Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank – April 27, 2021

Last Week:

Wednesday, April 21 – PPL Center
Hershey Bears 6 – Lehigh Valley 1
The Phantoms returned to play for the first time in 16 days and shook off the rust in a 6-1 loss to the Hershey Bears ending the team’s five-game point streak. Ryan Fitzgerald scored the loan goal for Lehigh Valley. 2019 first-round selection Cam York made his pro debut and played a game for the first time in five weeks since the Big Ten tournament with the University of Michigan.

Friday, April 23 – Newark, NJ
Lehigh Valley 4 – Binghamton Devils 2
Tyson Foerster and Andy Andreoff both scored a pair of goals in an exciting 4-2 win at the Devils to open their three-game series. Foerster had multi-goals for a third time in the last five games while Andreoff was making his season debut with Lehigh Valley after spending the season with the Flyers.

Saturday, April 24 – PPL Center
Lehigh Valley 3 – Binghamton Devils 2
Felix Sandstrom turned in a tremendous 37-save performance in his best game of the year as the Phantoms held on to defeat the Devils 3-2. Binghamton out-shot the Phantoms 18-4 in the third period but Sandstrom was on top of his game. Tyson Foerster scored his ninth of the season which have all come in the last 11 games. Ralph Cuddemi scored his first of the year for a 3-0 lead in the second period which held up as the game-winner.

Monday, April 26 – Newark, NJ
Lehigh Valley 6 – Binghamton Devils 5
A night filled with history and firsts for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms resulted in a wild 6-5 win on Monday night in Newark. The Phantoms scored five goals in the first period for a 5-1 lead but the Devils battled back to forge a 5-5 tie before Linus Sandin would score his second of the game for the victory. Cal O’Reilly’s three assist game made him just the 10th in league history to reach 500 career assists. Cam York scored his first career pro goal as part of a three-point night that also included two assists. And Pascal Laberge scored 10 seconds into the contest marking the fastest goal in Lehigh Valley history and the second-fastest in franchise history. It was just the second time ever for Lehigh Valley to score five goals in a period (also November 9, 2018 vs. Springfield). The franchise record is six goals in a period done by the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2000 and the Adirondack Phantoms in 2011.

This Week:

Wednesday, April 28 7:00 p.m.  – Wilkes-Barre, PA
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-4-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (8-11-5) 
The Phantoms make their final visit to Wilkes-Barre this season to tangle with the rival Penguins on Wednesday night. Lehigh Valley is 3-1-1 against the Penguins this season in a series that has seen the last four games decided in overtime or a shootout. The last time the teams met was on April 3 at PPL Center when Tyson Foerster scored two goals and then the shootout winner.

Saturday, May 1, 7:05 p.m. – PPL Center
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-4-2) vs. Binghamton Devils (5-14-6)
The Phantoms have just five home games remaining in the regular season beginning Saturday night with the Binghamton Devils. Lehigh Valley is 7-0-2 against the Devils this season but the games have been far from easy. Cam York and Cal O’Reilly both had three-point performances in the team’s wild 6-5 win in Newark on Monday. The Devils have just three wins in their last 23 games after beginning the season 2-0-0. Popular Phantoms alum Danick Martel has missed the last three games with an injury.

Sunday, May 2, 3:00 p.m. – Hershey, PA
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-4-2) at Hershey Bears (17-6-2)
The Phantoms and Bears renew their rivalry on Sunday afternoon in ChocolateTown with first-place in the North Division at stake. Hershey recently had its seven-game win streak stopped on Sunday in a 6-3 loss at Wilkes-Barre. The Phantoms are 5-3-0 against Hershey this season but the Bears took the last meeting with a 6-1 decision at PPL Center last Wednesday.

Sunday, May 2, 3:00 p.m. – PPL Center
PAINT THE ICE
Come down to PPL Center this Sunday to “Paint the Ice!” Plus pictures with meLVin and the Phantoms away game broadcast will be on the video-board! Free and open to the public.
Our sales staff will be on hand to discuss season tickets for next season as well. See you there!

500 Club
Cal O’Reilly became just the tenth player in the 85-year history of the AHL to reach the 500 Assist milestone. The 34-year-old center is a captain of a team for a fourth time and has appeared in the AHL All-Star Classic five times. O’Reilly is in his 15th season of professional hockey.

Cam York

2019 first-rounder scored his first pro goal on Monday night at Newark as part of a three-point game that included two assists as well. It was just the fourth pro game for the rookie blueliner out of the University of Michigan. York was captain of the USA World Juniors team that won the gold medal in a 2-0 upset over Canada last January.

Sandy Stops ‘Em
Felix Sandstrom had a tremendous 37-save performance including a Phantoms season-high 17 stops in the third period in an exciting 3-2 win over the Binghamton Devils on Saturday afternoon. Sandstrom’s best game of the year came at a critical time as the Phantoms were under siege in the frantic comeback efforts of the Devils. Sandstrom has been unable to find consistent playing time this season due to different quarantines with the Flyers and Phantoms and his own stay on the sidelines with an injury.