The Phantoms continued their up-and-down play this season by splitting two road games over the weekend.

On Friday, they beat Providence 5-4, but followed that up with a 3-2 loss to Springfield the following night. After 16 games, the Phantoms are 9-5-1-1, but they are 4-3-1-0 over their last eight games.

It’s worth noting that four of those games have been against Springfield (9-4-0-2) and Charlotte (13-3-1-0), who are two of the three teams ahead of the Phantoms in the Atlantic Division.

They’ve also played two games against Binghamton (8-7-3-0), who sit third in the North Division standings.

Saturday’s loss in Springfield was tough, primarily because it was a very winnable game — except for some unfocused play in the third period. “All it took was five minutes,” said Taylor Leier of the stretch that saw the Phantoms give up two goals in just over 90 seconds in their 3-2 loss.

The stretch saw Lehigh Valley completely lose its focus and Springfield took advantage of the sloppy play to turn their night around, breaking a 1-1 stalemate.

Known for their slow starts – Lehigh Valley has scored first in just four of its games this season – the Phantoms came out and got on the board first when T.J. Brennan picked up his sixth goal of the season for a 1-0 lead. Just over 30 seconds later, the Thunderbirds fired back with a goal from Joel Lowry to tie the game 1-1.

The Phantoms were physically on the ice to start the final 20 minutes, but their heads were clearly elsewhere. Jake Horton put the puck in the net for the third time this season 2:21 into the third period and 97 seconds later, Michael Haley scored his first of the year to make it 3-1.

Haley’s goal woke up the Phantoms, but it would be another 12 minutes until Greg Carey would make it a 3-2 game. Lehigh Valley wouldn’t be able to find the net again against goalie Michael Hutchinson, who finished with 29 saves.

“We just got away from keeping it simple on the road,” said Leier after the loss. “I think this building plays fast, and it felt like the game tonight was completely different than the game we beat them 8-2 (Nov. 9 at home). We had success when we played together and played simple. All it took was five minutes and they got two goals, so that was the turning point.”

MESSAGE RECEIVED ... One of the tough parts of developing young players is dealing with their psyche. On Friday night, coach Scott Gordon pulled goalie prospect Carter Hart after he allowed three goals in the first 13 minutes against Providence. Gordon put him right back in goal the following night against the T-birds, and he responded with 24 saves. Friday night’s yanking was the second time that Gordon has pulled Hart mid-game this season.

THAT’S ENOUGH NOW ... Anthony Stolarz came on in relief of Hart Friday night in Providence and allowed one goal late in the first period. That was all the scoring that the Bruins would get on the night as “Stolie the Goalie” wound up turning away 24 of 25 shots, and the Phantoms offense chipped away to pick up a 5-4 win.

KILL STREAK GETS KILLED ... The Phantoms went seven games – a total of 28 penalty kills – without allowing a power play goal. That ended Saturday in Springfield when just four seconds into their first power play of the night, Lowry scored to tie the game. Overall, the Phantoms have killed off 83 percent of the shorthanded situations that they’ve faced this season.