MATCH REPORT | SHORT-BENCHED PHANTOMS DIG DEEP AT THE CASTLE

An impressive road performance from a short-benched Wendy's Peterborough Phantoms saw them take both points from the Leeds Knights at the Castle.

It was the Phantoms who piled on the pressure in the opening few minutes of the game, with Nojus Venskutonis, Zaine McKenzie and Cam Hough all forcing saves out of Sam Gospel.

The visitors arrived with only a handful of defencemen - utilising Joe Gretton and Zaine McKenzie at the back for depth.

With the Knights icing four import forwards, this required a strong defensive showing from the Phantoms - a tone Thorpe set early, standing strong to poke-check Sobchak on a breakaway, springing an opportunity on the counter.

The officials had a quiet game, with only three penalties called. The first of these came halfway into the opening frame, with Lewis Baldwin sitting for a high stick.

With the penalty killed, momentum swung in the home side's favour. Despite an impressive effort from Jasper Foster on the doorstep, it was the Knights who opened the scoring.

A fluid play from Leeds saw them break 3-on-2, with Mac Howlett laying a pass off for Balint Pakozdi to rifle home from the slot at 15:20.

The Phantoms continued to pile on the pressure - with a no-look shot from Cam Hough trickling wide, before a Luke Ferrara shot was bravely blocked by Innes Gallacher.

The second period opened with a Phantoms powerplay, following a late interference call on Sam Cooper in the opening frame.

Another successfully killed penalty saw momentum swing in the Knights' favour once again.

Lewis Baldwin fired an effort on net from the blue line - allowing Captain Kieran Brown to tip the shot over Lavigne's glove for 2-0 at 23:48.

The middle frame was brought to an early close with 09:32 to play, after Zaine McKenzie was bundled through one of the away bench's gates - leaving it requiring some maintenance.

With the gate only partially repaired, the extended third period was played with only one bench door in operation for both teams, ensuring fairness.

The early break appeared to be a useful one for the Phantoms, with the remaining 9.5 minutes of the second period proving fruitful.

Less than 10 seconds into the restart, Cam Hough jammed home the first of a few unanswered goals for the Phantoms after some determined play from Lawrence at 30:37.

The ice was now tilting convincingly in the Phantoms' favour, with any efforts from the Knights denied by a red-hot Lavigne.

Barni Sari's impressive recent form was finally rewarded at 38:51, when McKenzie received the puck from Gretton and set Sari up for a ripper from the slot - beating Gospel high.

With the wind firmly in their sails, it was top scorer Cam Hough who converted the Phantoms' go-ahead goal at 39:50, firing home a Thorpe set-up pass.

With the remainder of the second period played, the Phantoms took a short breather before switching ends to commence with period 3, having turned the game around.

The home side piled on the pressure in the opening half of the final frame, with some physical play from Liam Peyton retaining momentum.

After some scrambling in the paint at 52:46, the Knights were awarded a penalty shot - with Morgan Clarke-Pizzo alleged to have frozen the puck with his glove.

Kieran Brown's penalty shot was saved by Hayden Lavigne - noticeably deflating the home side, allowing the Phantoms to take hold of the game once again.

A big save from Lavigne on Bissonnette sprung a counter attack for the Phantoms - after a couple of saves from Lavigne - it was Luke Ferrara who fired home at 54:37, after some increasingly familiar set-up play from Cam Hough.