Wisdom Scores Twice in Shootout Loss

Grand Rapids Picks Up 5-4 Decision

February 21, 2025

Grand Rapids, MI – Zayde Wisdom (7th, 8th) racked up a three-point game with two goals and an assist as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms secured a standings point in a 5-4 shootout loss at the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night. Emil Andrae (3rd) had a goal and an assist while Massimo Rizzo (6th) also struck for the Phantoms.

Ondrej Becher (4th, 5th) led the way for the home side with two goals, both on the power play, as well as the shootout winner.

The game was Lehigh Valley’s league-leading 18th overtime game of the season. The Phantoms fell to 4-2 in shootout decisions with both the team’s skills competition setbacks coming to the hands of Grand Rapids including a shootout loss on October 27 at PPL Center.

Wisdom helped get the Phantoms on the board early with his rush up the right wing eventually leaving the puck at the net-front for Hunter McDonald and Rizzo to have chances. Rizzo buried it at 2:23 to give Lehigh Valley the 1-0 advantage to start.

Grand Rapids surged back with an unassisted bomb from first-rounder Nate Danielson (6th) on the rush from the top of the right circle to the upper-left corner for his second goal of the weekend at 13:16.

The Griffs took the lead at 16:20 with a power-play goal in the slot for Becher set up by big NHL veteran Austin Watson as well as Dominik Shine. Grand Rapids led 2-1 at the first intermission.

Grand Rapids (27-19-4) stretched the lead to 3-1 on another Becher power-play strike at 15:27 with some snappy tic-tac-toe, high-low passing with Tuomisto on the blue line connection with Watson to the left-wing side of the cage and quickly in front to Becher at 15:27.

Lehigh Valley (25-19-8) answered back less than two minutes later with Adam Ginning attempting to shoot the puck around the boards from the right wing. Instead, the puck took a friendly deflection off a defender and over to Wisdom who navigated the sudden opportunity from his stick to his skate and back to his stick for a snapper from the slot past Ville Husso to cut the margin to 3-2 at the second break.

The Phantoms kept it going with consecutive goals to take the lead in the third period.

Emil Andrae (3rd) rifled home a power-play blast from center point just 33 seconds into the period on an assist by Jacob Gaucher to tie the game at 3-3.

The Phantoms took the lead at 5:32 on some impressive passing with Andrae in the corner finding Olle Lycksell on the backdoor. But Lycksell pushed it right across the crease instead of shooting and Wisdom was ready to bury it from the left of the cage at 5:32 to put the Phantoms ahead at 4-3.

Grand Rapids captain Josiah Didier answer back just 1:26 later with his blast from the left point that went off the paddle of Parker Gahagen and into the top of the net to forge a 4-4 tie.

Both teams traded some strong chances for the remainder of the third and through the overtime. Helge Grans stripped a man of the puck and created a breakaway in the overtime but was denied off the left pad of Husso. Grand Rapids out shot the Phantoms 5-2 in the extra period but Gahagen was strong in keeping the Phantoms around.

Joe Snively and Ondrej Becher scored in the first and second rounds of the shootout for the Griffins. Olle Lycksell kept the Phantoms alive with his second-round slide past Husso but Rodrigo Abols was denied on a stick save in the third allowing the Griffins to hang on for the win.

Lehigh Valley’s road trip continues Saturday night at the Rochford IceHogs at 8:00 p.m. and then the Phantoms conclude their midwest sojourn on Tuesday at the Milwaukee Admirals.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st 2:23 – LV, M. Rizzo (6) (H. McDonald, Z. Wisdom) (1-0)
1st 13:16 – GR, N. Danielson (6) (Unassisted) (1-1)
1st 16:20 – GR, O. Becher (4) (A. Watson, D. Shine) (PP) (1-2)

2nd 15:27 – GR, O. Becher (5) (A. Watson, A. Tuomisto) (PP) (1-3)
2nd 17:11 – LV, Z. Wisdom (7) (A. Ginning) (2-3)

3rd 0:33 – LV, E. Andrae (3) (J. Gaucher) (PP) (3-3)
3rd 5:32 – LV, Z. Wisdom (8) (O. Lycksell, E. Andrae) (4-3)
3rd 6:58 – GR, J. Didier (2) (C. Mazer, E. Viro) (4-4)

Shootout:
GR – J. Snively GOAL, O. Becher GOAL, A. Lombardi X
LV – J. Avon X, O. Lycksell GOAL, R. Abols X

Shots:
LV 39 – GR 33

PP:
LV 1/5, GR 2/6

Goaltenders:
LV – P. Gahagen (L) (9-3-1) (28/32)
GR – V. Husso (W) (8-4-0) (35/39)

Records:
Lehigh Valley (25-19-7)
Grand Rapids (27-19-4)

UPCOMING

Saturday, February 22 (8:00) – Phantoms at Rockford IceHogs

Tuesday, February 25 (8:00) – Phantoms at Milwaukee Admirals

Friday, February 28 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms – Hockey is For Everyone!

Saturday, March 1 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms – Mardi Gras Celebration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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