November 3, 2015
This Week
Friday, November 6 (7:05 p.m.) – Hershey Bears @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(20 Years of Phantoms. Commemorative Poster Giveaway 1 of 4. Free to First 3,000 Fans in Attendance.)
Saturday, November 7 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Syracuse Crunch
Sunday, November 8 (5:05 p.m.) – Binghamton Senators @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Go Birds Tailgate Featuring Eagles Cheerleaders.)
Upcoming
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-5-0-0, 8 pts., 6th Atlantic Division) will host a pair of bitter rivals at PPL Center this weekend as the team engages in its second three-game weekend in the last three weeks.
The busy stretch begins this Friday, November 6 when the Phantoms welcome the Hershey Bears to downtown Allentown for the first time this year. Friday’s contest marks the second of 12 total meetings during the 2015-2016 regular season between the Phantoms and Bears after Lehigh Valley claimed a dramatic 5-4 shootout victory at Giant Center last Sunday. Hershey (4-3-0-2, 10 pts., 4th Atlantic Division) claimed just one of three outings during a busy weekend of its own last week. The Bears were handed a 4-1 loss at the Syracuse Crunch on Friday before returning home Saturday for a 4-2 win over the St. John’s IceCaps. The busy weekend then concluded with the aforementioned shootout defeat at the hands of the Phantoms on Sunday. Hershey enters the week having won just one of its last four games but has managed to garner four of a possible eight standings points during that stretch.
Friday’s game is the first in a series of “20 Years of Phantoms” nights. In honor of the franchise’s 20th Anniversary Season, the first 3,000 fans in attendance this Friday will receive a free commemorative poster highlighting the first five years of Phantoms hockey. Friday’s poster is the first of four such commemorative poster giveaways throughout the 2015-16 season.
Lehigh Valley then takes to the road on Saturday as the Phantoms make their first trip of the year up to the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse for a 7:00 p.m. showdown with the Crunch. Saturday’s tilt is the second of four total meetings this year between Lehigh Valley and Syracuse after the Phantoms’ spirited comeback on Opening Night (October 10) came up just short in a 4-3 setback to the Crunch. Syracuse (4-3-0-1, 9 pts., 3rd North Division) won both of its games last week claiming a 3-1 win at the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday before earning a 4-1 triumph at home over Hershey on Friday.
Lehigh Valley’s busy weekend then concludes on Sunday, November 8 when the Phantoms host the Binghamton Senators at PPL Center for the first time this year. Sunday’s contest marks the first of eight total meetings during the 2015-2016 regular season between the Phantoms and Senators after Lehigh Valley posted a 4-5-1 record in 10 head-to-head collisions a year ago. Binghamton (3-5-0-0, 6 pts., 7th North Division) dropped both of its games last week suffering a 4-3 setback at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday before absorbing a 7-5 defeat at home to the Utica Comets on Friday. The Senators enter the week having dropped three straight decisions and four of the team’s last five games overall.
Sunday’s contest features a Go Birds Tailgate, which includes a special appearance by Eagles Cheerleaders. Tickets for both Friday and Sunday’s games, along with each of the Phantoms’ 33 remaining games at PPL Center, are available now at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX or in person at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office at PPL Center (701 Hamilton).
Phantoms By The Numbers
- Forward Petr Straka enters the week leading all Phantoms with six goals. He netted goals in four straight games from October 16-24 before landing a pair of conversions in Sunday’s win at Hershey. With six goals in his last eight games, Straka is currently in the midst of the most prolific goal-scoring stretch of his professional career.
Despite missing five games due to injury, Danick Martel enters the week tied for fifth among all Lehigh Valley skaters in scoring with five total points (3 goals, 2 assists). The 20-year-old winger from Drummondville, Quebec has points in all four games he’s played this season and has found the back of the net in three of those four outings.- The Phantoms enter the week as one of the most disciplined teams in the league. Lehigh Valley is currently averaging just 11.1 penalty minutes per game – the fourth-lowest average among the 30 AHL clubs.
- Lehigh Valley enters the week averaging the fifth-fewest shots against (25.8) in the AHL. The Phantoms are 4-1 when outshooting their opposition this year.
- The Phantoms are one of just five AHL teams with multiple shorthanded goals through the season’s first four weeks. Taylor Leier netted Lehigh Valley’s first man-down conversion of the year as part of a 3-1 setback to the Toronto Marlies on October 25 before Straka buried a shorthanded goal in the team’s 5-4 shootout victory in Hershey.
Last Week
Wednesday, October 28: St. John’s IceCaps 1 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5
Nick Cousins (2 goals) and Taylor Leier led the offensive attack as the Phantoms produced a season-high five goals as part of a convincing 5-1 triumph over the St. John’s IceCaps at PPL Center. Shayne Gostisbehere (goal, assist), Aaron Palushaj (2 assists) and Tim Brent (2 assists) also registered multi-point games while Anthony Stolarz earned the victory in goal thanks to 17 saves on 18 shots.
Lehigh Valley limited visiting St. John’s to just three shots on goal in the opening period en route to outshooting the IceCaps 28-18 overall.
Friday, October 30: St. John’s IceCaps 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2
Chris Conner scored twice as a valiant comeback effort by the Phantoms fell just short in a 3-2 setback to St. John’s. Danick Martel, Nick Cousins, Matt Lashoff and Andrew MacDonald all collected assists in the contest while goaltender Anthony Stolarz turned in another solid performance between the pipes turning aside 23 of the IceCaps’ 26 total offerings.
Bud Holloway tallied a pair of assists in the win for St. John’s while Michael McCarron netted the eventual game-winner just prior to the midway point of the third period with his fifth conversion of the season.
Sunday, November 1: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5 – Hershey Bears 4 (SO)
Petr Straka scored twice in regulation and Kevin Sundher, in his first game with the Phantoms, was the shootout hero as Lehigh Valley outlasted the Hershey Bears for a 5-4 win at Giant Center. Danick Martel and Aaron Palushaj also scored in regulation for the Phantoms before Jason LaBarbera denied eight of 10 shootout attempts for the Bears in winning the longest shootout in Lehigh Valley Phantoms history.
Lehigh Valley was in control from the beginning outshooting Hershey 17-8 in the first period en route to a season-high 41 total shots.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live all of the Phantoms’ 33 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, 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 all of the Phantoms’ 33 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 2015-2016 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).
