Marody Late Hattie Propels Dramatic OT Win

Ronnie Attard Scores in OT After Three Tying Goals by Marody

March 11, 2023

Lehigh Valley, PA – Cooper Marody’s hat trick goal with the goaltender pulled and just 48.5 seconds left forced overtime and set up Ronnie Attard’s overtime winner to drive the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to their 1,000th victory in franchise history on Saturday night at PPL Center in a 4-3 triumph over the Belleville Senators.

Marody upped his season total to 11 goals by scoring five goals on the weekend including his fourth career hat trick and his first for the Phantoms. His attempt to pass across the slot to Garrett Wilson was blocked back at him setting up the dramatic equalizer. Each of Marody’s three goals pulled the Phantoms to even after the team had trailed on three different occasions. It was the second hat trick of the season for Lehigh Valley along with Garrett Wilson’s trifecta on February 20 at Hartford. The accomplishment also marked the eighth PPL Center hat trick in Phantoms’ history.

But after the flying sombreros were scooped up and carried away there was still work to be done.

Following a hard-fought penalty kill in the overtime and six saves for Sam Ersson through the 3-on-3 session, Lehigh Valley (30-22-6) surged back with a steal in the Belleville zone by Adam Brooks to set up a dashing Ronnie Attard on the right side of the slot who fired in the game-winner as the frenzied crowd celebrated the incredibly exciting finish for Los Fantasmas on Hockey Fiesta Weekend. Brooks finished the night with three helpers in his third consecutive multi-point game. The spark-plug center has racked up two goals with six assists for eight points in his last three games.

John Quenneville (3rd, 4th) scored two goals for Belleville (25-27-7). The former New Jersey first-rounder opened the scoring for Belleville only 2:57 into the game to begin a see-saw tilt. After Sam Ersson denied an initial center-point shot from Lassi Thomson, Quenneville buried the rebound to Ersson’s right.

Less than five minutes later, the Phantoms found the equalizer on a power-play chance. An initial shot from the perimeter went wide of the B-Sens’ cage, but a fortuitous bounce led to a loose puck sitting in the blue paint for Marody’s first tally at 7:24 as he reached in with a backhand touch from the right of the cage to beat B-Sens goalie Ryan Bednar.

In the second period, it was déjà vu all over again, as Quenneville struck for Belleville, followed by another equalizer by…