Photo Courtesy of Nina Weiss
Thanks to a two-goal effort from Kevin Sundher — his second and third of the season, respectively — the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday handily beat the Providence Bruins, 4-1.
The Phantoms (7-8-1) entered the game with a three-point lead over the Bruins for seventh in the eight-team Atlantic Division, and the Bruins' losing streak has now stretched to seven games. Friday's contest was the third of six meetings between both teams this season, with the Phantoms now taking a 2-1 series lead.
Petr Straka also scored his team-leading 10th goal for the Phantoms, at 13:02 of the third period. That mark also ties him for most in the league — shared by the Bruins' Frank Vatrano, Bridgeport's Bracken Kearns and Utica's Hunter Shinkaruk.
Danick Martel registered his sixth of the year at 9:11 of the third period, while Ben Sexton scored the Bruins' lone goal — his first of the season — at 12:48 of the second frame.
In his return to duty from a backup assignment in Philadelphia, Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves on 30 shots. His counterpart, Malcolm Subban, stopped 19 of 23 shots.
Both clubs were scoreless on the power play, with the Phantoms missing out on three opportunities and the Bruins failing to cash in on two.
The Phantoms will next head to Connecticut for a Saturday matchup with the Hartford Wolf Pack, before returning to Dunkin Donuts Center to face the Bruins again on Sunday afternoon.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
