Wisdom Brings the Teddy Bears
December 9, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms News Release
Lehigh Valley Phantoms' Wyatte Wylie and mascot meLVin on Teddy Bear Toss night
(Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
Allentown, PA - Zayde Wisdom picked the right time to score his first of the season. The 21-year-old forward triggered thousands of stuffed animals into orbit on the team's annual Teddy Bear Toss Night sparking the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a 4-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night.
A frenetic and energetic crowd of 8,179 wasted little time to join the Teddy Bear Toss fun just 6:36 into the game. Wisdom showed persistence at the side of the net as he jammed a loose puck behind Charlotte netminder Ludovic Waeber and the Plushie Party was officially underway!
Wisdom immediately raced to the corner after scoring his goal while waving his hand up high as a signal to the crowd to throw their stuffed animals and bring on the furry fun. His goal unleashed the onslaught of plush which will be counted and distributed to our friends at Valley Youth House on Monday with a personal delivery by the goal scorers. Ethan Samson and Mason Millman assisted on the goal with Millman's shot handcuffing the goaltender and setting up the Wisdom push down low.
The players and fans celebrated the massive Teddy Bear Insanity on the ice as the Phantoms players posed for pictures with all the bears in the wild scene. Did the Phantoms set a new record? Lehigh Valley's peak was 10,091 stuffed animal donations in the 2019 Teddy Bear Toss game. We will find out the official count on Monday!
Lehigh Valley (10-9-4) continued its strong start after the initial Wisdom spark. Wade Allison (4th) tallied an unassisted power-play goal at 10:59 after chipping a loose puck through Waeber's five-hole with a backhand knock from the right of the cage. A dominant first period concluded with the Phantoms leading by a 2-0 margin.
The fun continued into the middle frame for Bellerive's second goal of the campaign. A tremendous pass by J.R. Avon from beneath the goal line connected with Bellerive, who buried the glorious chance just before crashing into the crossbar at 11:45. Avon got to the play behind the goal and quickly pushed a behind-the-back flip perfectly to the hard-charging Bellerive.
Phantoms' goaltending also continued a stellar weekend. An outstanding 23-save performance by Felix Sandstrom on Friday was followed by 36 saves by Petersen on Saturday. Petersen's fourth win of the season included various acrobatic stops, including the successful kill of a 5-on-3 Checkers advantage in the third period.
Jake Wise spoiled Petersen's bid for a shutout by snapping the clean sheet with only 4:27 remaining after a scramble down low. Elliot Desnoyers received the last laugh for the Phantoms with his empty-net goal at the 18:38 mark to round out a 4-1 final.
The Phantoms will continue their homestand with a rematch against the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, December 13. Join us for Military Appreciation Night at PPL Center!
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 6:36 - LV, Z. Wisdom (1) (M. Millman, E. Samson) (1-0)
1st 10:59 - LV, W. Allison (4) (Unassisted) (PP) (2-0)
2nd 11:45 - LV, J. Bellerive (2) (J. Avon, S. Tuomaala) (3-0)
3rd 15:33 - CLT, J. Wise (5) (R. Asplund, C. Sjalin) (3-1)
3rd 18:38 - LV, E. Desnoyers (4) (C. Marody, R. Attard) (EN) (4-1)
Shots:
LV 28 - CLT 37
PP:
LV 1/5, CLT 0/4
Goaltenders:
LV - C. Petersen (36/37) (W) (4-5-1)
CLT - L. Waeber (24/27) (L) (4-4-0)
Records:
Lehigh Valley (10-9-4)
Charlotte (11-10-0)
UPCOMING
Wednesday, December 13 (7:05) - Charlotte Checkers at Lehigh Valley Phantoms - Military Appreciation Night
Friday, December 15 (7:05) - Laval Rocket at Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, December 16 (7:05) - Springfield Thunderbirds at Lehigh Valley Phantoms - Hockey Fiesta! Los Fantasmas!!
Stay current with the latest Phantoms news with the Phantoms 365 app available for Apple and Android devices and at www.phantomshockey.com
Follow the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lehighvalleyphantoms), Twitter (@lvphantoms), and Instagram (@lehighvalleyphantoms).
Images from this story
 Lehigh Valley Phantoms' Wyatte Wylie and mascot meLVin on Teddy Bear Toss night |
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