AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Bears Snag First Win in Rivalry Series

Published on March 6, 2021 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms News Release


Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Felix Sandstrom vs. the Hershey Bears
Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Felix Sandstrom vs. the Hershey Bears
(Lehigh Valley Phantoms)

Hershey, PA - The Hershey Bears used a stretch of three goals in 121 seconds early in the second period to turn a 1-0 advantage into a more comfortable lead in dispatching of the Phantoms 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Giant Center. Chris Mueller (1st) scored late in the game on his 35th birthday to break Zach Fucale's shutout bid while Tyson Foerster's shot-pass earned the 2020 first-rounder his first career point and assist.

Lehigh Valley (5-2-2) lost in regulation for just the second time in nine games this season and fell to Hershey for the first time in four meetings.

The motivated Hershey squad (6-2-2) benefitted from a pair of goals by Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (2nd, 3rd) against former Swedish teammate Felix Sandstrom. Mike Sgarbossa (5th) and Kale Kessy (1st) also tallied for Hershey in the back-end of this home-and-home series.

Sandstrom withstood a significant challenge at the outset of the game with some strong denials of quality Hershey opportunities before the two teams settled into a tighter and more physical affair.

Jonsson-Fjallby made it goals in back-to-back games against the Phantoms with his long slapper from the blue line to the upper-left corner going off the post and in for a 1-0 Bears advantage at 18:22 into the first period. Shots in the opening frame were in favor of the Bears 6-3 but the teams each only had one shot on goal after the opening five minutes of the period.

Lehigh Valley killed a Hershey power play at the outset of the second period but the Bears scored again shortly after play returned to 5-on-5 with Jonsson-Fjallby collecting a rebound at the net-front to deposit it past Sandstrom for a 2-0 advantage.

Just over a minute later, a long lead-pass broke the Phantoms forecheck efforts and sprung Hershey on a 2-on-1 with Mike Sgarbossa dangling around Sandstrom with a backhander flipped past the goalie's left skate for a 3-0 lead. Zane McIntyre entered the game at that point to take over for Sandstrom.

The new Phantoms goalie was just getting warmed up when Hershey would strike again less than a minute later with a blocked puck bouncing out to tough-guy Kale Kessy in the slot who fired home his first AHL goal in three years to boost Hershey's advantage to 4-0.

Zach Fucale was just barely a minute away from his second consecutive shutout when David Kase won a faceoff to open a power play steering the puck to Tyson Foerster whose point-shot was tipped between the legs of Mueller who had his back turned to the goal. Mueller's goal, on his 35th birthday, is his 242nd all-time in the American Hockey League which is most among all active players.

The Phantoms continue their road-trip with games at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Monday at 5:00 p.m. and at the Binghamton Devils on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Catch all the action on the Phantoms 365 app and on 1470-WSAN.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms return home next Saturday night taking on the Bingamton Devils at 7:05 p.m. Tickets for all upcoming Phantoms home games go on sale to the general public beginning on Tuesday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m.

Scoring:

1st 18:22 - HER, A. Jonsson-Fjallby (3) (R. O'Gara, C. McMichael)

2nd 1:45 - HER, A. Jonsson-Fjallby (4) (B. Leason, R. Sutter)

2nd 2:52 - HER, M. Sgarbossa (5) (G. Pilon, J. Snively)

2nd 3:46 - HER, K. Kessy (1) (C. Schilling, B. Leason)

3rd 18:49 - LV, C. Mueller (1) (T. Foerster, D. Kase)

Goalies:

HER - Zach Fucale (17/18) (3-0-0)

LV - Felix Sandstrom (5/8) (1-2-1)

LV - Zane McIntyre (14/15) (ND)

Shots:

Lehigh Valley 18 - Hershey 23

Power Plays:

LV 1/3 - HER 0/3

Records: LV (5-2-2) - HER (6-2-2)

Check out the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Images from this story

Lehigh Valley Phantoms right wing David Kase
Lehigh Valley Phantoms right wing David Kase
 Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Felix Sandstrom vs. the Hershey Bears
Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Felix Sandstrom vs. the Hershey Bears
  



American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central