LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa – Friday night a crowd of 8,265 saw the Lehigh Valley Phantoms fall to the Hershey Bears by a final of 4-2 at PPL Center. Hershey and Lehigh split the home-and-home for the week, with the Phantoms and newly signed to a Pro Try Out (PTO) Kevin Sundher getting the last laugh in a shoot out on Sunday in Hershey. Friday’s game was much different, with the Bears controlling a majority of the tilt.
The game did start on a positive note for the Phantoms, although it did not seem like it would. The last placed penalty kill in the AHL would be tested just 7:14 in to the contest, as forward Petr Straka would go off for a hook. Hershey would fumble the early chance, 
however, when Chris Bourque would get called for a trip to even the sides just 40 seconds later. On the ensuing face-off, Lehigh Valley would strike in the most peculiar way. A Tim Brent win in the far circle saw the puck float back to Shayne Gostisbehere, who threw a shot toward the net. Aaron Palushaj, who was in front, would see the puck practically ramp up his stick ala-Travis Pastrana, and stick a perfect landing behind goalie Dan Ellis to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead.
That lead lasted all of four minutes, as Stanislav Galiev would snap a shot past Jason LaBarbera from the slot to tie the score. Carter Camper and Sean Collins would pick up assists on the equalizer, and Hershey would not look back from there. However, the Phantoms would attempt to get the momentum to swing back in their favor. With less than two minutes to go in the first, Andrew MacDonal would get four minutes in penalties and put Lehigh Valley up against it with their penalty kill being called upon to come up big. All was looking good when the first period ended, as the Phantoms were about half way home through this kill, but the start of the second would not make things any easier.
Matt Lashoff would go off for hooking at just 1:12 into the second, and the worst Penalty Kill would yet again be called to action for a five on three. Miraculously, they managed to kill off all three penalties, and looked like they might take over the game from there. The Phantoms would even get a five on three of their own, but they too would fail to take advantage. The second period was mainly about the strength of both teams defenses, especially when down a man, but Hershey would provide the lone spark of offense in the frame. Connor Carrick would spring Nathan Walker on a break away, and he would snap the puck past LaBarbera on the forehand to give the Bears the lead with less than two to play in the middle frame.
The Bears would then strike again just a minute and three seconds into the third, when Camper would pick up his second point of the night by deflecting in a Sean Collins shot that all materialized from a poor clear attempt from the Phantoms net minder. Tyrell Goulbourne would strike back, as Mark Alt sent him a perfect feed from behind the net that would strike fire back in Lehighs game, and they would press for the equalizer the rest of the period. All for not though, as Chris Bourque would add an empty netter and the Bears would roll out of Allentown victorious. 
As for the Phantoms, holding the Bears to 0 for 6 on the power play with the leagues worst penalty kill must have been some good news this team needed, but they cannot sulk over this loss for long. They get right back at it in Syracuse, New York, to take on a Crunch team that’s looked better than their record indicates. And to top off another AHL classic three in three weekend, the Phantoms come back home Sunday to take on Binghamton in the return of fan favorite from a season ago Zach Stortini to PPL Center. More tests lay ahead for a team that just cannot seem to get over the hump and get to a winning record. They’ll need to salvage this weekend to atleast have a shot at doing just that soon.
Images by Steve.Rusyn@prohockeynews.com
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