December 5, 2017
This Week
Wednesday, December 6 (7:05 p.m.) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Military Appreciation Night presented by Netizen.)
Friday, December 8 (7:05 p.m.) – Hershey Bears @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Youth Winter Hat Giveaway presented by PPL Corporation.)
Saturday, December 9 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Hershey Bears
Upcoming
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (13-7-1-2, 29 pts., 0.630 pts. pct., T-3rd Atlantic Division) hit the ice three times this week, including a pair of highly-anticipated showdowns at PPL Center. Lehigh Valley enters the week tied for the most standings points (29) in the Atlantic Division.
The Phantoms return to action this Wednesday, December 6 when they welcome the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to downtown Allentown. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (13-5-1-1, 28 pts., .700 pts. pct., 1st Atlantic Division) gained three of a possible six standings points last week going 1-1-1 across a trio of games. After opening the week’s action with a 5-4 overtime win against the Milwaukee Admirals, the Penguins were handed a 5-2 regulation setback to the Rochester Americans on Saturday before falling in a 4-3 overtime decision at the Hershey Bears on Sunday. Following a 12-game unbeaten streak (11-0-1) from October 15 to November 22, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enters the week having recently dropped four of its last five outings overall (1-3-1).
Wednesday’s contest will mark the fifth of 12 total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between the Phantoms and Penguins. Lehigh Valley is 1-2-1 against its in-state rivals through the first four showdowns and has claimed three of a possible four standings points in two prior get-togethers at PPL Center (3-2 win on October 14, 6-5 shootout loss on November 3). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Jean-Sebastien Dea leads all scorers in the season series with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) while forward Chris Conner leads all Lehigh Valley skaters with five points (goal, 4 assists) through the first four games in the season set.
Wednesday’s game is Military Appreciation Night presented by Netizen as we’ll honor the brave men and women of our nation’s military. Military Appreciation Night features a Mini Flag Giveaway to the first 6,500 fans in attendance. Only a limited number of tickets remain to Wednesday’s highly-anticipated contest and can be purchased online HERE.
The Phantoms then cap this week’s action with a home-and-home series against the Bears, which begins with a rivalry showdown at PPL Center on Friday, December 8 and culminates with a 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 9 at Giant Center. Hershey (11-10-0-3, 25 pts., .521 pts., pct., 6th Atlantic Division) claimed two of its three outings last week and enters the week having won three of its last five games overall. After a 7-2 setback to the Phantoms last Friday, the Bears responded with a 3-0 win over Milwaukee on Saturday followed by a 4-3 overtime triumph against the Penguins on Sunday.
Friday’s game in downtown Allentown features a Youth Winter Hat Giveaway to the first 2,000 kids 14 and under presented by PPL Corporation. A limited number of tickets remain for Friday’s game and can be purchased online HERE.
This weekend’s collisions will be the fifth and sixth meetings of the year between Lehigh Valley and Hershey. The Phantoms are already 3-1 against their in-state foes and have outscored the Bears 19-13 through the first four meetings.
- Phantoms By The Numbers
Forward Phil Varone enters the week leading all Phantoms and tied for fourth among all AHL skaters in scoring with 25 total points (7 goals, 18 assists). The seventh-year center continued his recent torrid scoring stretch with another three points in three games last week as he’s now tallied 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) over his last 12 outings.- Forward Greg Carey netted another three goals in three games last week and has now tallied seven goals across his last six games. The fourth-year winger enters the week second among all Phantoms and tied for third among all AHLers with 12 goals this season.
- Forward Corban Knight (right) enters the week having recorded at least one point in five of his last six contests. The fifth-year pivot has tallied seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) during his recent surge.
- Lehigh Valley is 13-1-1-1 when scoring three or more goals this season and is 11-1-0-1 when allowing three goals against or fewer.
- The Phantoms are 2-1-1 through the first four games of their six-game home stand and are 6-3-1-1 overall at PPL Center this season.
- Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill hasn’t allowed a power play goal against in any of its last four straight games and enters the week having successfully thwarted 14 straight man-advantage opportunities.
Last Week
Wednesday, November 29: Binghamton Devils 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 0
Alex Lyon turned in a strong 21-save performance and Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 but the Binghamton Devils were able to escape PPL Center with a 3-0 win over the Phantoms. Jacob MacDonald and Kevin Rooney each tallied a goal and an assist for Binghamton while Joe Blandisi netted the game’s final goal in front of netminder Ken Appleby who turned aside each of Lehigh Valley’s 25 total shots.
Friday, December 1: Hershey Bears 2 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 7
Greg Carey registered two goals and an assist and Phil Varone added a goal and an assist as the Phantoms used three goals in the second period and three more in the final frame to pull away from visiting Hershey Bears in a 7-2 triumph in front of 7,739 fans inside PPL Center. Corban Knight tallied a goal and an assist while Chris Conner chipped in a pair of helpers in front of goaltender Alex Lyon who earned his eighth win of the season after denying 21 of Hershey’s 23 total shots.
Nic Aube-Kubel (6th) and Mark Alt (5th) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley as 12 different Phantoms notched at least one point in the victory.
Saturday, December 2: Laval Rocket 4 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 (OT)
Matt Read tallied the Teddy Bear Toss goal just 1:25 into Saturday’s contest as the Phantoms earned a critical standings point in a 4-3 overtime setback to the Laval Rocket in front of a standing room-only sellout crowd of 8,512 fans inside PPL Center. Greg Carey (12th) and Corban Knight (4th) also scored for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms earned three of a possible four standings points in their two-game regular season series with Laval.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ 27 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].
