April 5, 2016
This Week
Friday, April 15 (7:05 p.m.) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, April 16 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Hershey Bears
Sunday, April 17 (5:05 p.m.) – Syracuse Crunch @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Upcoming
Winners of six of their last seven games, the red-hot Lehigh Valley Phantoms (33-33-7, 73 pts., 7th Atlantic Division) close the 2015-2016 regular season with three games this weekend, including tilts this Friday and Sunday at PPL Center.
The Phantoms return to action this Friday, April 15 when they welcome the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to downtown Allentown for the final time this season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (42-26-5, 89 pts., 2nd Atlantic Division) earned just one win in three tries last weekend and enters the week having claimed just two of the team’s last seven outings. Following a 4-0 loss at home to the Phantoms last Friday, the Penguins split a home-and-home series with the Hershey Bears earning a 4-3 victory at Giant Center in Hershey on Saturday before falling in a 5-3 decision at home to the Bears on Sunday.
Friday’s contest will mark the 12th and final meeting of the 2015-16 regular season between Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Phantoms holding a 5-5-1 record against the Penguins. Lehigh Valley enters Friday’s showdown having claimed three of the last five head-to-head meetings, including a 4-0 triumph at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Friday evening in the most recent collision.
The Phantoms then hit the road for the final time this year on Saturday, April 16 when Lehigh Valley invades Giant Center in Hershey for a 7:00 p.m. tilt with the Bears. Hershey (41-20-12, 94 pts., 1st Atlantic Division) won two of three games last weekend and enters the week having won six of its last nine games overall. Around a 4-3 setback at home to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, the Bears captured a 5-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday followed by a 5-3 victory over the Penguins on Sunday. With three games remaining, Hershey is just two points shy of clinching the Atlantic Division regular season title.
Saturday’s contest will be the 12th and final meeting of the year between the Phantoms and Bears with Lehigh Valley holding a 6-5 mark against its in-state rivals. The Phantoms have claimed four of the last seven meetings in the season series and own a 3-2 record in games played at Giant Center in Hershey this season.
Be sure to catch all of Saturday evening’s action on FOX 1470-AM, online at www.fox1470.com or via the iHeartRadio app beginning with “Countdown to Faceoff” at 6:20 p.m.
Lehigh Valley then caps the 2015-16 regular season on Sunday, April 17 when the Phantoms host the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, in a 5:05 p.m. showdown at PPL Center. Syracuse (32-27-14, 78 pts., 4th North Division) split a pair of games over the week but enters the week having won seven of its last 10 outings overall. After a 4-3 shootout loss at home to the Albany Devils last Friday, the Crunch responded Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Marlies.
Sunday’s regular season finale will mark the fourth and final meeting of the 2015-16 season between Lehigh Valley and Syracuse with the Phantoms currently holding a 1-2 mark against the Crunch. After one-goal defeats in early October and early November, Lehigh Valley earned its first win in the season series with a 3-2 shootout victory in Syracuse on March 2 in the most recent collision.
A limited number of tickets remain for Friday and Sunday’s games at PPL Center and can be secured online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office at PPL Center [701 Hamilton Street].
- Phantoms By The Numbers
The Phantoms enter the week having won six of their last seven games overall. In those six victories, Lehigh Valley has outscored its opposition 22-6 and has boasted a perfect penalty kill (30-for-30).- Winger Chris Conner enters the week first among all active Phantoms with 38 assists and 54 total points. With five points last weekend, the 32-year-old forward solidified his fourth career 50-point AHL campaign and is now just two points shy of matching his career-high for points in a single season (56, 2009-10, WB/Scranton).
- Winger Taylor Leier enters the week first among all Lehigh Valley skaters with 10 power play goals and 22 man-advantage points. The 22-year-old forward is also second among all Phantoms in goals (20) and total points (49).
- First-year defenseman Samuel Morin enters the week as the only Phantoms player to have appeared in each of Lehigh Valley’s 73 games to date. The 6’7″, 227-pound blueliner has produced four goals, 15 assists, 19 points and 114 penalty minutes this season.
- The Phantoms enter the week having enjoyed standing room-only sellouts in each of the team’s last 12 straight games at PPL Center. With 23 capacity crowds this season, Lehigh Valley has now enjoyed 45 regular season sellouts since PPL Center opened its doors in the Fall of 2014.
Last Week
Friday, April 8: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 0
Adam Comrie (7th, 8th, 9th) scored three times and goaltender Martin Ouellette earned his first career AHL shutout with an impressive 40-save performance as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned their fifth straight win with a 4-0 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena. Tim Brent (9th) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley while Comrie netted the first hat trick by a Phantoms defenseman since Freddy Meyer accomplished the feat on February 21, 2004.
Winger Chris Conner also collected three assists in the victory as he notched his fourth career 50-point AHL campaign.
Saturday, April 9: Bridgeport Sound Tigers 6 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4
Oskar Lindblom (1st, 2nd) recorded two goals, including his first professional conversion, and added an assist as part of a ferocious Phantoms comeback but Lehigh Valley fell just short in a 6-4 decision to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in front of 8,759 fans at PPL Center. Cole Bardreau (13th) and Colin McDonald (14th) also connected for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms skated in front of their 12th straight standing room-only crowd at PPL Center.
Sunday, April 10 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 – Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1
Nic Aube-Kubel registered his first professional goal and Anthony Stolarz turned aside 27 of Bridgeport’s 28 total offerings as the Phantoms exacted a little revenge with a 4-1 triumph over the Sound Tigers at Webster Bank Arena. Taylor Leier (20th), Robert Hagg (4th) and Samuel Morin (4th) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms claimed their sixth win over the team’s last seven games.
Lehigh Valley’s special teams played a huge part in the victory as the Phantoms produced two power play goals in seven man-advantage opportunities while Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill blanked all six of Bridgeport’s power play chances.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ two remaining regular season home games. If you can’t make it out to the rink, be sure to catch all the exciting action live in HD quality with Steve Degler, Peter Zingoni, Doug Heater and Kristi Fulkerson! Pre-game coverage begins with “Phantoms Front and Center” 30 minutes before puck drop. And don’t miss “Phantoms – Breaking the Ice” every Monday from 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. throughout the season live at Chickie’s & Pete’s at PPL Center!
Be sure to also catch each and every Phantoms game this season live on Fox Sports 1470 AM, online at Fox1470.com or via the iHeartRadio app! Join Voice of the Phantoms, Bob Rotruck, for all of the heart-pumping action of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey whether the team is at home or on the road. “Countdown to Faceoff” begins 45 minutes prior to puck drop.
Ticket Information
Tickets for each of the Phantoms’ two remaining regular season home games are available now online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office at PPL Center (7th & Hamilton).
RISE UP! Don’t miss the action and fun of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey at PPL Center in downtown Allentown! Contact the Phantoms Front Office for information on season tickets and groups for the 2016-2017 season of Phantoms hockey by calling 610-224-GOAL [4625].
In the midst of their 20th season of operation, the Phantoms are coming off their Inaugural Season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing at the state-of-the-art PPL Center. Established in 1996, the Philadelphia Phantoms spent their first 13 seasons at the Spectrum before re-locating to Glens Falls, New York in 2009 where the team spent the next five seasons as the Adirondack Phantoms. A new era of Phantoms hockey began in the fall of 2014 when the Lehigh Valley Phantoms began play at the state-of-the-art PPL Center. Through 18 incredibly successful campaigns, the Phantoms have captured two Calder Cup Championships (1998, 2005), two Conference Championships (1998, 2005), two Regular Season Titles (1996-97, 1997-98) and four Division Championships (1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2003-04).
