For the first time this season, Lehigh Valley found a way to defeat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The Penguins tied the game with an early, third-period goal, but the Phantoms connected on both of their shots in the shootout period to pick up a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon at the PPL Center in Allentown.
It was the first Phantoms win over the Penguins this season in five tries.
The Penguins got the perfect start as Rafael Harvey-Pinard’s sixth goal of the year at 3:01 gave them a 1-0 lead after one. Pinard added his second goal just three minutes into the second period for the two-goal advantage.
But back-to-back Phantoms power-play goals knotted the score at 2-2 after two periods, and Oscar Elkind’s first goal of the season at 2:50 of the third gave Lehigh Valley its first lead of the afternoon. But just 31 seconds later, David Breazeale knotted it off assists from Chase Pietila and Pinard.
Following a scoreless overtime session, the game went to a shootout. Tucker Robertson and Cooper Marody made their shots for Lehigh Valley, while the Penguins missed both of their attempts.
Joel Blomqvist got the start in goal, stopping 35 of 38 shots.
The Penguins have two games this week, closing out 2025 at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. against Charlotte, before hitting the road to face Syracuse on Saturday at 7 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 2-2 against Charlotte this season, while this will be the first meeting between the Pens and the Crunch.