GAMEDAY: Game 32 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-14-5) at Lehigh Valley (19-9-3)

ALLENTOWN, PA -- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-9-3) look to extend their unbeaten in regulation streak to six games tonight when they host rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-14-5) at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Same lineup for Lehigh Valley. Alex Lyon will make his 6th straight start in net.

Scratches: James de Haas (healthy), Cole Bardreau (injured), Michael Huntebrinker (healthy) and David Kase (injured)

Phantoms' Lines (Starters in Bold/Italics)

Greg Carey - Connor Bunnaman - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Alex Krushelnyski - Mike Vecchione - Chris Conner Carsen Twarynski - Mikhail Vorobyev - Taylor Leier Tyrell Goulbourne - Steven Swavely - Colin McDonald

T.J. Brennan - Mark Friedman Philip Samuelsson - Phil Myers Zach Palmquist - Reece Willcox

Alex Lyon - Branden Komm

GAME STORY

FIRST PERIOD

There was a lack of flow to the opening minutes, due to some icing calls and a pair of delays for loose panels of plexi-glass in opposite corners from resulting hits.

The physical play was noticeable even to those unaware of the bad blood surfacing between two teams that face each other 12 times a season. It didn't take long for it all to boil over, either.

Adam Johnson bowled over Alex Lyon on a net-front play early in the period, but it wasn't until Anthony Angello attacked Philip Samuelsson after a whistle with 11:49 left in the frame that a pair of fights broke out.

Samuelsson didn't appear ready or willing to drop the gloves, but had little choice with the Penguins' forward unloading on him. As the two were separated, a second altercation broke out between Tyrell Goulbourne and Garrett Wilson. Both Goulbourne and Wilson were ejected from the game.

The bad blood continued throughout the remainder of the period, but after Lehigh Valley had initial control of the play between the whistles they were sucked into post-whistle activities and seemingly got away from their game.

A 5-1 Phantoms' shot edge quickly turned to a 9-7 Penguins' advantage, with Alex Lyon - who made his 6th straight start for Lehigh Valley - pressed into action, forced into making some Grade-A saves to keep the game scoreless heading into the middle frame.

SECOND PERIOD

Joseph Cramarossa gave Mark Friedman a shove in the back away from the play, and sent the Phantoms to an early 2nd period power play to begin the middle frame.

The Phantoms made quick work of the ensuing man advantage, needing just 11 seconds to grab the game's opening goal when T.J. Brennan fed Greg Carey at the right-wing circle. Carey's wrister eluded Jarry and gave Lehigh Valley the 1-0 lead 1:34 into the second stanza. Chris Conner added a secondary assist on the play.

The Penguins responded shortly thereafter, tying the game at 1-1 just over two minutes later when Ben Sexton found a rebound atop Lyon's crease and was able to push it past the Phantoms' goaltender for not only his third goal of his season, but his third goal this week against the Phantoms after he tallied two goals in Wednesday's game between the two teams.

A bad turnover at the Phantoms' defensive zone blue line on the next shift gave the Penguins a 3-on-none break that Jimmy Hayes wasted no time sniping Lyon's top shelf. Two Penguins' goals just 46 seconds apart saw them go from a 1-0 deficit to a 2-1 lead.

Lehigh Valley got a power play chance shortly after Hayes' unassisted goal, but were unable to tie the game back up. Instead, it was the Penguins capitalizing on a late second period power play of their own to extend their lead to 3-1 with 5:20 left before the second intermission.

Jean-Sebastien Dea drew a tripping minor on Chris Conner, and made the Phantoms pay when his shot from the point was tipped past Lyon by Teddy Blueger for Blueger's team-leading 12th of the season.

THIRD PERIOD

The 3-1 deficit was eerily similar to the Phantoms' last game against the Penguins on Wednesday night, which saw Lehigh Valley go on to tally four third period goals.

Not for lack of effort - or chances - but Saturday's game would not prove the same fortunes for the Phantoms.

Instead, another giveaway in the neutral zone allowed the Penguins to put the game out of reach 5:07 into the final frame when Adam Johnson finished off a mini-break in on Lyon for his 9th of the season to make it a 4-1 Penguins' lead.

Blueger picked up a loose puck in Phantoms' defensive zone midway through the period to make it a 5-1 Penguins rout before Reece Willcox got on the board with his first goal of the season to cut the Phantoms' deficit to 5-2.

Not for a lack of trying, Kerry Huffman elected to pull Lyon for the extra attacker with just over seven minutes left with the home team down three goals - similar to what Scott Gordon would do down late in the third period. It didn't work out tonight, as Sexton hit the empty net not long after to make it a 6-2 Penguins' lead.

Brennan got his seventh of the season to cut the Phantoms' deficit to 6-3 with 3:08 left, but that's as close as they'd get as the Penguins would add another empty net tally on their way to completing the 7-3 win.

But not before more bad blood left both teams with their blood boiling.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

8:11: WBS - Angello, major (fighting) 8:11: LV - Samuelsson, major (fighting) 8:11: WBS - Wilson, major (fighting) 8:11: WBS - Wilson, game misconduct (secondary altercation) 8:11: LV - Goulbourne, major (fighting) 8:11: LV - Goulbourne, game misconduct (secondary altercation) 12:24: WBS - (PP) Sexton, minor (unsportsmanlike) 12:24: WBS - Lafferty, ten-minute misconduct (abuse of official)

2nd Period

1:23: WBS - (PP) Cramarossa, minor (cross-checking) 1:34: LV - PPG Carey (16) - Brennan, Conner 3:44: WBS - Sexton (3) - Johnson, Prow 4:30: WBS - Hayes (4) - unassisted 6:46: WBS - (PP) Cramarossa, minor (cross-checking) 13:44: LV - (PP) Conner, minor (tripping) 14:40: WBS - PPG Blueger (12) - Dea, Hayes

3rd Period

5:07: WBS - Johnson (9) - Lafferty 10:06: WBS - Blueger (13) - Burton, Abt 10:41: LV - Willcox (1) - Vecchione, Conner 13:37: WBS - ENG Sexton (4) - Lafferty, Ruhwedel 16:52: LV - Brennan (7) - Vorobyev 18:20: WBS - ENG Ruhwedel (1) - unassisted 18:40: LV - Brennan, ten-minute misconduct 18:40: WBS - McGrath, ten-minute misconduct 19:15: WBS - (PP) Cramarossa, minor () 19:15: WBS - Cramarossa, major (fighting) 19:15: WBS - Cramarossa, game misconduct 19:15: LV - Myers, major (fighting) 19:15: LV - Twarynski, game misconduct

BOXSCORE

W-B/Scranton  0 - 3 - 4 = 7 Lehigh Valley 0 - 1 - 2 = 3

Shots

W-B/Scranton  10 - 15 - 7 = 32 Lehigh Valley 9 - 10 - 16 = 35

Goalies

WBS - Tristan Jarry (32 saves - 35 shots) LV - Alex Lyon (25 saves - 30 shots)

Power Play

WBS: 1-for-1 LV: 1-for-4

Penalty Kill

WBS: 3-for-4 LV: 0-for-1

Attendance: 8,853