Phantoms Weekly – Division Semifinals Continue Wednesday with Game 3 at Hershey

April 25, 2017

This Week

Wednesday, April 26 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Hershey Bears – Game 3

Saturday, April 29 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Hershey Bears – Game 4 (if necessary)

Sunday, April 30 (5:05 p.m.) – Hershey Bears @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Game 5 (if necessary)

Upcoming

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms continue their quest for the 2017 Calder Cup championship this Wednesday, April 26 with Game 3 of their division semifinals showdown with the rival Hershey Bears. The Bears currently lead the best-of-five series two games to none.

With a win on Wednesday, Lehigh Valley’s opening round would then continue with Game 4 on Saturday, April 29 at Giant Center in Hershey with the goal of forcing a decisive Game 5 back at PPL Center on Sunday, April 30 at 5:05 p.m.

Tickets for Sunday’s Game 5 are on sale now and can be purchased online HERE.

In six regular season meetings at Giant Center, the Phantoms were an impressive 4-2 and outscored the Bears 21-15 in those six outings in Hershey.

During the 2016-17 regular season, no AHL club won more road games than Lehigh Valley (25) and no team scored more road goals than the Phantoms (121 goals). What’s more , the Phantoms closed the regular year with three straight road triumphs in addition to capturing seven of their last eight road outings overall.

With goaltender Alex Lyon sidelined for the remainder of the division semifinals, Martin Ouellette and Carter Hart will help defend the Phantoms’ net. In four appearances with Lehigh Valley this season, Ouellette was an impressive 3-0 with a 1.06 goals-against average coupled with a 0.968 save percentage. What’s more, he recorded a season-high 45 saves as part of a 4-1 win at the Binghamton Senators in the Phantoms’ regular season finale. Meanwhile, Hart is a highly-touted goaltending prospect who was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (#48 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He is coming off a tremendous year with the Everett Silvertips (WHL) where he compiled a 32-11-2 overall record to go along with a 1.99 goals-against average and 0.927 save percentage.

The Phantoms will be hosting an Official Game 3 Watch Party this Wednesday at Chickie’s & Pete’s at PPL Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Watch Party will include food/drink specials and giveaways for fans in attendance.

  • Phantoms By The Numbers
  • Despite a 2-0 series deficit, the Phantoms have led for 24:18 through the first two games while Hershey has held a lead for just 33 seconds.
  • Lehigh Valley has out shot the Bears 66-38 through the first two games of the series. The Phantoms have either tied or led in shots in six of the first seven periods of the division semifinals.
  • Lehigh Valley’s power play is 2-for-8 in the series after Game 2 conversions from T.J. Brennan and Andy Miele. Meanwhile, the Phantoms’ penalty kill is a perfect 6-for-6 in the series and has successfully defended 34 of their last 36 man-down situations over the last 10 games.
  • Forward Greg Carey (right) leads all skaters in the series with 11 shots on goal. He produced a game-high eight shots in Game 2 as part of an impressive three-point night (2 goals, assist).
  • After a goal and an assist in Game 2, defenseman T.J. Brennan (right) leads all Phantoms in career postseason scoring with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists). Brennan also leads all Lehigh Valley skaters with 47 career AHL playoff games played.

Last Week

Game 1, Friday, April 21: Hershey Bears 1 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 0 (OT)

It took better than 67 minutes to see the first conversion in the division semifinals between the Phantoms and Hershey Bears, which came 7:38 into the first overtime of Game 1 when Hershey’s Nathan Walker collected a rebound atop the Lehigh Valley goal crease before netting the winning marker in a 1-0 decision. Phantoms’ goaltender Alex Lyon turned aside 20 of 21 shots in the series opener while Hershey’s Pheonix Copley earned the victory with a 32-save shutout.

Friday’s game marked just the 12th time in AHL history that a Calder Cup playoff game has been locked in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation.

Saturday, April 22: Hershey Bears 5 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4

Greg Carey (2 goals, assist) and Chris Conner (3 assists) each produced impressive three-point performances and Lehigh Valley got power play conversions from T.J. Brennan and Andy Miele but the resilient Bears notched three unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of regulation to claim a come-from-behind 5-4 win in front of 7,516 fans at PPL Center. Alex Lyon, who left the game with just over 11 minutes left in the third period, combined with Martin Ouellette to record 12 saves on 17 Hershey shots.

Broadcast Coverage

Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ home games throughout the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs. 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 Calder Cup Playoffs are available online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the PPL Center Box Office [7th & Hamilton].