March 24, 2015
This Week
Wednesday, March 25 (7:05 PM) – Syracuse Crunch @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
($2 Beer Night! $2 Coors Light drafts available from the time doors open until the start of the 2nd period.)
(Sports Industry Career Fair from 3- 5 PM. Join the Phantoms, Flyers, Phillies, Iron Pigs and more!)
Saturday, March 28 (7:05 PM) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Faith Night! Post-game concert featuring best-selling Christian rock and worship band Kutless!)
Sunday, March 29 (3:05 PM) – Manchester Monarchs @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Post-Game Skate with the Phantoms! Bring your skates to the game and take the ice with your favorite players afterwards.)
(Legends Night – Brian Boucher! All fans in attendance will receive a FREE Collector’s Edition Poster.)
Upcoming
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms continue their four-game home stand with a trio of highly anticipated showdowns at PPL Center this week.
The Phantoms get an early start to their busy week as the team returns to action on Wednesday, March 25th when they welcome the Syracuse Crunch to town for the first and only time this season. Wednesday’s contest marks the second and final meeting of the 2014-2015 regular season after the Crunch claimed the series opener with a 4-2 victory at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse back on January 23rd. Yanni Gourde led the offensive effort for the Crunch that evening with a pair of goals while Kevin Goumas chipped in a goal and an assist and Adam Comrie notched a pair of helpers for the Phantoms.
Lehigh Valley (29-27-6-1, 65 pts.) enters the week in sole possession of third place among the five teams in the East Division and is presently 10 standings points back of Springfield for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with three games-in-hand on the Falcons. Meanwhile, Syracuse (38-18-8-0, 84 pts.) is seven points clear of the Hartford Wolf Pack for the top spot in the Northeast Division and enters the week third overall in the Eastern Conference. The Crunch took two of three games last week and enter the week having won five of their last six outings overall.
Wednesday’s game is another $2 Beer Night with $2 Coors Light drafts available from the time doors open until the start of the 2nd period. The mid-week contest also features a Sports Industry Career Fair at PPL Center from 3-5 PM featuring the Phantoms, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Phillies, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and more! Tickets to Wednesday’s game include complimentary admission to the career fair.
Lehigh Valley’s busy week then continues on Saturday, March 28th when the Phantoms welcome the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back to downtown Allentown. Saturday’s collision will mark the ninth of 12 total meetings this year between the Pennsylvania rivals and the second collision between the East Division foes at PPL Center over the last seven days. The Phantoms are 4-3-1 against the Penguins this season and have claimed three of the last four head-to-head get-togethers.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (37-21-3-4, 81 pts.) is currently second in the East Division and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins earned just one win in three outings last weekend but enter the week having claimed five of their last eight tilts overall.
Saturday’s game is Faith Night at PPL Center with a post-game concert featuring best-selling Christian rock and worship band Kutless!
The Phantoms then wrap up their four-game home stand on Sunday, March 29th when they host the AHL-leading Manchester Monarchs at PPL Center for the first and only time this season. Entering the week, the Monarchs had dropped just 15 games in regulation time this season, including the only prior meeting between Lehigh Valley and Manchester when the Phantoms captured a 3-2 victory at Verizon Wireless Arena on November 7th. Andrew Gordon scored twice that evening and Taylor Leier netted the eventual game winner while Rob Zepp backstopped the triumph with a season-high 42 saves.
Manchester (41-15-6-2, 90 pts.) enters the week atop both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference and currently boasts the highest standings points total (90) among the 30 teams in the AHL. The Monarchs enter the week in the midst of a four-game winning streak and have outscored the opposition 14-5 during their recent run.
Sunday’s contest is another Legends Night as all fans in attendance will receive a FREE Collector’s Edition Poster spotlighting 1998 Calder Cup Champion and former Phantoms and Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher. Sunday’s game also features a post-game skate with the Phantoms. Fans are encouraged to bring their skates to the game and then take the ice with their favorite players afterwards.
A limited number of tickets for all three highly-anticipated games are available now through pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX (8499) or in-person at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office at PPL Center (701 Hamilton).
Phantoms By The Numbers
- The newest member of the Phantoms, Cole Bardreau made an instant impact last weekend in his first games with Lehigh Valley. The 21-year-old forward from Fairport, New York notched his first professional goal in his first professional game last Friday and compiled seven shots on goal over three games last weekend.
Defenseman Oliver Lauridsen is celebrating his 26th birthday today. A 6’6″, 220-pound blueliner from Gentofte, Denmark, Lauridsen has compiled 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points and 126 penalty minutes while appearing in all 63 games this season. A seventh-round selection (196th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he enters the week ninth on the Phantoms’ all-time list with 252 games played.- Despite a 12-day stint with the Flyers earlier this month, defenseman Brandon Manning enters the week still leading all AHL skaters with 25 power play points this season. Lehigh Valley’s representative at the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic, Manning has compiled six man-advantage markers and 19 power play assists this year and enters the week second among all Phantoms and fourth among all AHL defenders in total scoring with 43 points.
- Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill has allowed just five power play goals against over the last 11 games. The Phantoms’ penalty kill is 37-for-42 (88.1%) during that stretch. What’s more, Lehigh Valley has surrendered just one man-advantage marker against over its last five tilts at PPL Center going 16-for-17 (94.1%) during that run.
Last Week
Friday, March 20: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 – Hartford Wolf Pack 3
Cole Bardreau scored in his professional debut and Blair Jones also found the back of the net for the Phantoms but the Hartford Wolf Pack were able to hang on for a 3-2 win inside XL Center. Bardreau’s conversion came shortly after coming to Lehigh Valley on an amateur tryout while Jones’ marker was a welcome sight for the 28-year-old center who had missed the previous 24 games with a lower-body injury.
Steven Delisle, Scott Laughton, Brett Hextall and Taylor Leier all garnered assists in the contest for the Phantoms while Rob Zepp registered 29 saves between the pipes for Lehigh Valley. Meanwhile, Chris Mueller paced the offensive effort for Hartford with a goal and two assists while Oscar Lindberg added a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack.
Saturday, March 21: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 – Worcester Sharks 6
Brandon Manning tallied his 11th goal of the season but a quick start from the Worcester Sharks was too much for Lehigh Valley to overcome Saturday evening as the Phantoms were handed a 6-1 setback at DCU Center. Zack Stortini and Andrew Gordon assisted on Manning’s power play conversion as Lehigh Valley netted a man-advantage marker for the 33rd time this season.
Six different Sharks found the back of the net in the contest while 13 different Worcester skaters notched at least a single point. John McCarthy and Daniel Ciampini led the offensive effort for the Sharks with a goal and an assist each while Aaron Dell earned the victory in goal with 28 saves on 29 Phantoms shots.
Sunday, March 22: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 0
The Phantoms skated in front of their sixth consecutive standing room-only sellout at PPL Center Sunday evening but couldn’t solve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie netminder Matt Murray as the first-year goaltender recorded his 10th shutout of the season as part of a 3-0 Penguins victory. Lehigh Valley out shot its Pennsylvania state rival 32-19 overall and accounted for 14 of the 17 total shots generated in the final period of regulation but were unable to capitalize in front of the 18th sellout this year at PPL Center.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live all of the Phantoms’ eight remaining regular season home games. If you can’t make it out to the rink, be sure to catch all the exciting action in high definition with Steve Degler and former Flyers and Phantoms goaltender Brian Boucher! Pre-game coverage begins with “Phantoms Front and Center” with Doug Heater and Kristi Fulkerson 30 minutes before puck drop. And don’t miss “Phantoms – Breaking the Ice” every Monday from 7:00 – 8:00 PM throughout the season live at Chickie’s & Pete’s (701 Hamilton Street)!
Be sure to also catch each and every Phantoms game this season live on Fox Sports 1470 AM, online at Fox1470.com 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. Nazareth Pallet Countdown to Faceoff begins 45 minutes prior to puck drop.
Ticket Information
Tickets for all of the Phantoms’ eight remaining regular season home games are available now at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office at PPL Center (7th & Hamilton), by calling 610-347-TIXX (8499) or online at pplcenter.com.
Check it out! Don’t miss the action and fun of Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey at PPL Center in downtown Allentown! Contact the Phantoms Front Office for information on season tickets for the 2015-2016 season of Phantoms hockey by calling 610-224-GOAL (4625).
In their 19th season of operation, the Phantoms are currently in the midst of their Inaugural Season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing at the brand-new 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 18 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).
