The Lehigh Valley Phantoms returned to action Sunday afternoon to the PPL Center against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Phantoms last played on March 14th in a 4-1 win over the Bears. Since then, the Phantoms have been on COVID-19 protocol.
Tanner MacMaster, Ralph Cuddemi, Brennan Saulnier, Chris Bigras, Wyatte Wylie, Pascal Laberge, Eamon McAdam, Garrett Wilson, and Samuel Morin were all scratches for this game. Felix Sandstrom got the start at goal.
Both teams looked good in the first period. The Phantoms had a chance to take the lead on the power play but couldn’t do it. After the first period, the game was scoreless, with the Penguins having a 6-4 shot advantage.
The second period was a much different story. Just fourteen seconds in, the Phantoms took a 1-0 lead when Wade Allison got the puck from Egor Zamula, spun around, and blasted the puck to the far-left post. About a minute later, the Penguins tied it up at one apiece after Nick Schilkey’s shot initially hit Sandstrom’s pad and went into the net.
Less than a minute after Schilkey’s goal, the Phantoms got the lead back after Logan Day found Tyson Forester for a backhand goal to make it a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later, Wade Allison found Linus Sandin, who then found Chris Mueller in a tic-tac-toe goal to extend the Phantoms lead 3-1.
After that goal, the Penguins stepped it up and created problems for the Phantoms. They would cut the Phantoms lead 3-2 after Drew O’Connor deflected Billy Sweezey’s shot and in the net for the goal.
Fifty seconds later, the Penguins tied it up at three apiece after Jordy Bellerive found Jonathan Gruden for the breakaway. Gruden’s first shot hit Sandstrom before he rebounded the puck and made it count the second time for the goal.
Late in the second period, the Penguins would take a 4-3 lead after a three-on-one play developed with Jordy Bellerive with the wrist shot goal. The second period ended with the Penguins up 4-3 and an 11-7 shot advantage.
The Phantoms came out swinging in the third period. They came close several times to tie the game. Lehigh Valley continued to keep the Penguins in check. At 6:55, the Phantoms tied the game at four apiece when Tanner Laczynski ripped the shot to the top left corner of the net for the goal.
After the goal, the Phantoms had several more chances to take the lead, but the shots were either wide right or left. The third period ended tied at four with the shots even at nine apiece.
A minute and eight seconds into overtime, Derrick Pouliot found Tanner Laczynski, who shot the puck to the lower right post to send the Phantoms to their fifth overtime win 5-4. It was Laczynski’s second goal of the game.
The Phantoms finished the game 0-4 on the power play and 23 shots. Felix Sandstrom finished the day with 22 saves. Wade Allison earned the game’s second star, and Tanner Laczynski earned the first star. The Phantoms power-play unit plays really well, stopping the Penguins three times.
The Phantoms will be back in action this Wednesday at the PPL Center against the Hershey Bears at 7:05 pm on AHL.tv.
