Peterborough Phantoms 5-8 – Milton Keynes Lightning: four unanswered third-period goals gave MKL a pre-season victory at Planet Ice Peterborough on 13 September. The score had been level at 5-5 with less than nine minutes remaining, after Lightning recovered from an early two-goal deficit and Peterborough fought back from two goals down themselves. It was the teams’ second meeting in two days, following Lightning’s overtime win in Milton Keynes the previous evening.
With Matt Hennessey in goal for Peterborough Phantoms and Jordan Hedley in goal for Milton Keynes Lightning, Dominik Gabaj put the Phantoms ahead at 05:03, and Dillon Lawrence doubled their lead at 09:59 from Luke Ferrara and Janne Laakkonen. Lightning’s response came 45 seconds later. David Thomson reduced the deficit at 10:44, assisted by Danny Weight and Carter Hamill, before Weight equalised at 17:03 from Ed Knaggs. The teams reached the first interval at 2-2. Peterborough had scored the first two goals, but MKL had answered both before the break; the opening-period shot count was 11 for the hosts and 15 for Lightning.
Peterborough had an early second-period power play after Knaggs received two minutes for interference at 20:00, but the next goal belonged to Lightning at even strength. Kell Beattie and Cameron Hamill assisted Toms Rutkis at 24:04 as the visitors took their first lead. Just 12 seconds later, Weight scored his second of the game, with Carter Hamill and Thomson providing the assists. That quick pair of goals took the score from 2-2 to 2-4 and gave MKL a two-goal advantage.
The Phantoms’ reply began after penalties at 31:04. Peterborough’s Adam Berg and Lightning’s Carter Hamill each received two minutes for roughing, while Harry Gulliver was given a five-minute fighting major and a further 20-minute penalty. Peterborough scored twice on the power play during Gulliver’s five-minute penalty. Gabaj cut the gap to one at 33:35, assisted by Laakkonen and Bradley Bowering. Luke Ferrara then equalised at 35:02 from Gabaj and Ewan Hill. In less than a minute and a half, the hosts had turned a two-goal deficit into a 4-4 tie.
Peterborough completed their second-period turnaround at even strength. Lawrence scored at 39:25, assisted by Laakkonen and Ferrara, to put the Phantoms 5-4 ahead with 35 seconds left before the interval. It was Lawrence’s second goal of the game and Laakkonen’s third assist. Having trailed by two after Lightning’s goals at 24:04 and 24:16, the hosts took a one-goal lead into the final period. Peterborough recorded 16 shots to Lightning’s 10 in the middle 20 minutes and scored three times, including their two power-play goals.
Lightning needed another equaliser and found one at 46:15. Sean Norris scored from Jarred White and Mack Stewart to make it 5-5. The goal ended a Peterborough lead that had stood since the closing seconds of the second period, leaving the teams level again with 13:45 to play. White, who had helped set up the equaliser, then put MKL back in front at 51:29. Stewart supplied the assist as Lightning moved ahead 5-6.
This time the visitors kept their lead. Knaggs added a seventh Lightning goal at 55:07, assisted by Bradey Johnson, opening a two-goal gap with just under five minutes remaining. Luke Ferrara and Jake Hayward received matching two-minute slashing penalties at 56:04, followed by a separate two-minute slashing penalty for Gabaj at 56:22. Neither side scored during those penalties. Beattie completed the scoring at 59:32, taking Lightning’s third-period tally to four unanswered goals.
Weight’s two goals had helped MKL recover from 2-0 down and build their second-period lead, while White had a goal and an assist in the final-period turnaround. Peterborough’s Gabaj and Lawrence also scored twice each, and the hosts’ two power-play goals brought them back into the contest before Lawrence put them ahead. After Norris levelled it once more, White’s goal proved the winner, with Knaggs and Beattie adding the late goals that settled the result.
Source: Official gamesheet.
