Pens win in OT to even series

WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Normally, when the opposing team scores three goals in just over a minute, it’s bad news.

It certainly looked that way for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as they clung to a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Phantoms until Boyd Kane and Lars Jonsson combined for three goals in just over a minute at the end of the second period.

It seemed like an insurmountable lead, but one that would be chipped away with hustle, hard work and Chris Minard.

Minard scored the game-winning goal in overtime and added another in the second period as the Penguins overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Phantoms 5-4.

“I didn’t even look. I just got on my stick, wound up and shot,” Minard said.

In the waning moments of the first period, Philadelphia’s Ryan Potulny flipped a Stafen Ruzicka pass past John Curry for a power-play goal.

Starting the second period down 1-0, the Penguins answered back with a power-play goal of their own.

Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe was called for slashing when he whacked Ryan Stone with his stick after the whistle. On the ensuing power play, Stone gained the puck at the right point and lofted a shot that Minard deflected past Munroe to tie the score 1-1.

At 15:22, the Phantoms rang a shot off the post and another hit the crossbar during a power-play opportunity. On the next scoring chance, a Kane shot hit the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

Kane followed with another goal a minute later when he flipped a loose puck over Curry, and Jonsson added a goal 10 seconds after that to give the Phantoms three goals in just over a minute.

“We didn’t manage the puck well and they went to the net hard,” said Penguins head coach Todd Richards.

The Penguins chipped away at the lead in the third period when a shot by Tim Brent went into the net and out the side. Referee David Banfield had to consult with goal judge Bill Manley to confirm the goal, which made it 4-2 with 16 minutes left.

Despite several good scoring chances, the Penguins couldn’t get another shot past Munroe for awhile.

But that changed at 13:25 when rookie Luca Caputi beat a Phantoms defender to the puck behind the net. Caputi gained possession, skated to the side of the net and froze Munroe with a nice deke before sliding the puck between his legs to make it 4-3.

Just when it looked like the Phantoms would survive the Penguins’ onslaught, Kurtis McLean slammed a Mark Ardelan pass over Munroe to tie the score 4-4 with 45 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

“We just sat back maybe a little bit too much and stopped making plays,” said Phantoms head coach Craig Berube. “We knew they were going to come hard. We had some good opportunities to score and we didn’t capitalize on it and they came harder. It happens sometimes.”

“That builds more confidence for the guys. You could just feel the momentum at that point,” McLean said. In the overtime period, Minard pounced on a loose puck in the Philadelphia slot and sent a laser past Munroe to win the game.