![Lehigh Valley Phantoms](https://www.oursportscentral.com/graphics/teams/resized/ahl_lehighvalley_phantoms19-200.png)
Phantoms Pummel Past Hershey 5-1
February 4, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms News Release
Hershey, PA - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms cruise into the AHL All-Star Break in style after pumping the Hershey Bears by a 5-1 count on Saturday night. Jackson Cates (9th, 10th) scored twice and Bobby Brink (6th) recorded his first professional three-point night. Sam Ersson was stellar in net for the Phantoms with a near-perfect 22-save performance for his 13th win of the season as the Phantoms knocked off first-place Hershey for a second time this week.
Lehigh Valley (22-17-5) fell behind 1-0 early, but five unanswered goals for the good guys in orange soon silenced the hometown crowd. At 14:13 of the opening period, Aliaksei Protas (2nd) deposited a rebound chance after an initial shot from Ethen Frank was kicked out by Ersson.
Shortly into the second period, the Phantoms cranked up the pressure and turned the tide. At 2:21, Jackson Cates buried the equalizer after a picture-perfect sub-goal line feed from Max Willman for Cates' ninth tally of the season.
Lehigh Valley later went to work on a 5-on-3 power play, and AHL All-Star Tyson Foerster unleashed an All-Star caliber shot following a sequence of spectacular saves by Hershey goaltender Hunter Shepard. From center-point, Foerster solved Shepard with a snipe to the upper-left corner for his team-leading 17th goal of the season. Olle Lycksell and Egor Zamula both earned the helpers at 8:16 to provide a 2-1 Phantoms lead into the second intermission.
The third period had an Orange and Black theme with a crooked number posted on the scoreboard and a plethora of insurance tallies added. Jordy Bellerive sparked an exciting third-period rout with his sixth goal of the season at 6:55. On an offensive zone entry, Brink dished across to Bellerive on the move who blasted home a shot from the left dot off the far iron and into the net.
Lehigh Valley opened its lead to 4-1 at 16:49 with the club's second power-play goal of the night. Bobby Brink buried a rebound of a Louie Belpedio slapshot and knocked it in past the left skate of the scrambling Bears' netminder.
Jackson Cates completed the scoring party in style with a shorthanded, empty-net goal at 19:44 from Willman and Adam Karashik.
The Phantoms now cruise into the AHL All-Star Classic with four out of six points on the week, including back-to-back wins over the Hershey Bears. In the last two head-to-heads against Hershey, Lehigh Valley has outscored the Chocolate and White by a 10-3 margin.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will return to action on Friday, February 10 at the Hartford Wolf Pack, before returning home to PPL Center to face the Bridgeport Islanders on "Hockey is for Everyone" Night on Saturday, February 11.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st - 14:13 - HER A. Protas (2) (E. Frank, M. Sgarbossa) (PP) 0-1
2nd - 2:21 - LV J. Cates (9) (M. Willman, B. Brink) 1-1
2nd - 8:16 - LV T. Foerster (17) (O. Lycksell, E. Zamula) (PP) 2-1
3rd - 2:55 - LV J. Bellerive (6) (B. Brink, E. Zamula) 3-1
3rd - 16:49 - LV B. Brink (6) (L. Belpedio, R. Attard) 4-1
3rd - 19:44 - LV J. Cates (10) (M. Willman, A. Karashik) (EN, SH) 5-1
Shots:
LV 29 - HER 23
PP:
LV 2/3, HER 1/4
Goalies:
LV - S. Ersson (W) (13-10-1) (22/23)
HER - H. Shepard (L) (12-3-3) (24/28)
Records:
Lehigh Valley (22-17-5)
Hershey (29-11-5)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
February 5-9 AHL All-Star Break
Friday, February 10 (7:00) at Hartford Wolf Pack
Saturday, February 11 (7:05) vs. BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS
Tuesday, February 14 (7:00) at Charlotte Checkers
Wednesday, February 15 (7:00) at Charlotte Checkers
Images from this story
![]() Lehigh Valley Phantoms Battle the Hershey Bears |
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from February 4, 2023
- Gibson's Shutout Helps Firebirds To 30th Win Of Season - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Griffins Win 500th Road Game with 4-3 Shootout Win Over Texas - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Lynch Completes Wild Sweep with OT Winner in Front of Sold out BMO Center - Rockford IceHogs
- Wild Fall 3-2 to IceHogs in Overtime, Extend Point Streak to 14 Games - Iowa Wild
- San Diego Blanked at Coachella Valley - San Diego Gulls
- Durandeau Scores Twice, Schneider Makes 34 Saves On Saturday - Bridgeport Islanders
- Stars Earn Point in Shootout Loss to Griffins - Texas Stars
- Phantoms Pummel Past Hershey 5-1 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Devin Cooley Notches Win And Ends With 33 Saves - Manitoba Moose
- Charlotte Slams Syracuse 5-3 for Fifth Straight Win - Charlotte Checkers
- Ice-O-Topes Summon Magical Comeback Win Over Isles - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Sanford Goal Caps Comeback Win - Milwaukee Admirals
- Crunch Downed by Checkers, 5-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- Monsters Split Lumberjacks Weekend with Wolves After 3-2 Loss - Cleveland Monsters
- Bears Suffer 5-1 Loss to Phantoms - Hershey Bears
- Penguins Lose Last Game Before All-Star Break - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Fritz Scores Game-Winner in 300th Career AHL Game as Pack Rout Penguins 8-2 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Wolves Rally Past Monsters 3-2 - Chicago Wolves
- Comets Lose Home Game to Bruins, 4-1 - Utica Comets
- Merkulov Stays Hot, Scores Game-Winning Goal In P-Bruins Victory Over Comets - Providence Bruins
- Barracuda Edged by Canucks, 3-2 - San Jose Barracuda
- Canucks Extend Winning Streak to Three, Sweep San Jose with 3-2 Road Victory - Abbotsford Canucks
- All-Star Preview: Matthew Phillips - Calgary Wranglers
- Ronnie Attard Named to AHL All-Star Classic - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Roster Changes Announced for 2023 Bell AHL All-Star Classic - AHL
- Hogs and Wild Rendezvous in Weekend Finale - Rockford IceHogs
- Toronto Marlies Host Laval Rocket in Saturday Matinee - Toronto Marlies
- Wolf Pack Battle Penguins in Crucial Atlantic Division Tilt - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Preview: Iowa Wild at Rockford IceHogs - Iowa Wild
- Game Preview: Bears vs Phantoms, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Game #46 - Roadrunners at Reign - Tucson Roadrunners
- Bridgeport Islanders Face Thunderbirds Tonight at 7:05 p.m. - Bridgeport Islanders
- Roadrunners Secure 2-0 Shutout Victory in Series Opener against Ontario - Tucson Roadrunners
- Reign Blanked by Roadrunners - Ontario Reign
- Twarynski's Late Goal Sends Firebirds Over Gulls - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Wranglers Take Down Condors - Calgary Wranglers
- San Diego Unsuccessful at Coachella Valley - San Diego Gulls
- Silver Knights Fall, 2-1, to the Eagles at Home - Henderson Silver Knights
- Barracuda Clipped by Canucks 3-2 - San Jose Barracuda
- Nils Höglander Completes Comeback In 3-2 Victory Over San Jose - Abbotsford Canucks
- Colorado Bounces Back with 2-1 Victory at Henderson - Colorado Eagles
- Admirals Go Moose Stomping - Milwaukee Admirals
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](https://www.oursportscentral.com/assets/img/footer-logo-latest.png)