By Michael Heilman

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms visited the Webster Bank Arena Saturday night to take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Phantoms were coming off a shootout loss to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday night.

The game remained scoreless for a majority of the first period until Phantoms center Kyle Criscuolo was tripped heading to the net, thus giving him a penalty shot. Criscuolo would score to put the Phantoms up 1-0 with four minutes and thirty-seconds remaining in the first period. Criscuolo’s goal would be the only goal scored in the first period as the Phantoms headed to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

Bridgeport would tie the game up at 1-1 a little over five minutes into the second period as Matt Lorito (4) faked a shot causing a Phantoms player to fall and then fired the puck to the left side of the net for the goal.

The Phantoms David Kase was sent to the penalty box for checking to the head about halfway through the second period putting the Sound Tigers on the power play. The Sound Tigers capitalized on the power play as Simon Holmstrom (1) fired the puck under the legs of Jean-Francois Berube to give Bridgeport a 2-1 lead. Sebastian Aho (3), and Matt Lorito (2) assisted in Holmstrom’s goal.

With less than four minutes left in the second period, the Phantoms tied the game up at 2-2 when Mark Friedman shot the puck that deflected off of the stick of Morgan Frost for the goal. Frost (3) was credited with the goal while Mark Friedman (2), and Andy Andreoff (3) assisted with Frost’s goal. The Phantoms and Sound Tigers headed to the locker room tied 2-2 at the end of the second period.

The Phantoms would then retake the lead with ten minutes and forty-four seconds left in the third period as Tyler Wotherspoon shot the puck that deflected off of the stick of Nicolas Aube-Kubel into the top right corner of the net to give the Phantoms a 3-2 lead. Nicolas Aube-Kubel (3) was credited with the goal while Tyler Wotherspoon (3) assisted in Aube-Kubel’s goal. Bridgeport would make one last attempt to tie the game pulling the goalie to give the Sound Tigers an extra man on ice, but it was not enough as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-2.

Phantoms goalie Jean-Francois Berube stopped twenty-six shots out of twenty-eight, allowing two goals while Sound Tigers goalie Christopher Gibson stopped nineteen shots out of twenty-two, allowing three goals. The Phantoms shot total was twenty-two while Bridgeport had twenty-eight shots.

The three stars of the game were Phantoms forward Morgan Frost, who had one goal, Sound Tigers right winger Matt Lorito had one goal and one assist, and Phantoms right-winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel had one goal.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers will go at it again tomorrow at 5 pm from the Webster Bank Arena.