On Tuesday night, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (28-31-15) returned home to the PPL Center for the final three games of the regular season against the Springfield Thunderbirds (42-24-9). This game was a makeup date from February 16th, 2022.
This was the sixth and final meeting of the season between these two teams, with the Thunderbirds leading the season series three games to two.
There were a couple of lineup changes as Garrett Wilson, and Cooper Zech were out due to injuries. Former Ohio State defenseman Will Riedell made his Phantoms’ debut.
Pat Nagle (10-4-6, 2.45 GAA, .912 SV%) started in goal for the Phantoms with Darion Hanson as the backup, while the Thunderbirds started Joel Hofer (17-14-6, 3.04 GAA, .903 SV%).
The Phantoms’ scratches for the game were Cooper Zech, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jackson Cates, Ryan MacKinnon, Hayden Hodgson, Garrett Wilson, Sam Ersson, and Kirill Ustimenko.
Three minutes and thirty-five seconds into the first period, the Thunderbirds took a 1-0 lead. Thunderbirds’ forward Dakota Joshua (11) had the puck and attempted a wraparound shot, but the puck bounced off Pat Nagle’s right pad. Then, Matthew Peca (22) got the puck and fired it past Nagle’s left side and into the net for the goal. Sam Anas (41) earned the secondary assist.
With 14:06 left, Phantoms’ forward Charlie Gerard stole the puck inside Springfield’s zone. However, he was slashed in the process of making a shot that Joel Hofer saved, and the Phantoms went on their first power-play of the game. Unfortunately, the Phantoms could not score and were 0/1 on the power-play.
The Phantoms dominated the first period by winning the battle in puck possession and faceoffs. There was a lot of end-to-end and back-and-forth action. Late in the first period, the Thunderbirds had a couple of opportunities to add to their lead, but Pat Nagle blocked those shots. The Thunderbirds led 1-0 after one period, and the Phantoms led the shots 8-4.
In the second period, the Thunderbirds almost got a goal at the expense of the Phantoms’ with 16:37 left when Logan Day could not control the puck, and it nearly went into the net until Pat Nagle kicked the puck out of the goal crease.
With 15:50 left, the Phantoms went on their second power-play after Tanner Kaspick cross-checked Linus Sandin when he tried to score a goal for the Phantoms. But, for the second time, the Phantoms could not score.
Then, with 11:30 left, the Thunderbirds went on their first power-play after Isaac Ratcliffe high-sticked Tyler Tucker. During the power-play, Adam Clendening sacrificed his body, getting hit three times, including his left arm, and was hurting. However, once the Phantoms were able to clear the puck out of their zone, Clendening went to the bench and stayed in the game.
The Phantoms did their job, and the Thunderbirds were now 0/1 on the power-play. Meanwhile, Pat Nagle continued to play lights out after allowing the one goal in the first period. With 10:08 left, Nagle did a split on his belly to make a glove save.
Late in the second period, the Thunderbirds made one last attempt to extend their lead on a shot by Brady Lyle, but Pat Nagle made the save. After two periods, the Thunderbirds led 1-0, and the Phantoms led the shots 19-12.
Springfield was in control for most of the second period after a slow start by winning the battle off faceoffs and puck possessions. The Phantoms kept pace with them and had eleven shots on goal in the second period. However, the Phantoms were having a hard time trying to score on Joel Hofer.
Springfield showed Lehigh Valley why they were a playoff team in the third period. A minute into the third period, the Thunderbirds made it 2-0 off the faceoff in the Phantoms’ zone. Nikita Alexandrov (19) won the faceoff, and Nathan Todd (12) got the puck to Brady Lyle (5), who fired the puck from center point over Nagle’s glove and into the net for the goal.
Then, with 15:27 left, the Thunderbirds made it 3-0. Springfield was in the Phantoms’ zone when Matthew Kessel (3) found Josh Wesley (5). Wesley wrister the shot over Nagle’s glove on the right side and into the net for the goal. Will Bitten (19) got the secondary assist.
The Phantoms had no answers for the Thunderbirds’ offense. With 15:01 left, Phantoms’ defenseman Adam Clendening interfered with Drew Callin. He chirped at the referee and was given a ten-minute game misconduct. Alex Kile served the interference penalty on Clendening.
During the power-play, the Thunderbirds added another goal. Dakota Joshua’s (8) first shot hit the right pad of Nagle before rebounding his own shot and scored a power-play goal from the right side and into the net for a 4-0 lead with 13:53 left. Pat Nagle was doing all he could do, and he did not have any help from the defense.
Finally, with 9:36 left, the Thunderbirds scored another goal. Springfield was on the rush inside the Phantoms’ zone. Sam Anas (43) had the puck and quickly found Matthew Peca (23), who pushed the puck into the net from the left side for a 5-0 lead.
Two Phantoms’ players were on top of the puck and could not get it out of their zone, leading to the goal. Mathias Laferriere (6) got the secondary assist.
With 9:12 left, Phantoms’ forward Maksim Sushko made a bad pass, and Mitchell Balmas intercepted it. Sushko slashed Balmas, and Balmas was awarded a penalty shot. Luckily, Pat Nagle made the save.
The Phantoms were unable to get back into the game. Springfield spent the last few minutes holding onto the puck and killing time. The Phantoms had a couple of chances to end the shutout, but it wasn’t their day. The Thunderbirds shut out the Phantoms 5-0. The Thunderbirds win the season series four games to two.
The Phantoms finished the night with 26 shots, 0/3 on the power-play, and Pat Nagle made 21 of 26 saves.
The Phantoms host the Cleveland Monsters today at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
