Hard work in front of the net earned Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a point on Monday. An impressive effort from Lehigh Valley’s Ryan Fitzgerald took away a second.
Fitzgerald used a burst of speed to break loose in the 3-on-3 overtime and fire the game-winner past Penguins goalie Shane Starrett for a 4-3 Phantoms victory at Mohegan Sun Arena.
But the Penguins battled back from a 2-0 hole in the second period and erased a 3-2 deficit late in the third to force overtime and run the team’s points streak to six games. The Penguins (5-2-2-1) have earned 10 out of 12 points during that stretch, winning four times and losing one apiece in overtime and in a shootout.
Tim Schaller figured in on all three goals on Monday, scoring twice from in close and adding an assist. He secured a point for the team on the power play with 4:13 left in regulation. With former Penguins defenseman Derrick Pouliot in the box for high-sticking, Schaller knocked home a rebound of a Josh Currie shot.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph started the play with a nice keep-in of a clearing attempt at the right point. Radim Zohorna then sent a cross-ice pass to Currie, who got the puck through to Phantoms goalie Zane McIntyre. Currie’s shot bounced up into the air and Schaller found it when it landed to slam home the game-tying goal.
Brennan Saulnier opened the scoring for the Phantoms midway through the first period, as a turnover triggered a 3-on-1 break the other way that led to Saulnier’s first career AHL goal.
Lehigh Valley made it 2-0 just 2:46 into the second period when defenseman Samuel Morin stickhandled through a man and delivered a pretty backhand pass to former Penguins captain Garrett Wilson, who snapped it home from the slot.
But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would respond 1:02 later when Schaller capitalized after a frantic scrum in front of the net by finding a loose puck.
Currie tied the game up seven minutes later on a delayed penalty, beating McIntyre from the top of the right circle.
Pascal Laberge gave the Phantoms the lead briefly with 6:53 left in the third before Schaller answered.
Starrett finished with 28 saves on 32 shots in his second appearance in a Penguins uniform. He was backed up by teenager Brett Brochu following some roster shuffling by Pittsburgh earlier in the day.
The parent club called up goalie Max Lagace and first-line forward Frederick Gaudreau earlier in the day, assigning both to the taxi squad. Heading down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were Currie, defenseman Josh Maniscalco and goalie Emil Larmi, who started the first four games of the AHL season.
Only Currie was in the lineup on Monday. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain played in one game for Pittsburgh before returning to the AHL, where he now has four points in four games.
Drew O’Connor added two assists in the loss.
The Penguins are back on the ice on Saturday when they hit the road to play Syracuse at 7 p.m. Their next home game will be their first with fans allowed in attendance at 7 p.m. on March 19.