Saturday, December 2, 7:00 p.m.
XL Center, Hartford, CT
Lehigh Valley (9-7-3) vs. Hartford (13-4-2)
TONIGHT
It’s rematch time for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Hartford Wolf Pack as the two teams meet again 24 hours later at XL Center in Hartford. The Phantoms had their six-game point streak ended last night while the Wolf Pack extended their winning streak to five games via a 7-3 victory on Friday. Tonight is the third and last Hartfod engagement for the Phantoms and is Game 5 out of 6 in the season series. The last game on the docket between Lehigh Valley and Hartford is January 12 at PPL Center.
Tonight is also Game 2 of a three-game road trip which concludes on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at the Providence Bruins.
LAST TIME
Hartford raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and barely looked back on its way to a 7-3 victory over the Phantoms on Friday night. The Wolf Pack racked up four power play goals and were even just rhee seconds late from making it five.
Trailing 4-0 in the second period, J.R. Avon and Ronnie Attard scored back-to-back to make the game interesting. Lehigh Valley had a power play with a chance to make it a one-goal game, and Jordy Bellerive at the doorstep on a feed from Ronnie Attard was denied by Louis Bellerive allowing the Wolf Pack to exhale.
Riley Nash and Adam Sykora led Hartford with two goals apiece.
POWER UP!
The Phantoms are first in the AHL on the power play at 25.4% (tied with the Texas Stars). Lehigh Valley has risen to the top on the strength of a seven-game power-play goal streak. The Phantoms have gone 10-for-23 (43.5%) during that stretch including a 3-for-5 performance last Saturday against Rochester. Samu Tuomaala’s third-period goal on Friday kept the streak alive.
Olle Lycksell is tied for the league-lead at six power-play markers (with Adam Gaudette of Springfield).
Tanner Laczynski (3-6-9), Cooper Marody (2-7-9) and Samu Tuomaala (3-5-8) also have multiple power-play goals.
PHANTASTIC!
- Olle Lycksell (12-6-18) is third in the AHL with 12 goals and is tied for first in power-play goals at 6 (with Adam Gaudette of Springfield). Lycksell is second in the AHL with 75 shots on goal. Lycksell is also on a seven-game point streak (4-6-10) which is the longest for the Phantoms this season
- Samu Tuomaala (5-13-18) has racked up three points in a game three times this season including scoring one goal and two assists on Saturday vs. Rochester. The 20-year-old is tied for the AHL lead for most assists by a rookie with 13 (also Brandt Clarke of Ontario) and is tied for second in AHL Rookie Points with three other players
- Tanner Laczynski had a five-game point streak (5-4-9) ended on Friday. He had a pair of multi-goal games during the streak.
- The Phantoms are 8-1-1 when scoring three or more goals
- The Phantoms have the most goals scored in the second period in the AHL with 26 goals and are third in total shots in the second period with 217.
- The Phantoms are also the most penalized team in the AHL at 19.7 average PIM per game which includes a league-leading 115 minor penalties. 94 times on the penalty kill this season is also most in the AHL. Captain and veteran leader Garrett Wilson leads the AHL with 67 PIM.
HEADING TO HARTFORD
Hartford (13-4-2) is on a five-game win streak to take a sold hold of second place in the Atlantic Division. The Wolf Pack are 3-0-1 against the Phantoms this season with Lehigh Valley’s lone victory coming on November 3 via Samu Tuomaala’s overtime winner. Veteran captain Jonny Brodzinski (11-14-25) leads the AHL in scoring but was recalled to the Rangers on Tuesday. First-rounder Brennan Othmann (6-9-15) has shaken out of a slump with four goals in the last four games including a tally against the Phantoms on Friday. Previous to his last four games, Othmann had not scored any goals since a two-goal performance on Opening Night, October 13. 34-year-old Riley Nash (9-10-19) has 627 games of NHL experience and also has a pair of two-goal games against the Phantoms on October 29 and also December 1. Louis Domingue (7-1-0, 1.88, .935) leads the league in save percentage while prospect Dylan Garand (6-2-2, 2.80, .906) has been solid as well. Hartford’s defense allows just 2.4 goals per game which is second-best in the AHL behind only Hershey.
SEASON SERIES
Lehigh Valley 1 @ Hartford 5 (Oct 21 2023)
Hartford 4 @ Lehigh Valley 1 (Oct 29 2023)
Hartford 4 @ Lehigh Valley 5 (OT) (Nov 3 2023)
Lehigh Valley 3 @ Hartford 7 (Dec 1 2023)
Lehigh Valley @ Hartford (Dec 2 2023)
Hartford @ Lehigh Valley (Jan 12 2024)
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Olle Lycksell 12-7-19
Samu Tuomaala 5-13-18
Tanner Laczynski 6-11-17
Cooper Marody 5-11-16
Garrett Wilson 4-7-11
Wolf Pack Scoring Leaders
x – Jonny Brozinski 11-14-25
Riley Nash 9-10-19
Alex Belzile 7-12-19
Mac Hollowell 1-17-18
Brennan Othmann 6-9-15
SPECIAL TEAMS
Lehigh Valley PP, 25.4% (1st)
Lehigh Valley PK 79.8% (20th)
Hartford PP 25.0% (3rd)
Hartford PK 87.5% (3rd)
LV PP vs. HFD – 3/14 (22.4%)
HFD PP vs. LV – 8/20 (40.0%)
UP NEXT
The Phantoms wrap up the road trip on Sunday afternoon with the a 3:00 p.m. tilt at the Providence Bruins.
The Phantoms are back at PPL Center on Friday, December 8 against the Providence Bruins to open a five-game homestand which includes the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night on Saturday, December 9 when the Phantoms host the Charlotte Checkers.
UPCOMING
Saturday, December 2 (7:00 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Hartford Wolf Pack
Sunday, December 3 (3:05 p.m.) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Providence Bruins
Friday, December 8 (7:05 p.m.) – Providence Bruins at Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, December 9 (7:05 p.m.) – Charlotte Checkers at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Teddy Bear Toss presented by Big Woody’s!
Wednesday, December 13 (7:05) – Charlotte Checkers at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Military Appreciation Night
Friday, December 15 (7:05) – Laval Rocket at Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, December 16 (7:05) – Springfield Thunderbirds at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Hispanic Heritage Night, Los Fantasmas!!
