October 17, 2017
This Week
Friday, October 20 (7:05 p.m.) – Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Country Night with Special Performance by Porter & Sayles.)
Saturday, October 21 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Binghamton Devils
Upcoming
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-1-0-1, 7 pts., 3rd Atlantic Division) are back in action for a pair of games this weekend, including a Friday evening showdown against the rival Bridgeport Sound Tigers at PPL Center.
Lehigh Valley’s weekend begins on Friday, October 20 when the Phantoms welcome the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, to downtown Allentown for the first time this season. Bridgeport (1-2-0, 2 pts., 6th Atlantic Division) is coming off a split in its weekend series at the Charlotte Checkers with the Sound Tigers capturing a 5-3 win over the Checkers on Friday only to see Charlotte respond with a 3-2 victory on Saturday. Friday’s contest will mark the first of eight total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between the Phantoms and Sound Tigers after Lehigh Valley posted a 3-5 head-to-head mark against Bridgeport a year ago.
Friday’s game will be Country Night at PPL Center with a special performance by Porter & Sayles. Only a limited number of tickets remain for Friday’s game and can be purchased online HERE.
The Phantoms then cap this week’s action on Saturday when the team travels to the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton for a 7:05 p.m. showdown with the Devils. Binghamton (2-0-1, 5 pts., 1st Atlantic Division) split a pair of games in Laval last weekend claiming an 8-7 overtime victory against the Rocket on Friday before falling in a 5-1 setback on Saturday.
Saturday’s game will be the first of six total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between the Phantoms and Devils.
- Phantoms By The Numbers
Forward Danick Martel currently leads all AHL skaters with five goals and is tied for third in the league in scoring with seven points. The third-year forward registered a hat trick on Opening Night (October 7) and has found the back of the net in three of five games already this season.- Forward Mike Vecchione (right) scored his first professional goal in last Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and enters the week second among all Lehigh Valley skaters in total scoring with five points (goal, 4 assists).
- Defenseman Phil Myers tallied his first pro goal in last Sunday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Hershey Bears. A 6’5″, 202-pound blueliner, Myers spent the last four seasons with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) where he compiled 29 goals and 92 points across 203 games.
- Goaltender Alex Lyon has started each of the Phantoms’ first five games this season and is off to an impressive start having compiled a 3-1-1 overall record to go along with a 2.53 goals-against average and 0.919 save percentage. Entering the week, no AHL goaltender had played more minutes (285) or recorded more saves (136) than Lyon.
Last Week
Friday, October 13: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 0 – WB/Scranton Penguins 5
The Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins kicked off their 12-game regular season series at Mohegan Sun Arena in a 5-0 decision in favor of the Penguins. Goaltender Casey DeSmith backstopped the victory with a 33-save shutout as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton received goals from Tom Sestito, Daniel Sprong, Frank Corrado, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Dominik Simon.
Newly-acquired netminder Dustin Tokarski made his Phantoms debut in relief of starter Alex Lyon as the goaltenders combined for 19 total saves as Lehigh Valley out shot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 33-24. Friday’s contest marked the 100th career AHL outing for Phantoms third-year winger Tyrell Goulbourne.
Saturday, October 14: WB/Scranton Penguins 2 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3
Mike Vecchione scored his first professional goal and Alex Lyon turned aside 27 of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 29 total shots as the Phantoms exacted a little revenge with a 3-2 victory over the rival Penguins in front of 7,606 fans inside PPL Center. Greg Carey (2nd) and Matt Read (1st) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms improved to a perfect 2-0 at PPL Center this season.
Sunday, October 15: Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 – Hershey Bears 3 (SO)
Phil Myers tallied his first professional goal before Chris Conner netted the shootout winner as the Phantoms claimed their fifth straight win at Giant Center with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Hershey Bears. Nic Aube-Kubel tallied his second goal of the young season before Danick Martel recorded his team-leading fifth conversion of the year.
Making his third start in as many days, goaltender Alex Lyon earned the win between the pipes thanks to an impressive 34-save performance.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ 36 home games throughout the 2017-2018 regular season. 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 2017-18 season are available online at pplcenter.com, by calling 610-347-TIXX [8499] or in-person at the QNB Box Office [7th & Hamilton].
