for the Phantoms through 40 minutes of play.
Phantoms Strike Back
The Phantoms had a tall task ahead of them in the third period. Down two goals, the hosts from Allentown needed a boost to get back in the game. They’d get a big opportunity with a two-man advantage in the third period and cash in to change the game. Lehigh Valley scored not just one, but two goals on both power plays to even the count at three apiece. Emil Andrae got the first one and Tanner Laczynski deflected the second one home off a shot from Bobby Brink.
However, the drama wouldn’t end there. Wilkes-Barre took a 4-3 lead with less than four minutes to play on Zohorna’s second goal of the game. With the clock winding down and Cal Petersen making his way to the bench, the Phantoms rushed up ice. Laczynski cradled the puck and got in close on Joel Blomqvist, beating the goaltender to send the game to extra time.
Gaucher’s Got It
In overtime, Gaucher took a pass from Louie Belpedio over the blue line. He had Brendan Furry driving to the net with some space and put the puck right on his stick. Furry darted in and was stopped with his initial shot, but Gaucher followed and buried the rebound to complete an epic comeback for the Phantoms.
The goal is Gaucher’s first Calder Cup Playoff goal after registering 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 59 regular season games for the Phantoms. Lehigh Valley, who won just four of the 12 matchups in the season series against Wilkes-Barre, swept the Penguins from the playoffs with the decision.
“(The players) love him,” Phantoms head coach Ian Laperrière said. “He’s such a great kid, plays the right way, huge on faceoffs. Great penalty killer. When he gets rewarded like that, we couldn’t be happier.”
“I told them not to deviate from what you do. When you try to do different things in overtime, you’re going to get burned. I’m glad we didn’t go to a second or third overtime. I’m way past my bedtime here.”
Game Over in Wilkes-Barre
It’s a startling upset for the Penguins, who were tabbed by many as a team with potential to make a long playoff run. They were victimized by the best-of-three format, losing both games by a single goal. The loss hurts a little more with the Penguins boasting a wealth of added talent. Key players like Zohorna, Puustinen, and Jack St. Ivany were all assigned after Pittsburgh’s season ended. Marc Johnstone made his return after a lengthy injury sustained in early February. Ville Koivunen made his Wilkes-Barre debut after spending the 2023-24 season in Finland.
After a strong finish to the regular season, it’s fair to suspect there may have been too many changes to the Penguins’ lineup. The influx of talent paid dividends from an offensive perspective, with four of the five goals by the Penguins coming off the sticks of those mentioned earlier. Both teams were bolstered by the early exit of their NHL affiliates, but the Phantoms had the better of team play in this series.
Lehigh Valley brought a heavy style to the series, working hard in the dirty areas to wear Wilkes-Barre down. The Phantoms won the special teams battle in Game Two, going three-for-six as another key factor. The inability to hold a 3-1 lead will haunt the Penguins, who seemed to dictate the game. Instead of a third game at home, their season has come to a sudden end.
A Sweet Matchup
With the win, the Phantoms guaranteed their next opponent to be the Hershey Bears. Lehigh Valley is running the gauntlet through Pennsylvania against another opponent they’ve faced 12 times in the regular season. Hershey had a mark of 8-2-0-2 in the 12-game set. That includes more than a few one goal games as well as ones beyond regulation. The series is set to start on Wednesday, May 1 and run no later than a scheduled Game Five on Sunday, May 12, should it be necessary.
This series marks the first time since 2017 that the Bears and Phantoms have met in the postseason. Back then, the Bears took the win in five games in a series that saw two overtime finishes. The two teams have historically had plenty of mean playoff battles against one another from day one. In the Phantoms’ first year in 1997, the teams went the distance in a seven-game series dubbed “The Real Calder Cup Final”. Hershey’s Blair Atcheynum scored in triple overtime in Game Six at Hersheypark Arena to force a decisive seventh game. Hershey won that tilt on their way to a Calder Cup title. One year later, the Phantoms swept the Bears as part of their own Calder Cup winning team.
Other matchups with championship stakes included the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs. In a swan song to the famous Wachovia Spectrum, the Bears pulled off a four-game sweep of the Phantoms on their way to a Calder Cup. The Phantoms moved briefly to Adirondack before the completion of the PPL Center in 2014.
