HERSHEY, Pa. – Justin Peters stopped 32 shots to earn third-star honors but his effort was not enough, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms took a 3-1 decision on New Year’s Eve at GIANT Center.
Aaron Palushaj finally solved Peters in the first period, slipping the rebound of a Tim Brent shot under his outstretched pad at 11:12. The Bears backstop turned aside 17 other shots to keep the game close.
The Phantoms added to their lead in the second, when Danick Martel collected a poke-check steal by Jesper Pettersson, carried in on the backhand and poked a shot off of a Bears defenseman and in at 13:38.
With Peters sitting for a sixth attacker, Christian Djoos broke up the shutout bid of Jason LaBarbera with a long-range slap shot from the center point that sailed through a screen with 2:35 left in regulation.
Martel would later hit the empty net to round out the scoring.
Peters dropped to 8-5-3 on the season, while LaBarbera’s 27 saves improved his record to 3-7-0. The Bears finished 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Bears finish their seven-game homestand with the first game of 2016 on Saturday, January 2. The puck drops at 7:00 PM with the Binghamton Senators in town. Tickets are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling 717-508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.
NOTES: The Bears scratched RW Caleb Herbert, D Bobby Shea and LW Jakub Vrana…The Phantoms scratched RW Brandon Alderson, LW Chris Conner, D Maxim Lamarche, D Matt Lashoff, D Christian Marti, RW Michael Parks, D Logan Pyett, RW Evan Rankin, RW Jay Rosehill and LW Kevin Sundher…The Bears dropped to 14-3-2 all-time on New Year’s Eve on home ice.