Desnoyers and Foerster Return Sparks Five-Goal Attack and Fifth Straight Win
March 12, 2023
Lehigh Valley, PA – Tyson Foerster (19th) and Elliot Desnoyers (21st) returned from the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley’s leading scorers struck for goals just 79 seconds apart in the second period in a 5-2 win for “Los Fantasmas” over “Los Cometas de Utica” in the Sunday finale of Hockey Fiesta Weekend. The arrival of the youthful stars provided just the spark the Phantoms needed at the end of a busy weekend to boost the team to a season-long five-game win streak.
Garrett Wilson (12th) added a key power-play goal with just 5:59 remaining while Max Willman (9th) and Cooper Marody (12th) struck for a pair of late empty-netters to seal a victory that eventually reached a final margin not indicative of the closely contested nature of the contest.
Leading by just a slim 3-2 margin with one minute to go, Louie Belpedio came up with a huge block on an Alex Holtz blast from the left circle that was surely destined for the back of the net when Nolan Maier had already made a denial at the top of the crease. Belpedio’s play to help avoid overtime was followed in quick succession by a Cal O’Reilly steal who set up Max Willman to race down ice for the first of the team’s two empty-netters to clinch the victory.
An enthusiastic crowd loaded with meLVin jersey-wearing kids saw Lehigh Valley (31-22-6) stretch its win streak to five in a row while the team capped a perfect 3-for-3 weekend. The youngsters enjoyed receiving their yellow jersey giveaways while watching rookie goaltender Nolan Maier (4-1-2) produce a strong 27-save performance.
Having just played for the Philadelphia Flyers at the Pittsburgh Penguins the day before, Desnoyers and Foerster remained tied for the team at 39 points apiece via their consecutive markers. Desnoyers pulled to within one goal of the Lehigh Valley record for most goals by a rookie currently held by Danick Martel who had 22 goals in 2015-16.
Lehigh Valley (31-22-6) moved into a fourth-place tie in the Atlantic Division with the Springfield Thunderbirds with 13 games remaining in the regular season.
Nolan Maier was tested early including a first period that saw three big chances from New Jersey first-rounder Alex Holtz. Maier repelled a Holtz breakaway with a strong right pad save and then also swallowed another big blast by Holtz on a rush that was almost another breakaway. Holtz again had a chance as part of a…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Lehigh Valley Phantoms…