February 13, 2018
This Week
Tuesday, February 13 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Friday, February 16 (7:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Springfield Thunderbirds
Saturday, February 17 (7:05 p.m.) – Hartford Wolf Pack @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Go For Gold Night.)
Sunday, February 18 (5:05 p.m) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(meLVin’s Birthday Bash. Go For Gold Specialty Jersey Post-Game Auction.)
Upcoming
With standings points in eight of their last nine games (7-1-1) and wins in nine of their last 12 outings (9-2-1), the red-hot Lehigh Valley Phantoms (30-14-3-3, 66 pts., 0.660 pts. pct., 2nd Atlantic Division) return to action with four games this week, including a pair of weekend showdowns at PPL Center. The Phantoms enter the week with the most standings points (66) and tied for the most wins (30) in the tightly-contested Atlantic Division.
Lehigh Valley returns to action tonight as the team invades Webster Bank Arena for a 7:00 p.m. clash with the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport (23-19-5-2, 53 pts., 0.541 pts. pct., 5th Atlantic Division) gained just one standings point in a busy three-game week last week after being handed a 5-4 overtime setback to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday followed by a 3-1 loss to the Providence Bruins on Saturday before closing the week with a 3-2 setback to the Syracuse Crunch. The Sound Tigers enter the week having dropped four of their last five games (1-3-1) and five of seven overall (2-4-1).
Tonight’s contest marks the fifth of eight total meetings during the 2017-18 regular season between Lehigh Valley and Bridgeport with the Phantoms having claimed each of the first four collisions. Most recently, Lehigh Valley claimed a 3-2 overtime win in Bridgeport back on December 17 and all told, the Phantoms have outscored the Sound Tigers 17-10 through the first four meetings.
Lehigh Valley then continues this week’s action on Friday, February 16 when the team heads to MassMutual Center in Springfield for a 7:05 p.m. tilt with the Thunderbirds. Springfield (22-27-1-1, 46 pts., 0.451 pts. pct., 7th Atlantic Division) dropped all three games last week and enters this week having fallen in six of its last nine outings overall (3-6-0). The Thunderbirds opened last week with a 3-1 setback to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before dropping both ends of a two-game set with the Charlotte Checkers (5-2 on Friday, 7-0 on Saturday).
Friday’s game will be the fifth of six total meetings this year between Lehigh Valley and Springfield with the Phantoms having gone 3-1 through the first four showdowns. Lehigh Valley claimed both prior collisions at MassMutual Center (5-2 win on October 27, 6-3 win on November 24) with the Thunderbirds having taken the most recent get-together with a 6-2 triumph at PPL Center back on January 12.
The Phantoms then return home on Saturday, February 17 when they welcome the Hartford Wolf Pack to PPL Center. Hartford (24-20-4-3, 55 pts., 0.549 pts. pct., 6th Atlantic Division) won all three games last week and enters this week having garnered standings points in 10 straight outings (9-0-1). The Wolf Pack opened last week with a 5-4 overtime victory against Bridgeport on Wednesday before claiming a 4-3 shootout triumph at the Syracuse Crunch on Friday before closing the week with a 5-2 regulation win at the Hershey Bears.
Saturday’s contest will mark the fourth of six total meetings this season between Lehigh Valley and Hartford with the Wolf Pack having claimed each of the first three collisions. Most recently, the Phantoms were handed a 5-4 overtime setback to Hartford in downtown Allentown back on December 20.
Saturday’s game is Go For Gold Night as the Phantoms will hit the ice sporting specialty Go For Gold jerseys highlighting their home countries. A limited number of tickets remain for Saturday’s game and are available HERE.
Lehigh Valley then caps its busy four-game week on Sunday, February 18 as the Phantoms host the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5:05 p.m. showdown at PPL Center. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (30-13-3-1, 64 pts., 0.681 pts. pct., 1st Atlantic Division) earned wins in two of three games last week and enters the week having won five of its last six games overall. Last week, the Penguins captured a 3-1 victory over Springfield on Wednesday and a 3-2 shootout triumph at the Providence Bruins on Saturday around a 4-0 setback in Providence on Friday.
Sunday’s clash will be the 11th of 12 total meetings this year between Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Phantoms having posted a 5-4-1 mark to date in the season series. Lehigh Valley is 3-0-1 in rivalry showdowns played at PPL Center and has claimed four of the last six head-to-head collisions with its in-state rivals.
Sunday’s game is meLVin’s Birthday Bash as we celebrate everyone’s favorite puck-nosed pladottle along with a host of meLVin’s mascot friends. The Phantoms will once again take the ice in their specialty Go For Gold jerseys, which will then be auctioned off immediately following the game in The Morning Call Club. A limited number of tickets remain for Sunday’s game and are available HERE.
- Phantoms By The Numbers
- Forward Phil Varone enters the week leading all Phantoms and is second among all AHL skaters in scoring with 46 total points (11 goals, 35 assists). Tied for second among all AHLers with 35 assists, Varone has recorded 10 multi-point outings this season.
Forward Greg Carey (right) enters the week leading all Phantoms and tied for fifth among all AHLers with 21 goals scored this season. Carey currently ranks second among all Lehigh Valley skaters with 33 total points.- Forwards Oskar Lindblom and Nic Aube-Kubel are the only players to have appeared in each of Lehigh Valley’s 50 games to date. Aube-Kubel is third among all Phantoms in scoring with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) while Lindblom is tied for fourth with 31 total points (13 goals, 18 assists).
- After missing 11 games due to injury, forward Corban Knight returned to Lehigh Valley’s lineup last week and tallied six points (2 goals, 4 assists) across a busy and productive three-game week. All told, the 27-year-old center has tallied 29 points (9 goals, 20 assists) across 39 games this season.
- Lehigh Valley is 28-1-2-1 when scoring three or more goals this season and is 26-3-1-2 when allowing three goals against or fewer.
- The Phantoms are currently tied for second in the AHL with 15 one-goal wins this season. Lehigh Valley is an impressive 15-2-3-3 in games decided by just a single goal this year.
- The Phantoms are 17-5-3-1 at PPL Center this season and have outscored their opposition 97-77 in 26 prior games in downtown Allentown. What’s more, the Phantoms have garnered standings points in eight straight home games (7-0-1).
Last Week
Wednesday, February 7: Charlotte Checkers 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4
Colin McDonald notched a goal and an assist and Corban Knight and Nic Aube-Kubel each chipped in a pair of assists as the Phantoms earned a 4-3 victory over the visiting Charlotte Checkers. Greg Carey tallied his 20th goal of the season in the triumph while Will O’Neill (5th) and Maxim Lamarche (1st) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley in front of goaltender Alex Lyon who won his fifth straight decision after turning aside 21 of Charlotte’s 24 total shots.
With Wednesday’s victory, the Phantoms improved to 4-2 this season against the Checkers.
Friday, February 9: Hershey Bears 1 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5
Corban Knight led the offensive charge with two goals and an assist while Alex Lyon turned in an impressive 30-save performance as the Phantoms employed a total team effort in downing the rival Hershey Bears 5-1 in front of 8,442 fans inside PPL Center. Nic Aube-Kubel (14th), Chris Conner (12th) and Travis Sanheim (1st) also scored for Lehigh Valley as the Phantoms won their fourth straight head-to-head clash with the Bears and moved to 8-2 overall this season against their in-state rivals.
Friday’s game came in front of the team’s ninth standing room-only sellout this season as Lehigh Valley ran its home point streak to seven consecutive games (6-0-1).
Saturday, February 10: Rochester Americans 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5
Mikhail Vorobyev tallied a goal and an assist and Travis Sanheim chipped in three assists as the Phantoms completed a perfect three-game week by claiming a 5-3 victory over the Rochester Americans in front of 8,583 fans inside PPL Center. Greg Carey tallied his team-leading 21st goal of the season in the win while T.J. Brennan (11th), Colin McDonald (4th) and Cole Bardreau (4th) also found the back of the net for Lehigh Valley in front of goaltender Dustin Tokarski who picked up his 12th win of the season after turning aside 24 of Rochester’s 27 total shots.
The victory pushed Lehigh Valley’s home point streak to eight straight games (7-0-1) as the Phantoms improved to 17-5-3-1 at PPL Center this season. Saturday’s game came in front of the 10th standing room-only sellout crowd in downtown Allentown this year.
Broadcast Coverage
Service Electric’s TV2 Sports will be broadcasting live each of the Phantoms’ 12 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].
