November 21, 2017
This Week
Wednesday, November 22 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ WB/Scranton Penguins
Friday, November 24 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Springfield Thunderbirds
Saturday, November 25 (7:05 p.m.) – Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Wrestling Night with Special Legends of Wrestling Appearance & Post-Game Jersey Auction.)
Upcoming
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (10-5-0-2, 22 pts., 0.647 pts. pct., 2nd Atlantic Division) hit the ice three times around the Thanksgiving holiday this week, including a highly-anticipated return to PPL Center on Saturday.
In the midst of a season-high, six-game road swing, the Phantoms return to action this Wednesday, November 22 when they travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a 7:05 p.m. clash with the rival Penguins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (11-2-0-1, 23 pts., 0.821 pts. pct., 1st Atlantic Division) claimed a victory in its only game last week with a 4-3 triumph at the Binghamton Devils last Friday. That win pushed the Penguins current winning streak to four consecutive games as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enters the week having claimed at least one standings point in each of its last 11 straight outings. The Penguins are 10-0-0-1 during their recent surge and have outscored their opposition 48-29 since October 15.
Wednesday’s contest will mark the fourth of 12 total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Phantoms having posted a 1-1-1 mark through the first three collisions. Two of the first three meetings have been decided by just a single goal with the Penguins having eked out a 6-5 shootout win in the most recent get-together back on November 3.
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Lehigh Valley then caps its six-game road trip on Friday, November 24 when the team heads up to Springfield for a 7:05 p.m. showdown with the Thunderbirds. Springfield (6-12-1-0, 13 pts., 0.342 pts. pct., 8th Atlantic Division) claimed two of three outings last week as the Thunderbirds enter the week having won four of their last five games overall. Springfield grabbed a pair of victories over the Charlotte Checkers last week (5-3 on Wednesday, 4-0 on Friday) before being handed a 2-1 loss at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday.
Friday’s contest will be the third of six total meetings this year between the Phantoms and Thunderbirds with Lehigh Valley having already claimed each of the first two collisions. The Phantoms opened the season series with a 3-2 overtime triumph at PPL Center on October 25 followed by a 5-2 victory in Springfield just two days later.
Lehigh Valley then closes this week’s action on Saturday, November 25 when the team returns home to PPL Center for a 7:05 p.m. tilt with the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport (9-7-0-0, 18 pts., 0.563 pts. pct., 5th Atlantic Division) won all three games last week and enters the week having claimed eight of its last 11 outings overall. After a 2-1 overtime victory at the Hartford Wolf Pack last Wednesday, Bridgeport returned home in claiming a 5-2 win over Charlotte on Friday before earning a 2-1 win over Springfield on Saturday. Five of the Sound Tigers last eight games have been decided by just a single goal and Bridgeport is an impressive 4-1 in such contests during that stretch.
Saturday’s contest will mark the third of eight total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between the Phantoms and Sound Tigers with Lehigh Valley having already posted a 2-0 mark against their Atlantic Division rivals. The Phantoms earned a 5-2 win in downtown Allentown on October 20 before heading up to Bridgeport on November 8 in claiming a come-from-behind 4-2 win.
Saturday’s game is Wrestling Night at PPL Center featuring a special Legends of Wrestling appearance with The Nasty Boys. Saturday’s contest will also feature a Post-Game Jersey Auction in The Morning Call Club. A limited number of tickets remain for Saturday’s highly-anticipated showdown and are available now by clicking HERE.
- Phantoms By The Numbers
Forward Danick Martel (right) enters the week leading all Phantoms and all AHL skaters with 14 goals this season. The third-year winger recently enjoyed a six-game goal-scoring streak (7 goals, 10/27-11/8) and has found the back of the net in 10 of Lehigh Valley’s 17 games to date. He is currently fifth among all AHLers in total scoring with 19 points (14 goals, 5 assists).- Forwards Phil Varone (right) and Mike Vecchione enter the week second among all Lehigh Valley skaters and tied for sixth among all AHLers with 18 total points. Vecchione is coming off a strong week in which he tallied four goals and five points in just two games while Varone enters the week having compiled an impressive 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) over his last six outings.
- Lehigh Valley is 10-1-0-1 when scoring three or more goals this season and is 9-0-0-1 when allowing three goals against or fewer.
- The Phantoms have won six of their last eight road outings and are 6-3-0-1 overall on the road this season. Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley is 4-2-0-1 at PPL Center this year.
- The Phantoms power play has produced an impressive 13 man-advantage markers over the team’s last 10 contests. Lehigh Valley’s power play is 13-for-51 (25.5 percent) since October 25.
Last Week
Wednesday, November 15: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 – Belleville Senators 6
Mike Vecchione (3rd, 4th) notched the first multi-goal game of his professional career and the Phantoms produced a season-high 46 shots on goal but it wasn’t enough as Lehigh Valley was handed a 6-2 setback to the Belleville Senators in front of 3,101 fans inside Yardmen Arena.
Gabriel Gagne netted a pair of goals for Belleville while Jack Rodewall, Ben Harpur and Colin White each chipped in a goal and an assist for the Senators in front of goaltender Andrew Hammond who earned the win between the pipes after turning aside 44 of Lehigh Valley’s 46 total shots.
Friday, November 17: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5 – Laval Rocket 2
Mike Vecchione (5th, 6th) and Phil Varone (4th, 5th) each recorded two goals and an assist while Dustin Tokarski turned in an impressive 28-save performance as the Phantoms earned a convincing 5-2 win over the Laval Rocket in the team’s first-ever trip to Place Bell. Mikhail Vorobyev (2nd) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms produced a season-high three power play markers in earning their 10th win of the season.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ 31 home games throughout the 2017-2018 regular season. 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.
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 and Phantoms365 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 and every Phantoms home game throughout the 2017-18 season are available online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the QNB Box Office [7th & Hamilton].
