Coming off a 3-2 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Saturday night, the Phantoms were looking to silence the Sound Tigers Sunday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena.
The Phantoms quickly found themselves down a man thirty-six seconds into the first period when Mikhail Vorobyev was sent to the penalty box for hooking, giving the Sound Tigers a two-minute power play.
Bridgeport would capitalize on the power play as David Quenneville passed the puck to Otto Koivula, who fired the shot passed Phantoms goalie Alex Lyon for the score to put the Sound Tigers up 1-0. David Quenneville (2) and Colin McDonald (2) assisted in Quenneville’s goal.
The Phantoms would strike back with under a minute to play in the first period as Phantoms center Cal O’Reilly scored his first AHL goal when he fired the puck under the legs of Sound Tigers goalie Jakub Skarek to tie the game up 1-1. Both teams headed to the locker room tied 1-1 at the end of the first period.
The Phantoms would take their first lead of the game five minutes and fifty-nine seconds into the second period as Mark Friedman shot the puck that deflected off of the stick of Nicolas Aube-Kubel and into the net for the goal to put the Phantoms up 2-1. Aube-Kubel was credited with the goal, his fourth of the year, while Mark Friedman (3), and Gerry Fitzgerald (1) assisted in Aube-Kubel’s goal.
The Phantoms, once again, found themselves down a man as Reece Willcox was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, putting the Sound Tigers on the power play. The power play didn’t last long as Bridgeport’s Nic Pierog was sent to the penalty box for hooking as both teams were now playing four on four.
The Sound Tigers would tie the game up 2-2 as David Quenneville (1) shot the puck that just snuck passed Alex Lyon for the goal. Sebastian Aho (4), and Matt Lorito (3) assisted in Quenneville’s goal. The game remained tied 2-2 as both teams headed to the locker room at the end of the second period.
Two minutes and fifty-three seconds into the third period, the Phantoms would once again retake the lead 3-2 as Morgan Frost weaved around a Sound Tigers player and fired the puck to the top right corner of the net for the goal. Andy Welinski (4), and Maksim Sushko (2) assisted in Frost’s goal. Morgan Frost is now on a seven-game points streak that is the third-longest active streak in the AHL.
Bridgeport once again tied the game up 3-3 when Simon Holmstrom (2) rebounded the puck off of Alex Lyon and scored. Mike Cornell (1), and Parker Wotherspoon (4) assisted in Holmstrom’s goal.
Less than three minutes later, the Sound Tigers would retake the lead 4-3 when Parker Wotherspoon fired the puck that deflected off the stick of Otto Koivula and into the net. Otto Koivula was credited with the goal, his second of the game, while Parker Wotherspoon (4), and Arnaud Durandeau (1) assisted in Koivula’s goal.
The Phantoms made one last attempt to tie the game when they pulled Alex Lyon for an extra attacker, but time ran out for the Phantoms as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-3.
Phantoms goalie Alex Lyon stopped twenty-four shots out of twenty-eight allowing four goals while Sound Tigers goalie Jakub Skarek stopped thirty-one shots out of thirty-four, allowing three goals. The Phantoms had thirty-four shots while the Sound Tigers had twenty-eight. Bridgeport went two for four on the power play while the Phantoms were zero and four.
The three stars of the game were Sound Tigers forward Otto Koivula, who had two goals, Sound Tigers defenseman David Quenneville had one goal and one assist, and Sound Tigers forward Simon Holmstrom had one goal.
The Phantoms will return to action Wednesday night when they face the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins at the PPL Center at 7:05 pm.
