The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (6-11-4-1) won their third consecutive game Friday night at the XL Center against the first-place Hartford Wolf Pack (12-5-2-1) in front of 3,585 fans.
This was the Phantoms first game since last Sunday in a shootout win against the Wolf Pack. On Wednesday, their game against the Senators was postponed due to COVID-19 affecting the Senators.
Pat Nagle started in goal, and the scratched for the game were Cooper Zech, Mason Millman, Linus Sandin, Nick Lappin, Felix Sandstrom, Tyson Foerster, and Kirill Ustimenko.
In the first period, there was not a lot of offense generated by both teams. The Phantoms had a few chances to score, but Wolf Pack goalie Adam Huska stopped their shots. On the other side, Pat Nagle made a couple of nice saves, including robbing Morgan Barron’s shot to keep the game scoreless after the first period ended. The shots were 8-5 Wolf Pack.
Fourteen seconds into the second period, Maksim Sushko was called for holding, putting the Wolf Pack on the power-play. It was the first penalty called against the Phantoms.
A minute and thirty-five seconds later, Lauri Pajuniemi (6) passed the puck in-between two Phantoms players to Anthony Greco (6), sniping a quick shot to the left circle for the goal and a 1-0 lead. Tanner Fritz (11) was also credited with the assist.
A minute later, the Phantoms responded when Cal O’Reilly (6) took a shot from the left boards, only for Hayden Hodgson (4) to tip the puck into the net that tied the game 1-1 with 17:12 left in the second period.
The Phantoms were putting all kinds of pressure on the Wolf Pack. Brennan Saulnier, Garrett Wilson, and Cal O’Reilly had chances to add to the lead, but Adam Huska stopped them.
Then, with 2:04 left, Gerry Mayhew (5) had Connor Bunnaman (2) right behind him and left the puck for Bunnaman, who snipes the puck to the right circle for the goal that put the Phantoms in a 2-1 lead. Logan Day (4) also picked up the assist on Bunnaman’s goal. Bunnaman had a rough game, getting hit by the puck twice blocking shots, and elbowed by P.C. Labrie.
After two periods, the Phantoms led 2-1 with the shots even at 12 apiece. However, unlike the first period, the Phantoms were aggressive with the puck, rushing and creating chances.
Two minutes into the third period, Matt Strome nearly scored his first goal but was denied by Adam Huska. Later, Wade Allison had a chance but too was denied. Then, at 6:29, Allison headed to the locker room after checking a Wolf Pack player and did not return to the game.
The Phantoms kept pounding the Wolf Pack’s zone, trying to put the game away. With 2:08 left, the Wolf Pack pulled Huska for the extra attacker.
As the Phantoms were fighting for the puck, Maksim Sushko (3) fell on his knees to try and clear the puck out of the zone. Instead, the puck goes into the net for an empty-net goal that sealed the Phantoms win 3-1. The shots in the third period were 15-4 Phantoms.
The Phantoms are now on a three-game winning streak. The Phantoms finished the night with 32 shots, 0/3 on the power-play, and Pat Nagle made 23 of 24 saves.
The Phantoms return to PPL Center today at 7:05 pm against the Rochester Americans.
