Phantoms struggling down the stretch

Sunday’s loss to Bridgeport is one that the Phantoms won’t soon forget.

As Lehigh Valley limps toward the end of the regular season, it found itself up 5-2 over the Sound Tigers with just under 15:00 left in regulation. Surely, this one was going in the win column, especially considering how well the Phantoms have played on their home ice this season, right?

Not exactly.

The result was a 6-5 shootout loss for the Phantoms.

In a scary moment, top prospect Morgan Frost tangled with defenseman Grant Hutton on a one-on-one situation, and while he was called for a slashing penalty, Frost got the worst of the matchup and left the ice in discomfort. The good news is that he returned later and saw ice time, albeit slightly limited.

Lehigh Valley got an overtime power play opportunity, but the power play has been a downfall of the team all season, and it once again couldn’t cash in on the opportunity.

In all, another three-in-three weekend ended up badly for Lehigh Valley with two losses at home to Bridgeport and another during a road game in Binghamton. In the three games, Lehigh Valley was outscored 17-10.

“I thought we played really hard tonight, considering it was a three-in-three,” said Reece Wilcox, who had a goal and an assist in the loss. “I thought we just fell apart for those last 10 minutes of the game and it was a little disappointing to have them tie it up and then win it in the shootout.”

With just 15 games left in the regular season, Wilcox isn’t content to just go quietly into the offseason; not as an individual player, nor for the team.

“I think it’s important to just keep playing the right way, even though we’re not in the playoff picture. It’s important for everyone to not have any quit in them, and we have to stay focused and play strong for each other and be prideful,” said Wilcox.

The winless weekend leaves Lehigh Valley with a 24-28-2-7 record and in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. The Phantoms remain 12 points out of a playoff spot. At the top of the division, Hershey and Providence continue to battle, with just one point separating the two teams. Hartford is third, and Charlotte is four points behind and in the final playoff spot. Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are four and five points behind Charlotte, respectively, as they remain hopeful of catching the Checkers.

MILESTONE ... Sunday’s game was the 100th sell-out for the Phantoms in their six seasons at the PPL Center. Despite the disappointing play, the fans saw some good offensive hockey, as five Phantoms — Wilcox, Greg Carey, Isaac Ratcliffe, Max Willman and Mikhail Vorobyev — all had multi-point games.

MORE OF MORGAN ... On Friday, Frost was the big story for Lehigh Valley even though it dropped the opening game of the three-game weekend against Bridgeport. Frost picked up two goals and an assist in a 6-4 loss. In 40 games with Lehigh Valley this season, Frost has 13 goals and 16 assists to go with his two goals and five assists with the Flyers.

TRAVELING ROUTE 222 ... On Feb. 26, Max Willman was loaded to Reading of the ECHL, and went on a scoring spree with the Royals. The 25-year-old scored a goal in each of his four games with Reading and added six assists. Of his 10 points, five – a goal and four assists – came in his first game with Reading.