Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank – Week 1

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 Opening Weekend is Here!

 October 20, 2021

 Phantoms On The Ice:


Last Week:

Saturday, October 16 – Mohegan Sun Arena
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 – Lehigh  Valley 1
Tyson Foerster scored the first goal of the season in Ian Laperriere’s official debut as new head coach of the Phantoms. But Penguins’ goaltender Filip Lindberg turned in a strong 30-save performance in thwarting the Phantoms’ attack and pushing the Penguins to a 2-1 win. Cam York had a nice, quick assist pushing the puck across to Foerster in the second-period in transition and on the power play for the the 19-year-old Foerster to connect from the right circle. Niklas Almari scored the winning goal for the Penguins in the third period.

Sunday, October 17 – Giant Center, Hershey, PA
Hershey 2 – Lehigh Valley 1
The Phantoms developed chance after chance on Hershey goaltender Zach Fucale but only Gerry Mayhew would find the back of the net with 2:30 remaining as Lehigh Valley’s late comeback efforts ran out of time. The Bears went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill including a 6-on-3 kill at the end. Sam Ersson had 20 saves in a steady performance for the Phantoms in his North American pro debut.


This Week:

Friday, October 22, 7:30 p.m. – PPL Center
My Why Tour – USA vs. Canada
Opening Weekend at PPL Center commences with the My Why Tour feautring the U.S.A. National Women’s Olympic Team against Canada in an Olympics tune-up event in Allentown. The best female hockey players in the world are coming to the Lehigh Valley!

Join our Phantoms Frenzy all weekend long with live music, restaurant specials and food trucks. We are celebrating the return of the hockey season!

Saturday, October 23, 7:05 p.m. – PPL Center
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-2-0) vs. Hartford Wolf Pack (2-1-0)
The Phantoms make their official home debut on Saturday night against the Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. It will be a reunion of former Flyers’ assistant coaches with Kris Knoblauch at the bench for Hartford against new Phantoms’ bench boss Ian Laperriere. Saturday marks the eighth Opening Night for the Phantoms at PPL Center and the beginning of the 25th Anniversary Season of the Phantoms franchise which began as the Philadelphia Phantoms in 1996. Lehigh Valley is 5-2-0 in home openers and the Phantoms franchise is 18-6-1 in season home debuts. Last season, the Phantoms won their home opener on February 20, 2021 defeating the Binghamton Devils 3-0.

Sunday, October 24, 3:05 p.m. – PPL Center
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-2-0) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1-1-0)
Opening Weekend concludes on Sunday afternoon with a rivalry tilt against the Penguins. Lehigh Valley fell in the debut encounter against the Penguins last Saturday 2-1. The Penguins more recently dropped a 4-1 decision against Charlotte on Sunday afternoon to even their record. J.D. Forrest is in his second season as head coach of the Penguins. Phantoms alum Chris Bigras now plays on the other side of the rivalry after two years with Lehigh Valley. This is Game 2 out of 12 for the season series. The Phantoms and Penguins will rematch on Wednesday, October 27 in Wilkes-Barre on the back-end of this home-and-home.

 

 Three Stars:

Foerster Fires It
19-year-old Tyson Foerster scored the team’s first goal of the season on Saturday at Wilkes-Barre with a rifle from the right circle in transition. The Flyers’ first-round selection in 2020 had 10 goals in his rookie season last year despite missing parts of the campaign with injury.

 

York Sets Them Up.
Puck-moving defenseman Cam York distributed a pair of assists to his teammates last weekend in both goals on Saturday and Sunday nights. The Flyers first-rounder from 2019 from Anaheim, California scored two goals in eight games for the Phantoms last season as well as well as three games with Philadelphia. The Big 10 Defenseman of the Year at the University of Michigan was also captain of the USA World Juniors Gold Medal team last January.

Max Gets the Call
Max Willman became the 32nd player to receive a recall from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for an NHL debut with the Flyers. And perhaps is one of the least likely to have gotten there. Willman almost didn’t play college hockey. And after his five-year career at Brown and Boston University was complete he accepted an ECHL contract with the Reading Royals. That eventually turned into an AHL contract with the Phantoms and an NHL contract with the Flyers leading in his remarkable progression leading to his NHL recall.

 

Broadcast Coverage

Service Electric Network will again be broadcasting all of the Phantoms’ regular season home games live during the 2021 season. If you can’t make it out to the rink, be sure to catch all the exciting action in high definition with Steve Degler, Steven Swavely, Dan Fremuth and Kristi Fulkerson!

And be sure to catch each and every Phantoms game this season live on 1470-AM WSAN or via the Phantoms365 app! Listen on your Smart Speakers at “Play Phantoms Radio 24/7.”
Join Bob Rotruck, for all of the heart-pumping action of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey whether the team is at home or on the road.

For the latest Phantoms news, download the Phantoms 365 app on your Android or iPhone device. And visit www.phantomshockey.com or follow the team on FacebookTwitter (@lvphantoms) and Instagram (@lehighvalleyphantoms).