MATCH REPORT | PHANTOMS’ WINNING STREAK STRUCK DOWN BY THE LIGHTNING

It was a fiery start to the first derby of the league season, with Callum Buglass bearing the brunt of a heavy hit into the boards within thirty seconds of the opening faceoff.

Moments later, tempers flared behind Jordan Hedley’s net, culminating in coincidental roughing penalties for Janne Laakkonen and former Phantom Archie Salisbury.

It was the Phantoms who struck first, with Ralfs Circenis firing home a Corey McEwen set-up, further assisted by Scott Robson at 01:19.

There was little time to celebrate, however, as Toms Rutkis’ first of the night levelled the scores just four seconds later at 01:23.

The wind was firmly in the Lightning’s sails after the equaliser. Harry Gulliver cut through the Phantoms defence to set up Jordan Cownie for the hosts’ go-ahead goal at 02:03, before Sean Norris tapped in his own rebound to double the advantage at 05:42 (assisted by Jordan Spadafore and Dom Gabaj) - prompting a Phantoms timeout.

Coach Tait’s timeout seemed to steady the visitors, with Circenis soon testing Hedley on a smart breakaway. Cownie saw a similar effort denied at the other end, before a lifted finish from Lightning was waved off for a high stick.

The Phantoms pulled one back at 11:42, as Luke Ferrara and Janne Laakkonen battled hard behind the net to set up former Lightning forward Dillon Lawrence for a clinical snipe in front.

A brave block from Billy Thorpe on Janne Jokinen’s powerful effort marked the end of his night, with a tripping call against Circenis at 17:10, leaving the Phantoms temporarily down another man.

Lightning made the advantage count at 17:51, as some puck-watching in front allowed Rutkis to tap home at the back post for his second of the game - and first on the powerplay.

The second period opened with good intensity from Phantoms captain Luke Ferrara, who fired hard into Hedley's chest before chasing down his own rebound.

It was Jasper Foster up next, demonstrating some trademark determined play down the wing before cutting inside to set up Morgan Clarke-Pizzo - whose effort was well saved by Hedley.

Having absorbed the early Phantoms pressure, the Lightning struck first to make it 5-2, as Milique Martelly finished off some tidy work from Jordan Cownie at 26:42.

Hayden Lavigne produced a set of impressive stops to hold MK at five, notably denying Rutkis his hat trick before getting across well to deny a fast-paced effort from Harry Gulliver.

But it was the Lightning - and Toms Rutkis - who had the final say of the period, once again. Some fast offensive play from Martelly and Cownie found Rutkis in space, and he made no mistake in completing his hat trick at 36:09.

The third period began as the second ended, with Jordan Cownie weaving inside - this time finding the net himself at 42:58.

Josh Saunders' tripping penalty handed the Phantoms a powerplay at 48:40, with an additional too many men call giving them a two-man advantage at 49:43.

Dillon Lawrence’s strong powerplay form looked to have continued as he reacted fastest to beat Hedley at 50:51. The officials initially waved the goal off for goaltender interference - but after some discussion, it was agreed that Ferrara had been pushed into the Lightning netminder by Jordan Spadafore. The goal stood, reducing the Phantoms’ deficit.

The visitors seemed to have found some momentum, as another former Lightning man - Corey McEwen - smartly fired home over Hedley’s blocker from the point at 51:17.

The Lightning struck again on the powerplay, with Janne Jokinen converting Ilia Korenchuk’s drop pass at 54:54, and Ed Knaggs collecting the additional assist.

FINAL SCORE: Milton Keynes Lightning 8-4 Peterborough Phantoms