On Tuesday night, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-30-14) were back at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center against the Providence Bruins (36-20-10) in their sixth and final meeting of the season. The Bruins led the season series 4-1. It’s also the Phantoms’ second to last road game of the season.
Heading into the game, the Phantoms trailed the Bridgeport Islanders by four points for the final playoff spot with six games left in the season.
There were no lineup changes for the Phantoms. Pat Nagle was in goal for the Phantoms (9-4-5, 2.45 GAA, .908 SV%) with Darion Hanson as the backup.
Meanwhile, the Bruins started Brandon Bussi (2-0-0, .096 GAA, .964 SV%). Bussi gave up two goals in his AHL debut against the Phantoms back on April 16th in a 3-2 shootout win.
Scratches for the game were Adam Karashik, Garrett McFadden, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jackson Cates, Linus Sandin, Will Riedell, Ryan MacKinnon, Hayden Hodgson, Sam Ersson, and Kirill Ustimenko.
Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds into the first period, the Phantoms took a 1-0. They were in the Bruins’ zone off the faceoff when Isaac Ratcliffe (14) passed the puck to Wyatte Wylie (5). Wylie took a shot from the right circle that went through the five-hole of Bussi and into the net. Matthew Strome (11) got the secondary assists.
Thirty seconds later, the Bruins tied it up. First, Providence defenseman Blake Hillman (8) took a shot from the left side. Then, Justin Brazeau (14) got in front of Nagle and shoveled the puck past Nagle’s right side, tying the game 1-1.
Not long after the goal, the Phantoms regained the lead. The Phantoms were setting up a shot inside the Bruins’ zone. Brennan Menell (10) made a cross-ice pass to Logan Day (6). Day slap shot the puck past Brandon Bussi’s left side for a 2-1 lead. Cal O’Reilly (31) got the secondary assist. It was his 534th career assist for O’Reilly, who passed Peter White for eighth all-time in Phantoms history.
Nine seconds later, Providence came right back in a tic-tac-toe fashion. First, Joona Koppanen (18) made a pass to Chris Wagner (11). Then, Wagner found Georgii Merkulov (1) coming across the net and made a quick pass to him. Merkulov had an open net in front of him and pushed the puck into the net, tying the game 2-2.
The reason Merkulov had an open net was Pat Nagle moved away from his net, getting set to block Wagner’s shot, but Wagner saw this and made a nice pass to Merkulov. However, Nagle could not get back in time, and Merkulov scored the tying goal.
Then, with 3:05 left, the Phantoms got the lead back. Brennan Menell (11) had the puck inside the Bruins’ zone. He took a shot that hit a body before Nick Lappin (5) made a sharp angle shot from the left side and into the net, giving the Phantoms a 3-2. Alex Kile (3) got the secondary assist. The Phantoms scored three goals in 13-minutes.
The Phantoms led 3-2 after one period and led the shots 15-10. It was a good start for Lehigh Valley. Pat Nagle was doing a good job, making eight of ten saves.
Five minutes and thirty-five seconds into the second period, the Bruins went on their first power-play after Wyatte Wylie tripped Jakub Lauko. Six seconds later, the Bruins tied the game. Again, they used their quickness as Aaron Ness (16) made a pass to Steven Fogarty (12). Fogarty took a shot that passed Nagle’s right side top shelf and into the net, tying the game 3-3. Unfortunately, Nagle was late reacting to the shot that led to the goal.
With 11:35 left, it looked like the Bruins took the lead when Lauko flipped the puck over the left shoulder of Nagle. However, Lauko’s stick was high, and the goal was waved off, keeping the game tied 3-3.
Late in the second period, the Bruins took the lead. They were sprinting towards the Phantoms’ zone. The puck was dumped in and took a bad bounce off the boards. Then, Justin Brazeau (16) passed to John Beecher (1) for a one-time shot past Nagle’s right side and into the net, putting Providence up 4-3.
After two periods, the Bruins led 4-3, but the Phantoms led the shots 29-21. It was not a good period for the Phantoms. They needed to respond in the third period.
With 15:31 left in the third period, Wade Allison got hit with a high stick by Joona Koppanen, but no call was made. Nevertheless, with 10:31 left, the Phantoms tied the game. From the right side, Logan Day (11) got Steven Fogarty to trip on his own and made a cross-ice pass to Adam Clendening (35). Clendening hammered the puck that was redirected by Isaac Ratcliffe (10) and into the net, tying the game 4-4.
With 9:05 left, Garrett Wilson was sent to the penalty box for interference, putting the Bruins on their second power-play. Then, a delay of game against Logan Day made it 5 on 3 for a minute and three seconds. The Phantoms’ killed both power-plays.
Both teams had chances to end the game in regulation, but it didn’t happen. For the third straight game, the Phantoms were headed into overtime.
In overtime, Bruins’ forward John Beecher (2) used his speed to get by Wade Allison from the left side. He fired the puck that hit Allison’s stick and into the net, ending the game. The Bruins beat the Phantoms 5-4 and won the season series 5-1.
The Phantoms did gain a point in the standings, putting them three points behind the Islanders. However, their winning percentage dropped to .479, making it harder for them to have a chance to get into the playoffs with five games left in the season. Nevertheless, they battled until the end.
The Phantoms finished the night with 40 shots, 0/2 on the power-play, and Pat Nagle made 29 of 34 saves.
The Phantoms host the Hershey Bears on Friday at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
