Phantoms Weekly – Phantoms to Close 2016 with Two-Game Series at Rochester

December 27, 2016

This Week

Wednesday, December 28 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Rochester Americans

Friday, December 30 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Rochester Americans

Upcoming

Winners of five of their last six games and seven of nine overall, the red-hot Lehigh Valley Phantoms (20-8-1, 41 pts., 2nd Atlantic Division) are set to cap the calendar year of 2016 with a two-game series at the Rochester Americans. The Phantoms are currently tied with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the AHL lead with 20 total wins and boast the second-most standings points in the 30-team AHL (41).

Rochester (12-17-1, 25 pts., 6th North Division) returned from the holiday break with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Monday and has claimed three of its last five games overall following a four-game losing skid at the start of the month. Wednesday and Friday’s collisions at Blue Cross Arena will cap the season series between the Phantoms and Americans after the Eastern Conference foes faced off twice at PPL Center earlier this month. After a come-from-behind 4-3 triumph over Rochester on December 9, Lehigh Valley completed a sweep of the weekend series with a 4-2 win over the Americans the following evening.

  • Phantoms By The Numbers
  • The Phantoms are currently the highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.72 goals per game.
  • No team in the AHL has more wins when scoring first this season (15) than Lehigh Valley. The Phantoms are an impressive 15-4 when netting the game’s first goal this year.
  • Forward Jordan Weal is currently first among Lehigh Valley skaters and tied for fourth among all AHLers in total scoring with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) this season. Weal has tallied at least one point in eight of his last 11 games overall and has already produced nine multi-point games this year.
  • Defenseman T.J. Brennan (right) is second among all Phantoms and third among all active AHL blueliners in scoring with 24 points. Brennan leads all AHL defenders with 10 total goals and is tied for the league lead with six power play markers.
  • Forward Greg Carey is tied for the league lead with 14 goals scored this season. Carey continues to lead AHLers with nine power play conversions this year.
  • Goaltender Alex Lyon currently leads all AHL netminders with 13 wins this season. Lehigh Valley’s starter in 17 of the team’s last 18 games overall, Lyon is second in the league in minutes played (1,201) and third in total saves (547).

Last Week

Monday, December 26: Hershey Bears 5 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2

Colin McDonald (13th) and Andy Miele (3rd) both scored for Lehigh Valley Monday evening but the Hershey Bears were able to mount a second period comeback en route to a 5-2 win in front of 8,800 fans inside PPL Center. Christian Thomas (goal, assist), Zach Sill (goal, assist) and Chandler Stephenson (2 assists) paced the offensive effort for visiting Hershey as the Pennsylvania rivals have now split their first six meetings of the 2016-17 season.

Monday’s standing room-only sellout marked the 50th regular season Phantoms sellout since PPL Center opened its doors in the Fall of 2014.

Broadcast Coverage

Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live all of the Phantoms’ 23 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, Todd Fedoruk, 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 1470-AM WSAN, 790-AM WAEB 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’ 23 remaining regular season home games are available now online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the PPL Center Box Office [7th & Hamilton].

RISE UP! Another thrilling season of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey at PPL Center is underway! Reserve your season tickets and group outings for the 2016-2017 season of Phantoms hockey today. For more information on how to reserve your seat at PPL Center to the hottest ticket in town, call the Phantoms front office today at 610-224-GOAL [4625].

And for the latest Phantoms news, visit www.phantomshockey.com or follow the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lehighvalleyphantoms), Twitter (@lvphantoms), Instagram (@lehighvalleyphantoms) and Snapchat (lvphantoms).

The Phantoms are thrilled to host the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross at PPL Center January 28-30. The AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross includes a Phan Fest during the day on Saturday, January 28 and a Tailgate Party that evening, followed by the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 29 and the 2017 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, January 30. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event. Packages starting at just $67 for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic weekend are on sale now and include admission to Saturday’s Phan Fest & Tailgate Party, Sunday’s AHL All-Star Skills Competition and Monday’s All-Star Game. To purchase tickets, please visit www.phantomshockey.com or www.pplcenter.com .

The Phantoms are coming off their 20th Anniversary Season and are currently in their third campaign in the Lehigh Valley 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 20 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).