Phantoms Power Play presented by Provident Bank – 3/2/2021

Last Week:

Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5 – Binghamton Devils 4 (OT)
Max Willman scored the overtime winner as part of a two-goal game and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms remained unbeaten in regulation with a comeback win at the Binghamton Devils. Linus Sandin tied the game midway through the third with his first pro goal in North America and rookie Tanner Laczynski registered his first pro points with a pair of assists. Egor Zamula’s assist in the first period was also his first pro point and Brennan Saulnier’s assist on a goal by Pascal Laberge represented his first point in the AHL.

Friday, February 26, 2021
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2
The Phantoms took their first regulation loss snapping their franchise-record season-opening point streak at five. Zayde Wisdom scored an incredible goal muscling through two Penguins defenders trying to bring him down. Somehow he got the shot off with an elevated backhander to go top shelf for the highlight-reel caliber lamplighter. Max Willman scored again to extend his goal-streak to three games.

Saturday, February 27, 2021
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 5 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 (OT)
Zayde Wisdom scored with 3:06 remaining in the third to force overtime and earn a standings point but the Penguins broke the deadlock in the 3-on-3 session. Max Willman scored a pair of goals to stretch his goal-streak to four games which equals the longest in the AHL this season. Willman’s first goal came on an impressive backhand pass by Wisdom moving up the right boards going behind-the-back to connect with Willman in the right slot who pulled the puck back to shoot between the moving defenseman’s legs. Mason Millman amassed a pair of assists for his first pro points. The Phantoms have gone to overtime on five occasions in seven games this season which is the most in the AHL.

 

Next Week:

Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 7:05 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-1-2) vs. Hershey Bears (5-1-2), PPL Center, Allentown, PA
The rival Hershey Bears visit PPL Center for the first time this season. Lehigh Valley has posted a pair of overtime wins at Giant Center. Ryan Fitzgerald scored the winner from Wyatte Wylie in the season opener in Chocolate Town after Wylie had tied the game with the team’s first goal of the season with just 44.7 seconds remaining on February 6. David Kase scored from Zayde Wisdom in the overtime game of February 14 at Hershey. The Bears posted a pair of three-goal wins against the Binghamton Devils last weekend winning 6-3 in Newark, NJ on Friday night and then notching a 3-0 blank sheet back in Hershey on Saturday night with Zach Fucale recording the shutout.

Saturday, March 6, 2021, 1:00 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-1-2) at Hershey Bears (5-1-2) – Giant Center, Hershey, PA
The Bears and Phantoms rematch at Hershey on Saturday afternoon. The Bears are led by Garrett Pilon, son of former NHL’er Rich Pilon, who has one goal and seven assists. 20-year-old first-rounder Connor McMichael has four goals including a hat trick against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a couple weeks ago. 37-year-old Matt Moulson is the captain with over 1,000 pro games.

Monday, March 6, 2021, 5:00 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-1-2) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (4-2-1) – PPL Center, Allentown, PA
It’s another Provident Bank Pennsylvania Cup rivalry showdown game in northeast Pennsylvania on Monday evening when the Phantoms rematch with the Penguins who snagged a couple of victories from Lehigh Valley last week. Zayde Wisdom has thrived against the Penguins with two goals and one assist and a pair of show-stopping plays. Max Willman has scored three of his six goals against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fourth-year pro Nick Schilkey leads the Penguins with two goals and six assists for eight points. Felix Robert notched his first two pro goals in back-to-back games against the Phantoms last weekend. Monday evening marks Game 3 out of 10 in the season series.

Max Effort
Max Willman was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week after scoring five goals in the last three games. He has compiled a four-game goal streak which is tied for the longest in the AHL this season. He is the first Phantoms player to win CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors since Colin McDonald won the award on January 31, 2016. Other Lehigh Valley Phantoms players to win the honor included Nick Cousins and Scott Laughton in the team’s inaugural season in Allentown.

Wizardry from Wisdom
Zayde Wisdom had one of the more spectacular goals in Lehigh Valley history on Friday night when he somehow maintained possession through two defenders trying to haul him down. He finished the sequence with an impressive elevated backhander from close range to score top-shelf and then scored another goal the following night against the Penguins. He also connected with Willman on a nifty behind-the-back backhand assist on Saturday.

The Firsts of Many
Several Phantoms are celebrating significant firsts in their pro careers. Last week Tanner Lacyznski, Mason Millman and Egor Zamula all recorded assists for their first pro points. Linus Sandin scored his first pro goal in North America and Brennan Saulnier picked up his first AHL point with an assist.