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Win Streak Snapped in Feisty and Wild Night

Penguins Top Phantoms 7-2 with Rematch in Wilkes on Friday

December 21, 2024

Wilkes-Barre, PA – For a second consecutive night, the Phantoms played a game to a 7-2 final. But this time found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put away its rivals in a blowout win. Lehigh Valley (12-11-5) had its three-game win streak ended ahead of the holiday break.

But that wasn’t the whole story of tonight’s game. The bitter rivals showed their continued and growing distaste for each other with a number of scrums and skirmishes which ultimately resulted in multiple players leaving early via misconducts as well as both head coaches who were tossed with 3:30 remaining in the third after engaging in a heated screaming match.

Lehigh Valley had four players head for the dressing room early via 10-minute misconducts while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had three players not make it to the end of the game. And both Ian Laperriere of the Phantoms and Kirk McDonald of the Penguins were head coaches who experienced their first career game misconducts as well. The Phantoms finished with a season-high 72 penalty minutes while the Penguins had 60. There was plenty of elbow-room to be had on both benches in the final minutes of the game.

The Phantoms and Penguins return from the holiday break with a rematch in Wilkes-Barre which is sure to carry over some of the emotions of this wild affair.

Massimo Rizzo (2nd) and Brendan Furry (1st) found the back of the net for the Phantoms but it wasn’t nearly enough against the Penguins offensive onslaught. As quickly as Lehigh Valley enjoyed being on the winning side of a 7-2 rout in a big win against the Toronto Marlies on Friday, the Phantoms would learn just 24 hours later how it feels to be on the opposite side of that exact same score.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-8-1) raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with a pair of power-play goals past Parker Gahagen. Emil Bemstrom (10th) rocked it home from the left circle and Tristan Broz (9th) took advantage of some snappy passing for his high-slot drive with 4:59 left in the first to give the Baby Pens a 2-0 lead.

Boris Katchouk (12th) took advantage of a Phantoms turnover to bury a shorthanded breakaway making it 3-0.

Lehigh Valley maneuvered the puck to Massimo Rizzo at center point whose long drive on the power play to the upper-left corner got the Phantoms on the board at 3:35 of the second period with his second goal of the week and of his career.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton picked up a pair of even-strength goals late in the second period with Marc Johnstone getting there first after Joona Koppanen rifled a shot off the post that banked off the back of Gahagen and was almost cleared out.

Just 1:40 later it was Corey Andonovski (2nd) getting a high-slot redirect of a Mac Hollowel point shot to make it 5-1 with 4:54 remaining in the second period.

A skirmish at the end of the second period resulted in multiple penalties and set the stage for the crazy finish to come.

Helge Grans picked off a Penguins’ pass and Zayde Wisdom up the right board connected with a speeding Brendan Furry up the middle who nudged home a backhander on the breakaway past the left pad of Joel Blomqvist at 7:46 into the third as the Phantoms closed the margin to 5-2 while Furry enjoyed his first goal of the season.

But Avery Hayes countered just a minute later slipping an Emil Bemstrom blast and rebound off Gahagen into the back of the net to make it 6-2.

Garrett Wilson and Filip Kral got violent at 10:36 into the third and both found themselves with misconducts.

The next dust up just 32 seconds later included Louie Belpedio and Mac Hollowell mixing it up near the penalty box. As that gathering seemed to have settled down, Rutger McGroaty of the Penguins got in another jab at Belpedio as he was exiting and Lehigh Valley’s Hunter McDonald came it to defend his teammate. All four players received the heave-ho from that exchange.

Just seconds later came a high sticking penalty from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Dan Renouf that drew a response from Zayde Wisdom and the fourth misconduct on the Phantoms.

After Ville Koivunen (5th) capped the scoring with 3:30 left making it 7-2, players from both sides were involved in some nastiness at the benches with both head coaches getting emotionally charged in their shouting exchange resulting in game misconducts for the respective bench bosses.

Lehigh Valley is 2-3-1 against the Penguins and will play against them again on Friday, December 27 when both teams return from the holiday break.

The Phantoms are back at home on Saturday, December 28 against the Charlotte Checkers with Postgame Photos with the Phantoms players presented by NJM Insurance. Tuesday, December 31 against Charlotte is our New Year’s Eve Bash including Light-up Sticks from Penn Community Bank and the World’s Largest Puck Drop outside the arena at midnight to ring in 2025.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st 10:06 – WBS, E. Bemstrom (10) (V. Koivunen, B. Katchouk) (PP) (0-1)
1st 15:01 – WBS, T. Broz (9) (V. Puustinen, V. Ponomarev) (PP) (0-2)

2nd 2:41 – WBS, B. Katchouk (12) (M. Johnstone) (SH) (0-3)
2nd 3:35 – LV, M. Rizzo (2) (H. Grans, R. Gardner) (PP) (1-3)
2nd 13:26 – WBS, M. Johnstone (4) (J. Koppanen, C. Andonovski) (1-4)
2nd 15:06 – WBS, C. Andonovski (2) (M. Hollowell, J. Koppanen) (1-5)

3rd 7:48 – LV, B. Furry (1) (Z. Wisdom, H. Grans) (SH) (2-5)
3rd 8:52 – WBS, A. Hayes (5) (E. Bemstrom, B. Katchouk) (2-6)
3rd 16:30 – WBS, V. Koivunen (5) (E. Bemstrom, I. Beliveau) (PP) (2-7)

Shots:
LV 31 – WBS 30

PP:
LV 1/4, WBS 3/8

Goaltenders:
LV – P. Gahagen (L) (1-1-1) (23/30)
WBS – J. Blomqvist (W) (5-4-0) (29/31)

Records:
Lehigh Valley (12-11-5)
W-B/Scranton (15-8-1)

UPCOMING

Friday, December 27 (7:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins

Saturday, December 28 (7:05) – Charlotte Checkers at Phantoms – Postgame Photographs with the Phantoms players presented by NJM Insurance

Tuesday, December 31 (7:05) – Charlotte Checkers at Phantoms – Light-up glow sticks from Penn Community Bank. World’s Largest Puck-Drop at Midnight!