By Michael Heilman

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms returned home to the PPL Center Wednesday night to take on the Charlotte Checkers. The Phantoms were coming off a 2-1 loss to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night. There were some new faces in the lineup as Morgan Frost was called up to the Philadelphia Flyers this week.

The Phantoms jumped to an early 1-0 lead three minutes and thirty-seven seconds in the first period as Pascal Laberge (1) got his first AHL goal of the season. Both Mikhail Vorobyev (4) and Matthews Strome (1) assisted in Laberge’s goal. Not much else happened after Laberge’s goal, and the Phantoms headed to the locker room with a 1-0 at the end of the first period.

Seven minutes and sixteen seconds into the second period, the Phantoms Mikhail Vorobyev (5) rebounded a puck shot by Tyler Wotherspoon and lifted the puck over the shoulder of Checkers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to extend the Phantoms lead 2-0. Tyler Wotherspoon (5), and Andy Welinski (6) assisted in Vorobyev’s goal.

With less than a minute remaining in the second period, the Checkers would cut the Phantoms lead in half on a goal by Casey Bailey (1) to make it a 2-1 Phantoms lead. Hunter Shinkaruk (2), and Steven Lorentz (2) assisted in Bailey’s goal. The horn sounded to end the second period with the Phantoms up 2-1.

The Checkers Hunter Shinkaruk (2) would tie the game 2-2 four minutes and nine seconds in the third period as he snuck the puck around Phantoms goalie Alex Lyon. Both Chase Priskie (7) and Casey Bailey (2) assisted with Shinkaruk’s goal. What looked like a game that would be headed for overtime, the Phantoms made sure that didn’t happen with under three minutes left as Gerry Fitzgerald (1) rebounded the puck from a shot by Nate Prosser and finished the play to put the Phantoms back in the lead 3-2. Nate Prosser (1) and Tyler Wotherspoon assisted in Fitzgerald’s goal. The Checkers pulled goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for an extra attacker but to no prevail as the final horn sounded, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defeated the Charlotte Checkers 3-2.

The Checkers had the shots on goal advantage at thirty-four to the Phantoms twenty-two. The Phantoms went zero for three on the power play while the Checkers were zero for two. Phantoms goalie Alex Lyon made thirty-two of thirty-four saves allowing two goals while Checkers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic had nineteen of twenty-two saves, allowing three goals.

The three stars of the game were Phantoms forward Gerry Fitzgerald with one goal, forward Mikhail Vorobyev with one goal and one assist, and Phantoms forward Pascal Laberge with one goal.

The Phantoms will play the Checkers again Friday at 7 pm from the PPL Center before welcoming the Belleville Senators Saturday at 7 pm also from the PPL Center.