MATCH REPORT | THIRD PERIOD SURGE SINKS PHANTOMS IN LEEDS

A third period collapse saw the Knights score four unanswered goals, sinking the Phantoms on the road.

It was an early effort from Oli Endicott that set the tone - sending a threaded pass wide from a Fin Bradon breakaway. Jasper Foster looked for a similar chance from the next faceoff, cutting inside on his own breakaway and forcing a good pad save out of Sam Gospel. Dillon Lawrence followed suit, marauding down the middle and releasing a driven effort from the point, only to be denied by an impressive fingertip glove save from Gospel.

Billy Thorpe was the first to visit the penalty box for the Phantoms, sitting a tripping penalty at 05:02. The Phantoms’ penalty kill, reinvigorated by the return of Lawrence and Norton, dealt with the Knights well - a Kynaston block rounding off the tripping minor and sending the Phantoms back to full strength.

Just a minute after returning to even-strength hockey, the Knights opened the scoring. A Matt Bissonnette feed landed perfectly for Kieran Brown to tap home at 08:02, with Balint Pakozdi picking up the further assist.

Three minutes later, Endicott gained possession in the neutral zone and breezed past the Phantoms to score uncontested on the backhand at 11:03, assisted by Dunn and Pakozdi.

As the period came to a close, Knights captain Brown broke clear again - slowing the play to draw Lavigne - but the Phantoms goaltender produced a strong pad save to keep the deficit to two.

The second period opened how the first ended: a breakaway effort from Brown, again denied by a big pad save from Lavigne.

The Knights ramped up the intensity at the start of the middle frame, with Gallacher, Pakozdi and Peyton dishing out heavy hits that were matched by Foster, Gretton and Hough. With tensions rising, Norton and Hough were next to the box at 25:23 - Norton for a high stick and Hough for slashing on the delayed penalty - sending the Phantoms to a 5-on-3 penalty kill.

With the penalty successfully killed, the Phantoms looked to wrestle momentum back. Corey McEwen was well placed for a back-post tip-in, but a fantastic sprawling save from Gospel kept him out. Norton looked to make an immediate impact on his return from injury, but his blue-line effort was denied by the Knights’ goaltender.

A Balint Pakozdi high sticks penalty at 35:38 saw the Phantoms awarded their first powerplay of the game. A shorthanded Brown breakaway was the only chance of note, before Bailey Perre’s tripping penalty at 36:43 awarded the Phantoms a two man advantage.

Luke Ferrara made no mistake on this powerplay - the returning Lawrence set Norton up for a pinpoint pass, before Ferrara sniped Gospel’s bottle from range, restoring the deficit to one at 37:38.

It was a nervy end to the middle period for the Phantoms, as Lavigne was caught behind his goal by Bradon, who dispossessed him and looked for a wraparound finish into the now-open net. Lavigne used his body well to force Bradon to an awkward angle, with the young forward sending his effort wide.

A second slashing penalty for Hough at 39:32 meant the Phantoms were left with an early third-period kill - a frustration compounded less than a minute after returning to full strength by a controversial too-many-men call.

It was an all-too-familiar story after this penalty - with two fast goals extending the Knights’ lead. Pakozdi’s powerplay tap-in at 43:52 was followed shortly thereafter by a Sam Dunn one timer, ripped past Lavigne at 45:10.

A Laakkonen tipped effort was deflected past Gospel’s near post, with Norton seeing a handful of slapshots denied, as did Lawrence on the rebound - but the momentum remained firmly against the Phantoms.

Two further back-to-back efforts proved to be the final blow.