GAME STORY: W-B/Scranton - 2 at Lehigh Valley - 1 (OT) 5/15/21

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ALLENTOWN, Pa.  - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-7-5) broke through in the third period, out-shooting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 12-3 in the stanza and forcing overtime thanks to Ryan Fitzgerald's 11th of the year.

Unfortunately, it was the Penguins getting the last laugh - with Kasper Bjorkqvist finishing off a play from Jordy Bellerive to give the Pens the 2-1 OT win.

Both goaltenders made crucial saves to keep the game close, with Alex D'Orio (23 saves on 24 shots) picking up the win while Zane McIntyre (26 saves on 28 shots) was strong in the loss for Lehigh Valley.

The Phantoms will close out their 2020-21 season Sunday afternoon with one final matchup with the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop scheduled for 3:15 p.m. ET

### Lehigh Valley Phantoms Roster Notes

Lines/Pairings:

Ryan Fitzgerald - Cal O'Reilly - Wade Allison Max Willman - Chris Mueller - Linus Sandin Garrett Wilson - Connor Bunnaman - David Kase Brennan Saulnier - Tanner MacMaster - Zayde Wisdom

Derrick Pouliot - Chris Bigras Tyler Wotherspoon - Linus Hogberg Cam York - Egor Zamula

Zane McIntyre - Felix Sandstrom

Phantoms scratches: Eamon McAdam, Mason Millman, Maksim Sushko, Isaac Ratcliffe, Logan Day, Ralph Cuddemi, Wyatte Wylie, Pascal Laberge and Tyson Foerster

GAME RECAP

1st Period

There was a good pace to the opening five minutes for both teams tonight, as it certainly looked like two teams who weren't going to go through the motions.

Lehigh Valley had an early chance to go up 1-0 after Ryan Fitzgerald won a race to a loose puck and got it down low to Wade Allison. Allison held up and fed Cal O'Reilly just inside the left-wing circle, with the Phantoms' captain's shot hitting the far post and bouncing out.

The Phantoms might have had the early jump in play, but the Penguins responded with some extended offensive zone pressure of their own - later drawing themselves a power play on an odd-man rush in transition at the 7:34 mark.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton didn't score on the ensuing power play, but they seemed to generate momentum from that point on - later taking a 1-0 lead after a dump and chase play worked to perfection.

Penguins forward Nick Schilkey sent a puck in and got behind Egor Zamula to get to the biscuit first behind the net, sending a pass across to Drew O'Connor. O'Connor looked up, saw Jonathan Gruden heading to the net untracked and fed a perfect pass onto his tape atop the crease for a quick tap in with 8:03 left in the opening period to put the Penguins ahead 1-0.

Late in the period, Wade Allison nearly was able to cross off first pro fight on his rookie checklist - finishing his check on Penguins' defenseman P-O Joseph along the endboards and drawing a retaliatory cross-check to the back of his head for his troubles. Allison challenged Joseph, and dropped his gloves, but the Penguins' defender wanted no part of any physical altercation with the Phantoms' forward.

The two were assessed matching minors for roughing on the play.

2nd Period

Allison had a chance in front of the Penguins' net after serving off the final 10 seconds of his roughing minor to begin the period, but the Penguins drew a tripping minor on a counterattack and didn't give the Phantoms much of an opportunity to gain any momentum.

Lehigh Valley killed off their third penalty of the contest, but were only able to generate one shot on goal in the opening nine minutes of the period.

A strong save by Zane McIntyre near the midway mark of the period kept the Phantoms in a one-goal, with the Phantoms' goalie sliding from his right to left to lunge forward and stop a quick shot from Penguins' defenseman Will Reilly on a backdoor play.

The physical play picked up as the middle frame wore on, with several big hits laid out for both teams.

Late in the period, Garrett Wilson put P-O Joseph into the Phantoms' bench with a big before later drawing Lehigh Valley their first power play of the contest with 59.1 left before the intermission - taking a high-stick from Penguins' forward Anthony Angello.

The Phantoms had several dangerous scoring chances in the final minute of the period, but credit D'Orio for making the necessary stops to preserve his team's 1-0 lead heading to the third period.

3rd Period

Tempers flared early and often in the final frame, and the battle between Allison and Joseph continued.

The two players were going at it again in the opening minutes of the period, and Joseph's teammate, Felix Robert, made the decision to step in for Joseph and drop the gloves with Allison.

The Phantoms forward earned the takedown twice in the bout, and it gave the home team all the energy they needed to get back into the hockey game. They tied it up on the next shift.

Chris Bigras got a puck ahead to Zayde Wisdom in the neutral zone, and the Phantoms' rookie floated one to the far blue line where Ryan Fitzgerald was able to use his speed to get past the Penguins' defense and score on the ensuing mini-breakaway 4:04 into the third period to tie the game at 1-1.

Lehigh Valley dominated most of the period, out-shooting the Penguins 12-3, but were unable to find the go-ahead marker. They had a golden opportunity with a power play in the final 2:13 of regulation, but couldn't get one past D'Orio and headed to overtime.

Overtime

The high-intensity third period turned into a frantic 3-on-3 overtime period, with each team having 2-on-1 opportunities to end the game. It wasn't until the second half of the OT that one of those odd-man chances were cashed in, with Jordy Bellerive getting one to Kasper Bjorkqvist for the game-winner - Bjorkqvist's first career AHL tally.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

7:34: LV - (PP) Pouliot, minor (hooking) 11:57: WBS - Gruden (6) - O'Connor, Schilkey 13:52: LV - (PP) Kase, minor (holding) 18:10: LV - Allison, minor (roughing) 18:10: WBS - Joseph, minor (roughing)

2nd Period

0:49: LV - (PP) Wotherspoon, minor (tripping) 19:00: WBS - (PP) Angello, minor (high-sticking)

3rd Period

3:50: WBS - Robert, major (fighting) 3:50: LV - Allison, major (fighting) 6:38: LV - (PP) Wisdom, minor (holding) 10:54: LV - Willman, major (fighting) 10:54: WBS - Lee, major (fighting) 17:47: WBS - (PP) Currie, minor (tripping)

Overtime

2:54: WBS - Bjorkqvist (1) - Bellerive

BOXSCORE

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

Shots

W-B/Scranton  14 - 8 - 3 - 3 = 28 Lehigh Valley   6 - 6 - 12 - 0 = 24

Goalies

WBS: Alex D'Orio (23 saves - 24 shots) LV: Zane McIntyre (26 saves - 28 shots)

Power Play

WBS: 0-for-4 LV: 0-for-2

Penalty Kill

WBS: 2-for-2 LV: 4-for-4