MATCH REPORT | PHANTOMS FIGHT FOR WIN OVER HIGH FLYING KNIGHTS

The WALDECK Peterborough Phantoms battled for an impressive victory over the Leeds Knights, splitting the double header weekend against the league’s second placed side.

The first period was relatively low key, with both sides trying to find a spark to take control of the game. They traded powerplay opportunities, but neither side could find the opener in the first half of the first period.

The opening goal did eventually come at 15:55 and it was the visitors who claimed it. It came when Mac Howlett jumped onto the ice and joined the play, picking up the puck behind the Phantoms net and skating out in front, before ripping his effort beyond Hayden Lavigne.

There was another flurry of penalties towards the end of the period which saw Phantoms go on the powerplay, but the away side went into the first intermission one goal to the good.

After a low shot count in the first period, Phantoms went straight on the offensive at the start of the second, with Jarvis Hunt going close with a redirect, before Louie Kynaston was denied a shot o goal by a good defensive stick in the lane.

When Oli Endicott took a tripping penalty for the Knights, Nathan Salem went to work and almost scored when he chased in his own rebound, but couldn’t settle the puck to tap it in.

But he wasn’t denied for much longer, as he started and finished the Phantoms’ next move to level the scores on the man advantage.

And Slava’s side took the lead for the first time in the game just moments later when Salem drove hard to the net and dropped a pass for Austin Mitchell-King to rip his shot into the far corner of the Knights’ net.

They were pegged back just 40 seconds later when Bow Neely levelled the game, but Luke Ferrara restored the lead just 42 seconds later in a frantic few minutes at both ends of the ice.

The Leeds Knights ensured the sides would go into the decisive period all square, though, when Endicott potted home a big rebound out in front after Jordan Griffin’s initial effort was saved.

After killing off an early third period penalty, Phantoms took the lead once again. This time, Ferrara found Cam Hough out in front and the Canadian forward shovelled the puck on net on the backhand. Knights’ goalie Harrison Walker got a piece of it, but not enough, and it trickled over the goal line.

The goal breathed life into Hough and he almost had a second on the same shift when he gained the zone and got his shot away, but it was more a routine stop for Walker on this occasion.

Matt Bissonnette went close with the Knights’ next two chances. The first, a redirect from a Bailey Perre blue liner, pinged the post, and his second effort went wide after Howlett’s cross crease pass.

Leeds pulled the goalie in the closing moments in favour of the extra skater, but after Mitchell-King went within inches of the empty net goal, defenceman Noah McMullin took a holding the stick penalty, giving the Phantoms more breathing space to see out the final minute to ensure they claimed both points.