Bears Defeat Phantoms 3-2 In A Shootout

Cory LyonsFebruary 16, 2019

167 3 minutes read

Hershey keeps streak going, defeats Phantoms 3-2 in a shootout. Sgarbossa the hero with a goal and the shootout winner.

Follow Cory Lyons on Twitter for live updates on the Hershey Bears at @CoryLyonsAHL.

The Hershey Bears (27-20-0-3) welcome the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-19-3-2) to the Giant Center for what is shaping up to be one of the biggest games the Bears have played in the last two seasons.

Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot in the Atlantic division thanks to Hershey’s 13 game point streak (12-0-0-1). As of now, the Phantoms sit two points ahead of the Bears but have one more game played. Lehigh Valley right now owns the tie breaker with more regulation wins (27).

1st Period:

Very early in the game, Jonas Siegenthaler got called for slashing. Just eight seconds into the penalty kill, Tyler Lewington got called for delay of game. This set up the 5 on 3 for the Phantoms. T.J. Brennan fired the puck from the point and Corban Knight (recently send down from the Philadelphia Flyers) tipped the puck past Ilya Samsonov to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead. This was Knight’s first goal of the AHL season.

First goal of the Knight…

GET IT!? pic.twitter.com/acNQA6iYGQ

— Los Fantasmas (@LVPhantoms) February 17, 2019

Hershey started to settle down after killing off another penalty for too many men on the ice. The Bears eventually caught up to the Phantoms in shots but could not score before going into the locker room for the first intermission.

1st Period Shots: HER – 10, LV – 10

1st Period Scoring:

4:36 – LV: Corban Knight(1) ASST: T.J. Brennan(29), Mike Vecchione(20)(PP)

2nd Period:

The ice started to tilt with penalty calls starting to go the Bears way. On the power play, Riley Barber fed the puck across the slot to Mike Sgarbossa. Sgarbossa shot the puck into the upper corner, beating Alex Lyon‘s blocker to tie the game 1-1. This was Sgarbossa’s 22nd goal of the season.

With less than two minutes left in the period, Mike Huntebrinker of the Phantoms took a tripping penalty in the defensive zone. This gave Hershey a chance to take the lead going into the locker room, which they took advantage of. Riley Barber once again gets the main assist with his shot from the point. Jayson Megna was settled in front of Lyon and tipped the puck into the net. This was Megna’s 12th goal of the season and a goal that gave Hershey a 2-1 lead going into the locker room.

2nd Period Shots: HER – 15, LV – 9

2nd Period Scoring:

11:50 – HER: Mike Sgarbossa(22) ASST: Riley Barber(21), Aaron Ness(33)(PP)

18:42 – HER: Jayson Megna(12) ASST: Riley Barber(22), Aaron Ness(34)(PP)

3rd Period:

Lehigh Valley could not find ways to stay out of the penalty box. Hershey dominated zone play throughout the period until the very end.

Alex Lyon was pulled to add a sixth skater on the rink for Lehigh Valley and it paid off. Corbin Knight was left open, had his first shot saved then scored on the rebound. The first shot made Samsonov go out of position to make the save and made it easy for Knight to score on the second shot. This tied the game 2-2 and sent the game into overtime.

Corban netted his second of the Knight to send this one to OT… pic.twitter.com/i2MD9ULORB

— Los Fantasmas (@LVPhantoms) February 17, 2019

3rd Period Shots: HER – 7, LV – 8

3rd Period Scoring:

18:51 – LV: Corban Knight(2) ASST: Greg Carey(26)(PP)

Overtime:

In the overtime, Ilya Samsonov made a huge breakaway save to keep the game tied. It was the only real chance either team had with both teams playing safe to not lose that extra point.

The save that kept the streak alive. Ilya Samsonov makes a great breakaway save!

14 game point streak in tact! 13-0-0-1.
Hershey is now one point back from @LVPhantoms with a game at hand and they play each other again tomorrow!#HersheyBears #HBH #HERvsLV @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/FgVmtvhVcR

— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) February 17, 2019