Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Alexis Gendron (7th) and Devin Kaplan (4th) scored back-to-back as the Phantoms rallied back from a two-goal deficit to even the count for a second consecutive game. But this time the Phantoms didn’t have enough comeback magic available.
Lehigh Valley (19-12-4) also had five power plays in the contest but had difficulty solving the stingy Providence penalty kill. The bulk of the team’s chances came at 5-on-5.
The Phantoms pushed out to a hot start and had DiPietro scrambling right from the beginning. Anthony Richard and Lane Pederson both had big chances that DiPietro barely fought off and Richard also cranked one off the post on his blast from the left circle on the rush. But Providence picked up a momentum-changing penalty kill after that and Ty Gallagher (3rd) emerged from the box to scoop up a free puck and race in for a breakaway goal past the poke-check attempt of Aleksei Kolosov at 7:15 into the game to give Providence a 1-0 lead.
Big winger Riley Tufte (13th) doubled the lead with his drive on the rush from the left circle that beat Kolosov at 5:35 into the second period making it 2-0.
But the Phantoms went to work and finally solved DiPietro to battle back and tie the score. Gendron’s shot from the top of the left circle was blocked by a defender in front but the rebound was available in the slot and Gendron got there first for a snappy follow-up chance which he rifled past the glove of the Bruins’ goaltender to get the Phantoms on the board at 11:14 into the second period at 2-1.
Gendron and Jacob Gaucher pushed their way behind the goal on a dump in and Gendron’s forecheck pressure forced a deflection that came right out to Kaplan who converted on the stick side less than three minutes after Gendron’s goal as Lehigh Valley had tied it at 2-2.
But Frederic Brunet (6th) zipped in behind the Lehigh Valley goal and threw it into the cage from the right wing side for a wraparound goal to put Providence back in front at 3-2.
The third period was a frustrating stretch with one glorious chance after another. One of the best of those chances was Gaucher’s missile on the rush while shorthanded with just 4:03 to go. His blast from the right circle was somehow snagged by DiPietro in a big windmill motion to preserve the lead. Lehigh Valley had a late 6-on-4 opportunity that was eventually cancelled on a penalty in the crease.
Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Brown (13th) capped the night with a long empty-netter with just 5.5 seconds left to provide for the 4-2 final.
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