Hunter McDonald Scores First Regular Season Goal
November 6, 2024
Wilkes-Barre, PA – The Phantoms were oh-so-close to a perfect three-game road trip but ultimately couldn’t make it to the sixth standings point as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins pulled off a 2-1 overtime win on Wednesday night in Northeast Pennsylvania. Tristan Broz (4th) rifled home a top-shelf snipe to provide victory for the Penguins. Hunter McDonald scored his first career regular-season goal for Lehigh Valley to finally get the Phantoms on the board almost 48 minutes into a frustrating night against Tristan Jarry.
It was an exciting way to start a rivalry stretch that will see the two foes meet three times in eight days including rematches in Allentown this Friday night and also next Wednesday.
Lehigh Valley (3-3-3) now has a four-game point streak (2-0-2) since October 27 and also has points in five of its last six games while finishing a successful three-game road swing with a 2-0-1 mark.
Despite the low score, the night was hardly a low-event affair. The Phantoms hit the post twice in the second period on big shots by Louie Belpedio and Adam Ginning. The Penguins found the iron three times including an Emil Bemstrom crank in the second and a rapid-fire putback in the third from newcomer Phip Waugh when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hit each post back-to-back just one second apart.
Aside from the various iron dents were big chances on the goaltenders. Jarry looked every bit the NHL veteran he is as the experienced netminder had sterling denials on Elliot Desnoyers, Zayde Wisdom, Ethan Samson, Rhett Gardner and more. The Phantoms largely dominated the first period with an 11-4 shots advantage and kept it up for much of the second period before the Penguins found some pushback.
Eventually, Mac Hollowell peeled around the cage to connect with fourth-liner Marc Johnstone at the net front in the closing seconds of the middle period to break the scoreless deadlock.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (7-2-0) carried its 1-0 lead into the third but the Phantoms kept pushing ahead in efforts to break Jarry’s stellar netminding wizardry.
Olle Lycksell from the right-wing corner connected across the ice with rookie defenseman Hunter McDonald making a move from the left point who blasted home his one-timer with 12:34 left to get the Phantoms on the board. It was McDonald’s first career regular-season goal but also not really. McDonald had scored in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Playoffs against the…
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