MATCH REPORT | LIGHTNING STRIKE BACK TO CLAIM DERBY DAY VICTORY

A second-period fightback from the Milton Keynes Lightning denied the Wendy’s Peterborough Phantoms a derby day win at a packed out Planet Ice Peterborough.

It was a feisty start to proceedings, as both Brad Bowering and Joe Gretton dropped the gloves on the opening faceoff, taking on Jordan Spadafore and Archie Salisbury respectively - with all four players sitting subsequent five-minute penalties.

The Lightning’s penalty box gained another visitor within two minutes of the opening fights, as Rio Grinell-Parke sat a tripping minor at 01:39. Barni Sàri soon saw the ice open up ahead of him and took the chance to break away, but his effort from out wide was saved well by Jordan Hedley.

It was Cam Hough who tested Hedley next - catching him by surprise from a tight angle, with his effort bobbling under the MK goaltender’s pad before being cleared off the line.

Spadafore made a quick return to the penalty box, sitting a tripping minor at 09:09 and sending the Phantoms back to the powerplay. Hough, again, threw a shot on net - with Hedley flashing the leather to keep the score level at 0-0.

Jasper Foster was next over the blue line, carrying the puck into the offensive zone with some fast hands - cutting inside and seeing a smart backhanded effort saved.

With the Lightning back to full strength, Ralfs Circenis surged towards Hedley, winding up from the hashmarks and striking the inside of the post.

A Milique Martelly effort from range looked promising, but Lavigne did well to claw it out - with his defence sending the puck down the ice as the buzzer sounded to end the first period.

The second period opened with a Richard Hartmann penalty, as he sat a tripping minor at 21:32. Janne Jokinen came closest to opening the scoring for the Lightning, seeing two close-range efforts denied by some sharp padwork from Lavigne.

The Phantoms struck first, with Cam Hough gratefully receiving a set-up pass from Luke Ferrara and firing past Hedley at 26:21 to break the deadlock - with Barni Sàri awarded the additional assist.

Captain Ferrara looked to seize momentum from the resulting faceoff, powering down the ice and seeing the puck taken from his stick by an onrushing Hedley.

It wasn’t long before the Phantoms’ lead was doubled, as former Lightning man Richard Hartmann produced an impressive solo effort for 2-0 - breaking up a Jordan Cownie offensive play to spark a counter-attack, before pouncing on the resultant rebound at 30:30.

The tide began to turn against the Phantoms at 31:38, with Sean Norris firing home the first of three unanswered goals in the period, on his return from international duty.

Less than two minutes later, Janne Jokinen joined in on the action, converting an effort through Lavigne’s pads for the levelling goal at 33:15.

Momentum looked to shift in the Phantoms’ favour, as Spadafore returned to the box for a third time - this time sitting a roughing minor at 35:47. He was soon joined by Rio Grinnell-Parke for the same offence at 36:57, with Bowering serving a coincidental cross-checking minor for the Phantoms.

Despite retaining the man advantage, it was the Lightning who struck next - a shorthanded effort from Norris beating Lavigne at his near post and putting the visitors ahead for the first time in the tie.

The Phantoms piled on the pressure in the opening half of the final frame - with Circenis producing two early efforts from out wide, before a Janne Laakkonen drop pass saw Billy Thorpe test Hedley from the hashmarks.

Dom Gabaj was the next visitor to the Milton Keynes penalty box, sitting a tripping minor at 49:33. The Phantoms’ powerplay found its rhythm this time around, with Corey McEwen firing an equaliser high past Hedley at 51:58, following a pinpoint set-up from Laakkonen.