The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-7-3) returned to the PPL Center Saturday night against the Springfield Thunderbirds (9-2-2) in their first meeting of the season.
Felix Sandstrom was in goal, and the scratches for the game were Mason Millman, Matt Strome, Linus Sandin, Wyatte Wylie, Sam Ersson, Ryan MacKinnon, Nick Seeler, and Tyson Foerster.
In the first period, right-winger Maksim Sushko had a couple of chances, one on a breakaway and the other a stolen puck to score, but Thunderbirds goalie Charlie Lindgren made both stops. With 7:55 left, Max Willman and Morgan Frost had a two-on-one advantage. However, Lindgren made the save.
For the second game in a row, left-winger Garrett Wilson elbowed Charlie Lindgren, causing the Thunderbirds players to come to his aid and fight Wilson. The Thunderbirds went on the power play after Wilson was called for both roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct served by Hayden Hodges. The Phantoms killed off the power play.
On the other side, Phantoms goalie Felix Sandstrom made some good saves that kept the game scoreless after the first period ended. The Thunderbirds dominated the shots 16-5.
In the second period, the Phantoms had a scare when Max Willman’s head hit the ice after Tommy Cross drilled him. Luckily, Willman was alright and returned to the game a short time later.
At 3:53, the Thunderbirds were on the attack. Scott Perunovich’s (17) hit the pad of Sandstrom before Tanner Kaspick (2) rebounded the puck and scored to take a 1-0 lead.
With 6:12 left, the Phantoms were playing with urgency. Jackson Cates had a couple of chances to score but was denied. Then, with 4:39 left, a two-on-one developed between Morgan Frost and Max Willman.
Frost got the puck away from Nolen Stevens, and Willman went with him. Morgan Frost (10) passed the puck to Max Willman (6), who faked a shot before using the backhand to put it in for a shorthanded goal that tied the game 1-1. The Phantoms are tied for first in the league on shorthanded goals. The game remained tied 1-1 after two periods with the shots 13-8 Phantoms.
In the third period, Morgan Frost had an opportunity to break the tie but was denied by Charlie Lindgren. Both teams had chances, but neither could break the tie, and the game headed to overtime.
In overtime, the Phantoms had a three-on-one play when Lindgren blocked Max Willman’s shot. Then, the Thunderbirds broke the tie with 3:09 left after Nathan Todd (6) made a backhand pass between two Phantoms players before Hugh McGing (2) scored that ended the game with the Thunderbirds on top of the Phantoms 2-1.
Both goalies played a really good game. Felix Sandstrom made 28 of 30 saves. The Phantoms went 0-for-2 on the power play and killed five Thunderbirds’ power plays.
The Phantoms’ next game is at the PPL Center on Wednesday, November 17th, against the Charlotte Checkers at 7:05 pm.
