GAME STORY: W-B/Scranton - 3 at Lehigh Valley - 2 (2/12/22)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (16-18-8) didn't have their skating legs in the opening half of the game, and despite a strong effort in net from Kirill Ustimenko (32 saves - 35 shots) and a late comeback bid they were unable to secure any points in the standings in a tough 3-2 loss at the hands of rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (19-19-5).

Taylor Fedun and Nathan Legare broke a scoreless tie on back-to-back goals 34 seconds apart in the beginning of the middle frame, and P.O Joseph sealed the deal with an insurance marker in the third period as the Pens held on despite heavy Phantoms' pressure in the final five minutes after a goal from Maksim Sushko made it a one goal game with 4:33 left to play.

Cal O'Reilly also tallied a goal for the Phantoms in the loss, as the team completes a three-in-three weekend with a 2:15 p.m. ET faceoff Sunday afternoon prior to the SuperBowl.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lineup Notes

Kirill Ustimenko got the start in net for Lehigh Valley Saturday against the Penguins. Felix Sandstrom, who was the goaltender of record in last night's win in Hershey, served as Ustimenko's backup.

The Phantoms added two forwards from the ECHL prior to Saturday's game, and both were in the lineup. Alexis D'Aoust (PTO) and Brad Morrison (AHL contract)

Morgan Frost remained out of the lineup Saturday, missing his second game of the weekend. Linus Sandin and Cam York, who were both lost to injuries in Friday's game, were also out of commission for Lehigh Valley Saturday.

Phantoms Scratches: Samuel Ersson, Pat Nagle, Garrett Metcalf, Linus Sandin, Morgan Frost, Nick Lappin, Ryan MacKinnon, Cam York and Tyson Foerster

Lines/Pairings:

Maksim Sushko - Cal O'Reilly - Hayden Hodgson Garrett Wilson - Matthew Strome - Alex Kile Brennan Saulnier - German Rubtsov - Charlie Gerard Brad Morrison - No One - Alexis D'Aoust

Linus Hogberg - Adam Clendening Egor Zamula - Wyatte Wylie Cooper Zech - Logan Day Mason Millman

Kirill Ustimenko - Felix Sandstrom

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes

Tommy Nappier got the start in net for the Penguins Saturday vs. Lehigh Valley. Alex D'Orio served as the team's backup.

Penguins Scratches: Filip Lindberg,

Lines/Pairings:

Felix Robert - Sam Houde - Valtteri Puustinen Alex Nylander - Sam Poulin - Anthony Angello Jordy Bellerive - Michael Chaput - Nathan Legare Kasper Bjorkvist - Jonathan Gruden - Kyle Olson

P.O. Joseph - Mitch Reinke Matt Bartkowski - Taylor Fedun Juuso Riikola - Will Reilly

Tommy Nappier - Alex D'Orio

GAME RECAP

1st Period

It was pretty low-event hockey in the opening half of the period as the two teams combined for just seven shots on goal in the first 11 minutes of the game.

From there, the Penguins started to control play - racking up 13 shots in a period that quickly slanted in their favor despite the scoreless tie.

In fact, Kirill Ustimenko - making his first AHL start in exactly three months - stole the show in the opening 20 minutes, keeping the game scoreless to the first intermission with several ten-bell saves on Grade-A Penguins' scoring chances.

Without the likes of Morgan Frost, Linus Sandin and Cam York it certainly had the feel of a game that the Phantoms would be in an ugly, grind-it-out type affair as they headed to the locker room after the first period outshot by a 13-4 margin.

2nd Period

For as great as Ustimenko was in the first period to keep the game scoreless, the Penguins kept on coming in the middle frame and were able to grab a pair of goals on back-to-back shifts to begin the middle frame - breaking the scoreless tie and keeping the Phantoms on their heels.

First, Jonathan Gruden got a puck to the middle for Jordy Bellerive on an odd-man rush. Ustimenko came up big on a blast from Bellerive, but the rebound darted out to the left wing where WBS defenseman Taylor Fedun joined the play and was able to put home the rebound 51 seconds into the period.

On the next shift, the Pens scored a goal that Ustimenko surely would want a second chance at as Nathan Legare's bad angle shot from the bottom of the left-wing circle somehow squirted through the Phantoms' netminder and into the net 1:25 into the middle frame.

Just like that, it was 2-0 Penguins - although after the way they dominated the opening period perhaps it was only fitting that they were eventually rewarded with a pair of early 2nd period goals to break the scoreless tie.

Still, the Phantoms hung around despite being largely out-shot and out-chanced.

Hayden Hodgson was a noticeable man in the orange and black, particularly in the middle frame on a shift where he entered the offensive zone with speed as the first man in on a forecheck and laid a punishing hit on a WBS defender behind the Penguins' net.

Shortly after the hit, the Phantoms got on the board and made it a one-goal game on a late period goal from Cal O'Reilly. Credit Egor Zamula with a great move just inside the offensive zone blue line, one that allowed him enough separation to head down the left-wing wall before hitting O'Reilly tape-to-tape on a cross-ice feed that the Phantoms' captain made no mistake in burying past a diving Penguins' netminder Tommy Nappier.

3rd Period

While the Phantoms seemed to head to the second intermission with momentum on their side, the Penguins took it right back early in the final frame - restoring their two-goal lead 2:14 into the period on P.O Joseph's eighth of the season.

The WBS defender came to a spinning halt just inside the Pens' offensive zone blue line before picking the far side corner on Ustimenko on what was scored as an unassisted tally.

Once again, though, the Phantoms refused to bow away quietly into the net despite being down 3-1 late and out-shot by a 35-16 margin.

Instead, they made things interesting in the final 4:33 after Maksim Sushko re-directed an Adam Clendening point shot past Nappier to draw the Phantoms within a goal at 3-2.

Ultimately, that's as close as the Phantoms would get. They pulled Ustimenko for the extra attacker and threw everything they could toward the Pens' net, but came up short in a 3-2 decision.

After the final horn, Fedun attempted to settle the score with Hodgson as the Phantoms forward laid out several big hits on the WBS defender throughout the game. As time expired, Fedun and one of his teammates jumped on Hodgson's back, starting a near line-brawl after the game had been decided.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

No scoring/penalties

2nd Period

0:51: WBS - Fedun (4) - Bellerive, Gruden 1:25: WBS - Legare (6) - Chaput 16:51: LV - O'Reilly (11) - Zamula, Morrison

3rd Period

2:14: WBS - Joseph (8) - unassisted 10:20: LV - (PP) Wilson, minor (boarding) 15:27: LV - Sushko (6) - Clendening, Hogberg 20:00: LV - Wilson, major (fighting) 20:00: WBS - Bartkowski, major (fighting) 20:00: LV - Hodgson, minor (roughing)

BOXSCORE

W-B/Scranton  0 - 2 - 1 = 3 Lehigh Valley 0 - 1 - 1 = 2

Shots

W-B/Scranton  13 - 13 - 9 = 35 Lehigh Valley 4 - 8 - 10 = 22

Goalies

WBS: Tommy Nappier (20 saves - 22 shots) LV: Kirill Ustimenko (32 saves - 35 shots)

Power Play

WBS: 0-for-1 LV: 0-for-0

Penalty Kill

WBS: 0-for-0 LV: 1-for-1