Phantoms Topped by Islanders in “Haunted on Hamilton” Finale

Cam York and Tyson Foerster Score for the Phantoms

October 29, 2022

by Matt Trust

Lehigh Valley, PA – Wyatt Wylie (1st) and Cam York (1st) provided a spark to the Phantoms offense and Tyson Foerster (2nd) scored late, but a four-goal second stanza by the Bridgeport Islanders led to a 6-3 final on Saturday night at PPL Center.

The finale of a fun, “Haunted on Hamilton” Weekend featured a parade on the ice with meLVin during the first intermission for kids in costume, as well as face painting and entertainment featuring DJ Angel B.

The Phantoms cranked out a season-high 38 shots in the game but veteran goalie Cory Schneider was strong between the pipes for the B-Isles. Lehigh Valley had a particularly strong 5-on-5 game and continually challenged and created in the Bridgeport zone. But the Islanders prevailed via their special teams’ success.

Each team traded a multitude of scoring chances in the first period, but a duel between two veteran goaltenders silenced both offenses. Troy Grosenick made six stops in the period for the Phantoms, halving Islanders’ Cory Schneider’s 12 saves on 12 Lehigh Valley shots.

An energetic PPL Center crowd also recognized a milestone in-game for a beloved member of the Phantoms community. Radio Play-by-Play voice of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Bob Rotruck celebrated his 1,000th professional broadcast. The veteran broadcaster has called over a decade of action between the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, the Adirondack Phantoms and now Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The scoring opened only 54 seconds into the second period, courtesy of Andy Andreoff’s fourth goal of the season. The goal came on the power play, marking the first of four eventual tallies on the man-advantage for the Islanders.

Less than two minutes later, Lehigh Valley (2-3-2) earned the equalizer on Wylie’s first goal of the campaign although it appeared the puck may have deflected off the leg of Garrett Wilson. Elliot Desnoyers slinged a backhand pass from the goal line to the right-wing dasher, and Wylie unleashed a bullet from the face-off circle past Scheider at the 2:33 mark.

Bridgeport (5-1-1) answered with three unanswered goals before the frame’s close to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Former Phantoms forward Cole Bardreau sparked the Islanders in his old environs, scoring at 3:48 to make the score 2-1. Aatu Raty (11:49) and Ruslan Iskhakov (14:58) both added power-play goals to open a three-goal deficit for the Orange and Black.

Lehigh Valley added 13 more shots on goal in the second period for a 25-15 shots lead after 40 minutes.

Cam York cut his club’s deficit to two goals by hitting pay-dirt on the power play in the third period’s opening minute. Following precise puck movement in the offensive zone, York unleashed a drive from the center-point past Schneider at 54 seconds. Tyson Foerster and Cal O’Reilly earned the helpers.

Bridgeport halted Lehigh Valley’s early attempt at a third-period comeback with tallies by Arnaud Durandeau (2:56) and Seth Helgeson (8:46). At 19:27, Tyson Foerster scored his second goal of the season for the Phantoms to round out the scoring line. Garrett Wilson and Adam Ginning contributed the assists.

The Phantoms will rematch the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday, December 28. Lehigh Valley went 1-for-4 on the power play while the Islanders were 4-for-4. Lehigh Valley earned the shots advantage 34-19.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms conclude three games in three nights tomorrow, Sunday, October 30 against the Hershey Bears at GIANT Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Following a three-game road stint, the Phantoms return to PPL Center on Friday, November 11 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Join us for our WFMZ-69 Coat Drive and Berks $1 Hot Dogs Night!

Phantoms individual game tickets are on sale now. Secure your seats for your favorite promotional nights and big rivalry matchups! PHANTOMS GAME TICKETS

SCORING SUMMARY

2nd 0:54 – BRI, A. Andreoff (4) (C. Terry, S. Bolduc) (PP) 0-1
2nd 2:33 – LV, W. Wylie (1) (E. Desnoyers, G. Wilson) 1-1
2nd 3:48 – BRI, C. Bardreau (2) (S. Bolduc, R. Iskhakov) 1-2
2nd 11:49 – BRI, A. Raty (D. Cholowski, H. Fasching) (PP) 1-3
2nd 14:58 – BRI, R. Iskhakov (4) (S. Bolduc, A. Durandeau) (PP) 1-4

3rd 0:52 – LV, C. York (1) (T. Foerster, C. O’Reilly) (PP) 2-4
3rd 2:56 – BRI, A. Durandeau (1) (A. Andreoff, R. Iskhakov) (PP) 2-5
3rd 8:46 – BRI, S. Helgeson (1) (A. Andreoff, C. Terry) 2-6
3rd 19:27 – LV, T. Foerster (2) (G. Wilson, A. Ginning) 3-6

Shots:
LV 38 – BRI 20

PP: 
LV 1/5, BRI 4/4

Goalies:
LV – T. Grosenick (L) (2-1-0) (14/20)
BRI – C. Schneider (W) (4-0-0) (35/38)

Records:
Lehigh Valley (2-3-1)
Bridgeport (5-1-1)