Phantoms Rocked by Checkers in Game 2 Blowout Loss

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

After the high of winning Game 1 with a late power-play goal on Friday, the PPL Center fans were treated to a much different show in Game 2.

It was just one of those games where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms dropped Game 2 to the Charlotte Checkers, 6-0, at PPL Center on Saturday night.

Both teams came out with some chances early, but Charlotte took advantage of a pair of opportunities in the opening period.

Janne Kuokkanen opened the scoring at 6:04 with a power-play goal. Lucas Wallmark added a goal with 3:58 left in the first period.

The Phantoms outshot the Checkers, 10-9, in the opening 20 minutes.

Early in the second period, it was the Phantoms who got a big opportunity. They were already 0-for-1 on the power play, but got 30 seconds of 5-on-3 time with a chance to cut into the lead.

The Phantoms could not take advantage then, or twice more in the period on the man-advantage.

Charlotte struck for the game's third goal at 13:30 of the period, as Philip Samuelsson scored on what was only the second shot of the period for the Checkers. With 56 seconds left in the period, another power-play goal by Valentin Zykov made it a 4-0 lead for Charlotte.

Charlotte finished the period with just four shots, but another two goals. The Phantoms had 10 shots in the middle frame.

Things unraveled for the Phantoms in the third as the penalties started to pour in. The Phantoms took eight penalties in the final period, including three by Danick Martel at the 17:31 mark. The trio of penalties — a cross-checking minor, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for abuse of official sent Charlotte to a four-minute power play.

They scored a pair of goals in the final minute on the man-advantage. Kuokkanen scored his second of the game with 42 seconds left, then Julien Gauthier added another with 10 seconds remaining to cap the scoring.

Dustin Tokarski got the start for the Phantoms and made 17 saves on 23 shots for Charlotte. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped all 26 shots he faced for the shutout win.

The Phantoms finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play. Charlotte was 4-for-8 on the man-advantage in Game 2.

Sam Morin returned to the ice for the first time since Jan. 20. Travis Sanheim was expectedly out for the game and head coach Scott Gordon announced that Sanheim will miss at least the remainder of the series.

The series now shifts to Charlotte for the next three games. Game 3 will be on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

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