Lehigh Valley Phantoms (23-18-6) vs. Syracuse Crunch (20-16-11)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Saturday, February 15, 2025 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #48
TONIGHT – Love will find a way as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms return to PPL Center for a pair of home games this Valentine’s Weekend beginning tonight against the Syracuse Crunch, AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lehigh Valley (23-18-6) has moved back ahead of Springfield for fifth place in the Atlantic Division. The top six teams qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs. There are 25 games remaining in the regular season.
Syracuse (20-16-11) is getting it going and is also above the playoff cut-line in fifth place in the North Division.
This is Game 2 out of 4 in the season series. The Phantoms won in overtime at Syracuse on January 4 on Brendan Furry’s backhand winner.
LAST TIME – Rodrigo Abols returned to the Phantoms to strike for his second shootout winner and Parker Gahagen won his seventh in a row to drive the team’s first win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season in a 3-2 triumph. Samu Tuomaala (11th) and Jacob Gaucher (15th) also scored for the Phantoms. Gaucher’s power-play deflection top shelf from Anthony Richard tied the game with 12:54 left shortly after Gahagen had been down in the opposite crease. The Phantoms had dropped their previous five visits to Wilkes-Barre before the victory in their last trip. Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will rematch at PPL Center on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m.
MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games at the following link: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/
TRANSACTIONS –
Feb 8 Anthony Richard – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Jacob Gaucher – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Emil Andrae – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Rodrigo Abols – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 10 JoJo Cassaro – Del – Loaned to Reading
REINFORCEMENTS –
Defenseman Emil Andrae and forwards Rodrigo Ābols, Jacob Gaucher and Anthony Richard have all recently returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as the Philadelphia Flyers have gone on a two-week Four Nations Tournament break.
Andrae, 22, has played in 15 games with the Phantoms this season scoring 2-7-9 while also playing in 24 NHL games with Philadelphia scoring 1-5-6.
Ābols, 29, was recalled to Philadelphia on January 20 and played in nine games with the Flyers scoring his first career NHL goal on February 4 at Utah. The Lativa product as scored 9-11-20 with the Phantoms in 35 games.
Gaucher, 23, made his NHL debut with the Flyers at Colorado on Sunday, February 2 and played in four total games with Philadelphia. Gaucher’s busy week saw him play five games in seven days between the Flyers and Phantoms combined. He leads the Phantoms with 15 goals.
Richard, 28, has played in 15 games with the Flyers scoring 2-4-6 setting a new personal high for most NHL games in a single season eclipsing his previous mark of 13 games wth Montreal in 2022-23. With the Phantoms this season, he has scored 8-12-20 in 20 games played while also missing a month due to injury. Richard just played his 500th career AHL game last week with stints in Lehigh Valley, Providence, Laval, Syracuse, Chicago and Milwaukee scoring 152 career goals with 168 assists for 320 points. He has also played in 39 career NHL games scoring 6-8-14.
PHANTASTIC –
– Goaltender Parker Gahagen has a personal seven-game win streak since December 28 going an incredible 7-0-0, 1.38, .947 during that stretch. Gahagen’s microscopic 1.38 GAA is second in the AHL in that stretch for all goalies with two or more games played. The 31-year-old Army Captain improved to 3-0 in shootouts with victories on January 17 at Rochester, February 7 vs. Cleveland and February 14 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
– The Phantoms lead the AHL with 17 overtime games and are also tied for the tops with seven OT wins (along with Laval). Olle Lycksell leads the AHL with three overtime winners. Lehigh Valley is 7-5 in overtimes and 4-1 in shootouts.
Lehigh Valley is also second in one-goal games with 29 (Hershey has 30) and boasts a record of 17-6-6 in the squeakers including 10-1-3 at home.
IMPENDING MILESTONES
– Garrett Wilson, 397 pro points
– Garrett Wilson, 265 games with Lehigh Valley (Record: Greg Carey, 277 games)
DON’T BLOCK OUR BUS, SYRACUSE! – Syracuse (20-16-11) is on a three-game point streak (2-0-1) with impressive road wins at Hershey 5-0 last week and at Rochester last night 5-1. The Crunch are hanging onto fifth place and the final playoff spot in the North Division. Lehigh Valley won at Syracuse on Brendan Furry’s overtime winner on January 4 after Alexis Gendron and Helge Grans staked the Phantoms to an early 2-0 lead in the first period on the road. Syracuse equalized against Parker Gahagen with a 6-on-5 goal by Gabe Fortier with just 17 seconds left.
Goaltender Brandon Halverson (12-7-7, 2.28, .914) has been an inspirational comeback story ranking seventh in the AHL in goals-against average after spending more time in the ECHL than the AHL in recent seasons. Halverson’s impressive campaign has led to an NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning which he signed last week. Former Phantom Derrick Pouliot (6-31-37) is the top defenseman scorer in the AHL and joined Halverson at the AHL All-Star Classic. 32-year-old veteran Conor Sheary (12-18-30) has 593 games of NHL experience with Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Washington and Tampa Bay scoring 124 goals with 143 assists for 267 points. This season marks his first in the AHL since the beginning of his career when he began with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2014-15 and 2015-16. 30-year-old Daniel Wolcott is in his 10th season with the Crunch with a franchise-recrod 470 games played on the team. 34-year-old captain Gabriel Dumont is in his sixth season with the team. Syracuse head coach Joel Bouchard has been very good friends with Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere since they were five years old.
Scoring Leaders
Phantoms
Samu Tuomaala 11-20-31
Olle Lycksell 13-16-29
Jacob Gaucher 15-14-29
Alexis Gendron 13-7-20
Rodrigo Abols 9-11-20
Anthony Richard 8-12-20
Syracuse
Derrick Pouliot 6-31-37
Conor Sheary 12-18-30
Jesse Ylönen 8-17-25
Dylan Duke 14-9-23
Niko Huuhtanen 8-10-18
Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 18.4%, 13th / PK 80.7%, 22rd
Syracuse – PP 14.5%,32nd / PK 82.1%, 17th
COMING UP – The Phantoms return to PPL Center on Sunday, February 16 at 3:05 for meLvin’s Birthday when the Phantoms host the Penguins. The Phantoms embark on a four-game road trip to Grand Rapids, Rockford and Milwaukee next week.
UPCOMING
Friday, February 14 (7:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Saturday, February 15 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms – Bucket Hats from Capital Blue. Margaritaville Night. Live Music “Jimmy and the Parrots”
Sunday, February 16 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – meLVin’s Birthday with his mascot friends!
Wednesday, February 19 (7:00) – Phantoms at Grand Rapids Griffins
Friday, February 21 (7:00) – Phantoms at Grand Rapids Griffins
Saturday, February 22 (8:00) – Phantoms at Rockford IceHogs
Tuesday, February 25 (8:00) – Phantoms at Milwaukee Admirals
