November 28, 2016
This Week
Tuesday, November 29 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Toronto Marlies
Friday, December 2 (7:05 p.m.) – Hershey Bears @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Youth Sports Night.)
Saturday, December 3 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Hershey Bears
Sunday, December 4 (3:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Upcoming
Winners of 10 of their last 12 games overall, the red-hot Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-5-1, 25 pts., 2nd Atlantic Division) return to action for four games this week, including a home-and-home series this weekend with the rival Hershey Bears.
Lehigh Valley’s busy week begins on Tuesday, November 29 when the Phantoms invade the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto for their final regular season meeting with the Marlies. Toronto (10-5-2, 22 pts., 3rd North Division) earned just one win in three outings last week claiming a 4-1 victory over the Utica Comets on Saturday after being handed a 3-1 setback at the Albany Devils on Tuesday followed by a 5-4 overtime defeat at the Syracuse Crunch on Friday. Despite a hot start, the Marlies enter the week having dropped four of their last six games – a stretch that began with a 7-2 loss to the Phantoms at PPL Center on Novmeber 12 in the only prior meeting between Lehigh Valley and Toronto.
The Phantoms then return to the friendly confines of PPL Center on Friday, December 2 when they kick off a home-and-home weekend series with the in-state rival Hershey Bears. Hershey (11-4-4, 26 pts., 3rd Atlantic Division) is coming off a tremendously productive week in which it won all three of its Atlantic Division showdowns last week. After a 4-0 shutout over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, the Bears swept a home-and-home series with the Springfield Thunderbirds capturing a 5-2 win in Springfield on Friday before returning home to Giant Center and earning a 4-3 triumph over Springfield on Saturday. As a result of last week’s success, the Bears enter the week having won five of their last six games overall.
Friday’s contest, which is Youth Sports Night at PPL Center, marks the first rivalry showdown of the year between Lehigh Valley and Hershey in downtown Allentown. A limited number of tickets remain for Friday’s contest and are available now by clicking HERE.
Following a Saturday, December 3 rematch with the Bears at Giant Center, the Phantoms conclude this week’s action on Sunday, December 4 with a 3:00 p.m. tilt at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport (12-6-0, 24 pts., 4th Atlantic Division) won two of three games last week and enters the week having claimed four of its last five games overall. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Sound Tigers grabbed a 4-2 win at the Hartford Wolf Pack last Wednesday before following that up with a 3-2 overtime triumph at home against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday. Bridgeport capped last week’s action with a 1-0 loss to the Penguins in a Saturday rematch.
Sunday’s contest will mark the fourth of eight total meetings during the 2016-2017 regular season between the Phantoms and Sound Tigers with Bridgeport having claimed each of the first three head-to-head collisions.
- Phantoms By The Numbers
- The Phantoms enter the week as the highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference and second overall among the 30 teams in the AHL averaging 3.61 goals per game.
Lehigh Valley’s power play is currently tops in the Eastern Conference tied for third among all AHL clubs at 25.0 percent. The Phantoms enter the week having tallied the third-most man-advantage markers to date (20).- Forward Greg Carey enters the week leading all Phantoms and is second among all AHL skaters with 10 goals this season. Carey is currently leading all AHLers with 8 power play goals.
- Thanks to a recent five-game scoring streak, forward Taylor Leier enters the week tied for second among all Lehigh Valley skaters in scoring with 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists). Over his last eight games, the third-year winger has tallied an impressive nine points (4 goals, 5 assists).
- Goaltender Alex Lyon enters the week having started each of Lehigh Valley’s last seven straight games. During that stretch, the first-year netminder is 5-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and 0.930 save percentage.
Last Week
Wednesday, November 23: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 – Binghamton Senators 0
Goaltender Alex Lyon recorded his first professional shutout with an impressive 28-save performance in a 1-0 victory over the Binghamton Senators as the Phantoms captured their ninth win over the team’s last 10 games. Captain Colin McDonald (8th) provided all the offense that was needed to secure a triumph in the first meeting of the year between Lehigh Valley and Binghamton.
Friday, November 25: Binghamton Senators 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4
Jordan Weal (5th, 6th) scored twice, including the game-winning goal with just over four minutes left in regulation, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms answered each and every Binghamton Senators’ surge in claiming a 4-3 victory in front of 7,859 fans at PPL Center. Mark Zengerle (5th) and Taylor Leier (5th) also found the back of the net for the Phantoms while Chris Conner and T.J. Brennan each added a pair of assists.
Alex Lyon earned the victory in goal with 32 saves on 35 Binghamton shots while Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill (2-for-2) for perfect for the second straight game.
Saturday, November 26: Hartford Wolf Pack 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1
Samuel Morin became the 18th different Phantoms skater to find the back of the net Saturday but the Hartford Wolf Pack were able to hang on for a 3-1 win in front of 7,620 fans at PPL Center. Making his seventh consecutive start in goal, Alex Lyon turned in a solid performance with 22 saves on 25 Hartford shots.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live all of the Phantoms’ 30 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’ 30 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 Capital BlueCross AHL All-Star Classic at PPL Center January 28-30. The Capital BlueCross AHL All-Star Classic 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 Game 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).
