Phantoms Weekly Presented by Provident Bank — 10/9/18

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Phantoms Take on Springfield in a Home-and-Home Series This Weekend

October 9, 2018

A Look Back

Saturday, October 6, 2018 — Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms dropped the puck on their fifth season inside PPL Center in downtown Allentown this past weekend as they hosted the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday night.  Both Greg Carey and Nic Aube-Kubel netted a pair of goals in the contest while Phil Varone and German Rubtsov added a goal of their own.  Rubtsov’s tally marked the first goal of his professional career. Also earning a few firsts in the game was goaltender Carter Hart who grabbed his first pro win in his pro start as he turned aside 31 of the 34 shots he faced between the pipes.

By the end of the night, 10 different Phantoms — Nic Aube-Kubel (2G-1A), Greg Carey (2G-1A), Phil Varone (1G-1A), Mark Friedman (2A), German Rubtsov (1G), T.J. Brennan (1A), Tyrell Goulbourne (1A), David Kaše (1A), Colin McDonald (1A) and Philippe Myers (1A) — had earned points on the season as they doubled up on the visiting Sound Tigers, 6-3.

The Road Ahead

Friday, October 12, 2018 — Springfield Thunderbirds at Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7:05 p.m. — TICKETS 

The Phantoms will finally get back on the ice for their second game of the season this Friday night at home against the Springfield Thunderbirds.  In six meetings during the 2017-18 season Lehigh Valley produced a 5-1-0-0 record against Springfield and outscored their opponents 27-15.  Greg Carey and Phil Varone both led the Phantoms in points against the T-Birds last season with eight total points each (Carey: 4G-4A | Varone: 3G-5A) while Corban Knight held the team’s best plus-minus rating against Springfield with a plus-7.

Tickets for Friday night’s contest inside of PPL Center are available online, so be sure you get yours by clicking HERE.

Saturday, October 13, 2018 — Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds, 7:05 p.m.

Lehigh Valley will hit the road for the first time of the 2018-19 season on Saturday as they complete their home-and-home set with the Springfield Thunderbirds.  Saturday will be Springfield’s home opener after playing their first game on the road last week — a 3-2 shootout loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins — and second game of the season at PPL Center on Friday.  Two players that are emerging as leaders for Springfield include captain Paul Thompson who currently has a goal and an assist and former Philadelphia Flyer and Adirondack Phantom Harry Zolnierczyk who has tallied two assists.

The Phantoms held the Atlantic Division’s best road record during the 2017-18 season at 20-13-2-3 while the Thunderbirds had a record 19-15-3-1 while on home ice.

Snap Shots

The Hamilton Howitzer

Greg Carey, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, got right back to work doing what he does best as he netted a pair of goals in the the Phantoms only game of the weekend.  Carey has led the Phantoms roster in goals scored in both of the last two seasons (2017-18: 31 | 2016-17: 28).

A Night of Firsts

A number of fresh faces on the Phantoms roster earned career firsts during Saturday night’s season opener against the Sound Tigers.  German Rubtsov netted his first professional goal, David Kaše tallied his first professional point and goaltender Carter Hart recorded both his first professional start and win.

Most Valuable Phil

Phil Varone — winner of last season’s league MVP award — was already back to his old tricks in Saturday’s home opener against Bridgeport.  He netted his first goal of the season and added an assist for two total points and finished the night with a plus-five rating.

Phantoms by the Numbers

  • 1: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are currently 1-0 to start the 2018-19 season
  • 4: Four different Phantoms — Philippe Myers (+4), Nic Aube-Kubel (+4), Greg Carey (+4) and Phil Varone (+5) — all recorded plus-four or higher ratings in Saturday’s game
  • 10: 10 Phantoms players earned a point or more in this past Saturday’s opening night game against Bridgeport
  • 31: Rookie goaltender Carter Hart made 31 saves on 34 shots to earn his first professional victory this past week
  • 8,707: Lehigh Valley celebrated the start of their fifth season in the valley in front of a record 8,707 fans, the largest crowd volume for an opening night since the team moved the Allentown

Recent Transactions

October 6, 2018: The Philadelphia Flyers loaned goaltender Anthony Stolarz to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms

October 6, 2018: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms loaned goaltender Branden Komm and defenseman Nick Luukko to the Reading Royals

October 8, 2018: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms released goaltender Jason Kasdorf from his PTO

Broadcast Coverage

Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will again be broadcasting all of the Phantoms’ regular season home games live during the 2018-19 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, Todd Fedoruk, Doug Heater, Dan Fremuth and Kristi Fulkerson!

And be sure to catch each and every Phantoms game this season live on 1470-AM WSAN, 790-AM WAEB or via the Phantoms365 app!  Join the 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.

Ticket Information

Tickets for each and every Phantoms home game throughout the 2018-19 season are available online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the QNB Box Office [7th & Hamilton].