The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (17-19-6-3) wrapped up a six-game homestand Sunday afternoon against the first-place Springfield Thunderbirds (26-14-5-2). This is the third meeting between these teams, with the Thunderbirds up 2-0 in the season series.
Kirill Ustimenko (0-3-1, 2.66 GAA, .914 SV%) started in goal, and the scratches for the game were Linus Hogberg, Linus Sandin, Brennan Saulnier, Nick Lappin, Sam Ersson, Felix Sandstrom, Alexis D’Aoust, Ryan MacKinnon, and Tyson Foerster.
There was a slight lineup change due to the scratches as Cooper Zech replaced Linus Hogberg and Adam Johnson replaced Alexis D’Aoust. Johnson was acquired from the Ontario Reign earlier this week. Garrett Metcalf was the backup goalie for Ustimenko.
In the first period, the Phantoms were a little disorganized due to the line changes, disrupting the flow of the game. Kirill Ustimenko made some nice saves, including a sliding save off his right pad, stopping Hugh McGing and Mackenzie MacEachern’s shots.
Late in the first period, German Rubtsov drew a tripping penalty on Tommy Cross. The Phantoms had 45-seconds left on the power-play to start the second period.
In the first period, turnovers were an issue, giving the Thunderbirds plenty of shot opportunities. Luckily for Ustimenko’s saves, the game was scoreless after one period with the shots 10-5 Thunderbirds.
In the second period, the Phantoms could not capitalize on the power-play. Springfield was all over the ice, and the Phantoms were slacking. With 15:50 left, Kirill Ustimenko initially stopped Mathias Laferriere’s (4) shot, but Drew Callin (4) was there for the rebound and an open net goal to take a 1-0 lead.
The Phantoms were hanging on while dealing with the Thunderbirds rush. After a lackluster start to the second period, the Phantoms started to catch on fire. Adam Clendening had a chance, but Charlie Lindgren stopped his shot.
Then, with 9:18 left, the Phantoms were on the attack when the Thunderbirds defensemen Tyler Tucker lost the puck thanks to a Charlie Gerard poke, and Tanner Laczynski was right there for the shot from the right side that passed the right glove of Lindgren, tying the game 1-1.
After the goal, the Phantoms dominated the rest of the second period. They were in the Thunderbirds’ zone for several minutes, looking to take the lead.
Adam Clendening and Tanner Laczynski had chances, but Lindgren blocked them. After two periods, the game remained tied 1-1 with the shots 20-16 Thunderbirds.
Springfield started to regain momentum in the third period, spending several minutes in the Phantoms’ zone. Kirill Ustimenko was blocking shots that kept the game tied.
However, with 11:36 left on a Thunderbirds rush, Tyler Tucker (11) found James Neal (4) for a sharp angle shot from the left side that goes past the right shoulder of Kirill Ustimenko, putting the Thunderbirds back up 2-1.
After that goal, Springfield was killing the clock. When Charlie Gerard got caught slashing, the Thunderbirds burned twenty seconds. The Phantoms’ power-play unit did its job to keep it a one-game.
However, with 1:36 left, Kirill Ustimenko was pulled for the extra attacker, and Nathan Walker (18) sealed the game with an empty-net goal twenty-one seconds later to beat the Phantoms 3-1.
The Phantoms finished the game with 25 shots, 0/2 on the power-play, and Kirill Ustimenko made 19 of 21 saves. The Phantoms go 2-4 on the six-game homestand.
The Phantoms are back on the road Wednesday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm.
