(Tommy Hendricks/Sports Talk Philly)
By Tommy Hendricks, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms wore festive holiday sweaters on Friday night, and got all of downtown Allentown into the holiday spirit with a 3-2 shootout win against the Hershey Bears.
The game was thrilling the whole way through, with Alex Lyon getting the best of a goaltending duel with Vitek Vanecek.
The opening 10 minutes of the game was very lackluster for a rivalry contest. The teams combined for seven shots on goal, and back-and-forth play was the way of the land. Lehigh Valley ended up with two power play chances, but could not convert on either, managing a combined two shots over both man advantages.
It took over 15 minutes of play, but the Bears finally opened the scoring on a power play of their own. A clean zone entry opened up ice for Liam O'Brien to skate along the far side boards. O'Brien took the puck to the side of the net, where he sent it cross crease to Travis Boyd for an easy tap-in goal. The goal was Boyd's fourth against the Phantoms in five games played between the two clubs this season.
The Phantoms answered just under two minutes later with a goal of their own from Greg Carey, his 13th of the season, which leads the team. Chris Conner dropped the puck off for Carey at the far side boards, and Carey skated around the circle to the middle of the ice. It was there that he fired off a shot that caught iron behind Vanecek and went in to make it 1-1.
The Bears also answered quickly to the goal against, retaking their lead a minute and a half after Carey's tying goal. O'Brien threaded a pass through a crowd in the Phantoms zone to Stanislav Galiev. Galiev took the puck to the net, and skated across the crease in front of Lyon. Galiev skated right, but put the puck top shelf to the left of Lyon to give the Bears the lead back.
Both teams came out engines roaring to start the second period. Each team got quality scoring chances, hitting everything but the nets behind Lyon and Vanecek.
It seemed like the Bears were one step ahead of the Phantoms the first 15 minutes of the frame. Getting their sticks in passing lanes and breaking up every offensive play Lehigh Valley put together. The Phantoms ended up with their third power play of the game with 4:59 left, forcing Hershey to take a tripping call thanks to finally establishing zone pressure.
With the power play coming at a critical point in the game, the Phantoms looked to even the score and turn the tides. While getting great pressure o the power play, Lehigh Valley came up empty.
T.J. Brennan took matters into his own hands 20 seconds after the penalty expired and tied the game. Taking a pass from Colin McDonald, Brennan skated down the far side boards toward the goal line. He wristed a shot right up and over the blocker side shoulder to make it 2-2.
Hershey almost regained the lead early in the third with a close call behind Lyon. After the Phantoms skated up ice and got two chances of their own on Vanecek, they reviewed the play. It was determined after a lengthy review that the puck went off the crossbar and out the other side for no goal.
A few minutes later, Danick Martel had an amazing chance in the slot with a one timer that everyone in the building thought went in except Vanecek, who somehow made the stop. Martel was high-sticked on the play, and despite going to the bench laboring, no call was made.
The Phantoms took the charge to the Bears from that point on. Even though each team got great scoring chances, the Phantoms had the better of play. Vanecek and Lyon were up to the task again, and the game went into its final six minutes tied at two.
The game stayed tied until the 2:23 mark as well, but then things got interesting. Boyd, who scored the game's first goal, took a hooking call to give the Phantoms a late power play and a chance to take the lead. The man advantage got negated 58 seconds in, as Brennan took a kneeing minor and the ice opened up for 1:02 of 4-on-4.
Both teams held strong, and the game ended up going to overtime. Because of how late Brennan's minor occurred, the Bears had an opportunity to open up the extra session with a 33-second 4-on-3 power play. Brennan hopped out of the box after a strong Phantom kill, and OT stayed at 4-on-4 till the next stoppage.
Two odd man rushes in the final minute of overtime saw Scott Laughton put a shot up over the crossbar, and the Bears fail to get a shot on net off theirs. The shot sailed into the safety netting, and finally brought the extra period back to 3-on-3 hockey. Lyon made two amazing point blank saves to end overtime, sending the game to a shootout.
Brennan and Christian Djoos both hit posts in the first round to start the shootout. Then Weal went in slowly on Vanecek and slid the puck past him wide. Hershey countered with Galiev, but he put the puck high and wide of the net. Andy Miele finally broke through on a nice forehand to backhand finish to score. It was up to Lyon to stop Christian Thomas for the win, but Thomas put the puck wide right to end the game.
Lyon prevailed with his league-leading 12th win of the season, in his first professional shootout nonetheless. The Phantoms are back at it on Saturday night and welcome the Providence Bruins to PPL Center for the last game before the holiday break.
Notes
- Jordan Weals assist in tonight's game moves him into a tie for third place in the league scoring race with 28 points.
- Greg Carey's first-period goal gives him 13 on the year, good for a tie for second place in the entire league.
- T.J. Brennan's game-tying goal in the second gives him 10 on the year, good for first place among defencemen in the AHL.
Quotes
Alex Lyon on his thoughts during his first professional shootout: "I've always felt pretty comfortable in shootouts. I think in Omaha we set a USHL record for shootout wins, which is pretty sweet. So ever since then I've felt pretty comfortable and I have a good game plan. It's not always gonna go that way obviously, but it's nice to get the win."
Greg Carey on how the teams found ways to win constantly all year: "That's what we are here to do, and we have all the pieces to the puzzle. Sometimes you have to win 8-6 on a Wednesday and sometimes you got to win 3-2 in a shootout on a Friday night. That's just how it is. It's good that we're finding ways to do it."
Head coach Scott Gordon on what his mindset was going into the shootout: "Usually by this point in the year, you know who your shooters are, but because we haven't had any, and we've got some new guys, we were kind of scratching our heads as to who was going to go. Nobody's been that dominant in practice with it, but it worked out tonight."
3 Stars
1. – Travis Boyd (HER) – Goal, Assist, +1
2. – Colin McDonald (LV) – Assist, +1
3. – Vitek Vanecek (HER) – 31 saves on 33 shots, 1 for 3 in the shootout
