Lycksell Scores Twice in Chippy Friday Night Delight at PPL Center
January 12, 2024
Allentown, PA – A rough and tumble Friday night at PPL Center featured the Lehigh Valley Phantoms claiming a 4-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack in one of the most entertaining games of the season. Olle Lycksell (13th, 14th) tallied twice for the Orange and Black, Jacob Gaucher scored his third goal in his last six games, and Victor Mete cashed in his first goal of the season in the third period. Both clubs combined for 84 penalty minutes in the physical, hard-nosed affair.
Birthday boy Felix Sandstrom also co-starred on the evening with an outstanding 30-save performance. Timely stops by Sandstrom in all three periods helped lead the way to his sixth victory of the campaign.
But it was Garrett Willson’s fight with Hartford goaltender Louis Domingue that had everyone talking. After a bump and a tap, Domingue responded with a hard slash at the Phantoms’ captain that brought the punches as well as the roars of the astonished and bewildered crowd. That crazy scrap late in the second period was just one of several violent alterations. Both Wilson and Domingue received game misconducts and Dylan Garand entered as a relief goaltender for the Wolf Pack.
Lycksell was Lehigh Valley’s entire source of offense in the first frame with two strikes less than five minutes apart. At 14:47, Lycksell redirected a shot from the center-point by Ronnie Attard to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead. Lightning struck twice in the period’s final minute after Lycksell blasted home a power-play goal from the right-wing face-off circle at 19:32 off a beautiful feed across by Laczynski connecting with his teammate on the backdoor.
After initially trailing in shots 5-1, the Phantoms dominated the rest of the first period with a 13-1 shot advantage the rest of the way. Domingue made several strong stops point-blank to hold off the Phantoms for most of the frame and keep the game from potentially getting out of hand early.
For Lycksell, the second-year pro’s multi-goal game marked his third of the season, after netting a hat-trick at Springfield on Oct. 20, 2023 and a two-goal game at Laval on Nov. 17, 2023. Lycksell’s two-goal night also marked his 13th and 14th tallies of the season in 29 games, already matching his rookie season total.
Brandon Scanlin brought Hartford closer in the second period by scoring his fifth of the season at 4:39, but strong work by Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill held the opposition in check. Rough stuff ensued in the middle frame with Rhett Gardner and Matt Rempe receiving fighting majors at the 10:54 mark.
But the Phantoms remained in firm control and added insurance in the final period. Gaucher’s third goal of the season at 2:41 from Adam Brooks and Emil Andrae set an early tone and restored a two-goal cushion. Brooks shot from almost the red line handcuffing Garand and allowing the hustling Gaucher the opportunity to speed in for the rebound conversion.
Mete provided the icing on the cake with his first goal of the campaign at 12:07. Mete’s shot went wide of the cage, but a fortuitous bounce off the end boards and then Dylan Garand’s skate and into the net opened a 4-1 margin.
With points in three straight, Lehigh Valley welcomes the Atlantic Division-leading Hershey Bears back to PPL Center on Saturday, January 13. It’s Valley Youth House Night presented by Air Products featuring a Diaper and Wipes Donation Drive with several terrific prizes on display at the Martin Guitar Stage for those generously providing donation items for area families in need. Limited tickets remain online at PhantomsHockey.com.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 14:47 – LV, O. Lycksell (13) (R. Attard) (1-0)
1st 19:32 – LV, O. Lycksell (14) (T. Laczynski, C. Marody) (PP) (2-0)
2nd 4:39 – HFD, B. Scanlin (5) (M. Hollowell, B. Othmann) (2-1)
3rd 2:41 – LV, J. Gaucher (3) (A. Brooks, E. Andrae) (3-1)
3rd 12:07 – LV, V. Mete (1) (S. Tuomaala, T. Laczynski) (4-1)
Shots:
LV 33 – HFD 31
Power Plays:
LV 1/4, HFD 0/3
Goaltenders:
LV – F. Sandstrom (W) (30/31) (6-3-2)
HFD – L. Domingue (L) (18/20) (10-3-2)
HFD – D. Garand (ND) (11/13) (8-4-3)
Records:
Lehigh Valley (15-13-6)
Hartford (18-9-5)
UPCOMING
Saturday, January 13 (7:05) – Hershey Bears at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Valley Youth House Night presented by Air Products
Wednesday, January 17 (7:05) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Rochester Americans
Friday, January 19 (7:00) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Cleveland Monsters
Saturday, January 20 (7:00) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Cleveland Monsters
Friday, January 26 (7:05) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, January 27 (7:05) – Toronto Marlies at Lehigh Valley Phantoms
