PREVIEW: Phantoms at Islanders, Game #33

Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at 7:05 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-13-4) at Bridgeport Islanders (14-13-7)
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, CT

TONIGHT
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms conclude their three-game road swing while they open a home-and-home series against the Bridgeport Islanders.
Lehigh Valley (15-13-4) is making its first of four trips to Bridgeport this season and is coming off a weekend with three out of four points at the top two teams in the North Division.
Bridgeport (14-13-7) is in freefall mode having dropped 10 straight. The Phantoms trail the fifth-place Islanders by one point in the Atlantic Division. The two teams will rematch on Friday night at PPL Center.

LAST TIME
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Marlies 5 – Phantoms 4 (SO)
The pucks were flying in the opening 40 minutes in Toronto with a 4-4 tie at the second intermission. Despite some great chances in the third period and overtime, the Marlies eventually prevailed for the extra standings point in the shootout. Olle Lycksell (6th) had a three-point game with one goal and two assists while Artem Anisimov (11th, 12th) also had three points. Adam Ginning (2nd) also scored for Lehigh Valley. The Phantoms led 2-0 to start but then trailed 3-2 early in the second period. Special teams made the difference as the Marlies went 3-for-4 on the power play including a pair of goals for Joey Anderson.

BOBBY’S DEBUT
Bobby Brink scored a goal in his pro debut on Friday at Rochester in his first-ever game with the Phantoms. He is expected to make his PPL Center debut this weekend. The Flyers’ second-round selection in 2019 out of the University of Denver was the NCAA scoring champ last year scoring 14-43-57 in just 41 games making him a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist. Brink has been practicing and rehabbing in Allentown with the Phantoms and has been with the team since November before being officially activated and added to the roster.
Brink had hip surgery last July and, more recently, has been practicing and rehabbing in Allentown with the Phantoms since November before being officially activated and added to the roster on Tuesday.

FELIX RETURNS
Goaltender Felix Sandstrom is back with the Phantoms on a two-week condition loan designed to provide him maximum opportunities to play. Sandstrom has played in 59 games with the Phantoms over parts of five seasons beginning in 2018-19. Last year, he played a career-high 44 games with Lehigh Valley while posting his first two career shutouts in the AHL including in the season finale on April 30 with 26 saves against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Flyers’ third-round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has also played in 14 career games with the Flyers including nine this season.

PHANTASTIC!
– Bobby Brink became the second player this season to score in his Phantoms debut joining Elliot Desnoyers who scored the first goal of the year in the season opener on October 15 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
– Artem Anisimov has moved into a tie for the team lead with 12 goals. He has three multi-goal games this season
– Elliot Desnoyers is fourth among AHL rookies and also has 12 goals.
– Lehigh Valley’s power play is fifth in the AHL at 23.9%.
– The Phantoms are….
11-4-3 when scoring 3 or more goals
11-2-1 when allowing 2 goals or fewer
12-3-4 in one-goal games
9-1-4 when scoring the first goal
9-0-3 when leading after two periods
3-2 in overtime and 2-2 in shootouts

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS
Bridgeport (14-13-7) has been in a total freefall with a 10-game winless skid (0-7-3) having tumbled out of the top half of the division. The Phantoms are one point back of Bridgeport in the Atlantic Division standings entering the critical mid-season home-and-home series. Former Phantom Andy Andreoff leads the Islanders with 17 goals. Popular former Phantom Cole Bardreau has scored 9-6-15. Chris Terry (11-22-33) leads the Islanders in points and was the AHL scoring leader in 2017-18 with Laval. This is the first of four visits for the Phantoms to Bridgeport.
Lehigh Valley is 1-1-0 against Bridgeport this season including a 6-5 shootout win on December 28 at PPL Center with Cal O’Reilly striking for the winner in the sixth round. Cooper Marody led the Phantoms with two goals.|This is Game 3 out of 8 in the season series and is the first of four visits to Total Mortgage Arena.

Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Olle Lycksell 6-16-22
Tyson Foerster 9-12-21
Elliot Desnoyers 12-6-18
Artem Anisimov 12-6-18
Garrett Wilson 5-9-14
Cal O’Reilly 3-10-13

Bridgeport Scoring Leaders
Chris Terry 11-22-33
Andy Andreoff 17-13-30
Ruslan Ishakov 8-17-25
Samuel Bolduc 6-17-23
William Dufour 12-10-22

Phantoms Tickets are available HERE

SPECIAL TEAMS 
Lehigh Valley Power Play – 23.9%, 5th
Lehigh Valley Penalty Kill – 71.0%, 31st
Bridgeport Power Play – 24.2%, 4th
Bridgeport Penalty Kill – 82.2%, 12th

UP NEXT
The Phantoms return to PPL Center this Friday and Saturday with back-to-back contests against the Bridgeport Islanders and Syracuse Crunch

Phantoms Tickets are available HERE

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, January 11 (7:00) at Bridgeport Islanders
Friday, January 13 (7:05) vs. BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS
Saturday, January 14 (7:05) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Friday, January 13 (7:05) vs. Bridgeport Islanders – Berks Dollar Dog Night

Saturday, January 14 (7:05) vs. Syracuse Crunch – Valley Youth House Night Presented by Air Products – Toilet Paper Donation Drive with great prizes

Sunday, January 22 (11:00 a.m.) – Phantoms Outdoor Practice presented by Velaspan at Spring Mountain in Schwenksville. Free to the public!

Wednesday, January 25 (7:05) vs. Hershey Bears – Pregame Happy Hour. $2 Miller Lites and Yuenglings available until Puck Drop.

Friday, January 27 (7:05) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – Flyers Night with Lou Nolan and GRITTY!!!

Saturday, January 28 (7:05) vs. Hershey Bears – meLVin Youth Beanies presented by Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital (first 2,000 kids age 12 and younger)

 

 

 

PHANTOMS GAME TICKETS

 

Broadcast coverage of all Phantoms games with Bob Rotruck is available on the Phantoms 365 app and on Real Oldies 1470-AM in Allentown. Also available on the Listen Live button at phantomshockey.com
Fans can also watch the games on AHLTV.com or can listen on their Smart Speakers at: “Play Phantoms Radio 24/7.”