The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (10-11-5-2) returned to the ice after nine days off Friday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (9-15-1-3) from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
This was the fifth meeting between these two teams this year, with the Penguins up 3-1 in the season series.
Before the game, the Phantoms signed forward Alex Kile, who was in the lineup. Wade Allison made his return from injury. Former Flyers center Danny Briere was on the sidelines as an assistant coach.
Garrett Metcalf started in goal, and the scratches were Logan Day, Nick Lappin, Sam Ersson, Pat Nagle, Ryan MacKinnon, Hayden Hodgson, and Tyson Foerster. Hodgson, Day, and Nagle joined assistant coaches Riley Armstrong and Jason Smith on the COVID protocol.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead with 16:42 left in the first period after Taylor Fedun (5) shot the puck and hit someone before Felix Robert (7) flipped the puck into the net for the goal. The Penguins were dominating a good portion of the first period.
The Penguins kept attacking, and the Phantoms couldn’t keep up. Luckily, Garrett Metcalf kept them in the game. Then with under seven minutes to play, the Phantoms started to get momentum. Midway through the first period, Garrett Wilson landed on his right arm and went to the locker room. Wilson did not return to the game.
At 13:42, Valtteri Puustinen headed to the penalty box for slashing, putting the Phantoms on the power play. With 5:47 left, the Phantoms tied the game 1-1 after great passes from Adam Clendening (11) and Cal O’Reilly (11) that set up Linus Sandin’s (2) one-timer on the left side of Alex D’Orio for the power-play goal.
The game remained tied 1-1 to end the first period, with the Penguins having a 16-6 shot advantage. The Phantoms were chasing pucks, playing catch-up, and unable to control the puck, which led to chances for the Penguins.
In the second period, the Penguins were in control of the entire period. Phantoms goalie Garrett Metcalf stopped every shot that came his way. The game could’ve easily been a blowout, but Metcalf kept them in the game. With 9:20 left, Adam Clendening and Isaac Ratcliffe had chances to break the tie, but their shots were wide.
The Phantoms had a problem getting out of their zone. With 4:52 left, Charlie Gerard had a chance, but his shot was deflected and out of play. The game remained tied 1-1 with the shots 32-11 for the Penguins.
In the third period, Linus Sandin (3) stole the puck after Cam Lee couldn’t control it and fired it past the left shoulder of D’Orio to take a 2-1 lead with 17:47 left. The Phantoms were rolling. With 11:07 left, Cal O’Reilly (5) deflected Linus Hogberg’s (4) shot upstairs for a 3-1 lead. Adam Clendening 12), along with Hogberg, assisted O’Reilly’s goal.
As time was winding down, the Penguins were aggressively looking to get back into the game. With 3:35 left in the third period, Felix Robert (6) took a shot that Metcalf blocked, only for Sam Houde (2) to recover it before making a backhand pass to Valtteri Puustinen (10), who had an open net in front of him and scored to cut the Phantoms lead 3-2.
With 2:44 left, the Penguins pulled D’Orio. Eleven seconds later, Adam Clendening (5) tried to get the puck out of the zone and banked it off the boards as the puck slowly went into the net for an empty goal and a 4-2 lead. Cal O’Reilly (12) assisted the goal.
The Penguins kept D’Orio on the bench in the last minute of the game. With six seconds left, Alexander Nylander (9) scored that cut the Phantoms lead to 4-3. Sam Poulin (4) and Felix Robert (7) assisted his goal.
The Phantoms would come away with a 4-3 win and are now on a nine-game points streak. The shots were 42-16 Penguins. The Phantoms finished the game one for three on the power-play, 16 shots, and Garrett Metcalf played an outstanding game with 39 saves.
The Phantoms and Penguins will go at it again today at 7:05 pm from the PPL Center.
