PREVIEW: Phantoms at Penguins, Game #9

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-2) at W-B/Scranton Penguins (6-2-0)
Mohegan Arena, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #9

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-2) look to complete a perfect three-game road stretch with to Wilkes-Barre to take on the rival Penguins. It’s a battle of streaking teams as the Phantoms have won two straight and are on a three-game point streak (2-0-1) while the Baby Pens have won their last three in a row.

This is the opener of a home-and-home series with a rematch coming Friday night in Allentown. The Phantoms and Penguins are also meeting three times in the next four games over an eight-day period including another encounter next Wednesday, November 13 at PPL Center.

The Phantoms are 0-2-0 against the Penguins so far this season. Tonight is Game 3 out of 12 in the season series.

LAST TIME – Jacob Gaucher racked up his first career hat trick and Eetu Makienimi’s 21 saves were good for his first win with the Phantoms in a fight-filled 5-2 victory in Western Mass. Anthony Richard had a goal and two assists to extend his point-streak to five games and Samu Tuomaala had a goal and an assist. Saturday night at the Fights included five different scraps beginning with Garrett Wilson’s fisticuffs against Sam Bitten just 21 seconds into the game which was one of three bouts that took place in the first eight minutes of the game.

MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for both teams and the AHL at the following link.

https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/

WELCOME, BEN GLEASON – The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired defenseman Ben Gleason from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Ronnie Attard, according to General Manager Daniel Briere. Gleason has been assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Gleason, 26, is an AHL veteran of 359 games who was in his second season with the Bakersfield Condors. Gleason had previously played for the Texas Stars for five seasons and also played in four NHL games with the Dallas Stars

Attard, 25, was selected by the Flyers in the third round in the 2019 NHL Draft out of Western Michigan University. He scored 2-4-6 in 29 NHL games over parts of three seasons with the Flyers and tallied 22-37-59 in 123 career AHL contests in parts of three seasons with Lehigh Valley,

GAUCHER ALL DAY – Jacob Gaucher recorded the 21st hat trick in Lehigh Valley history and the 12th on the road. He is the 15th Lehigh Valley Phantom to record a hat trick and joins a list that includes Garrett Wilson, Cooper Marody, Tanner Laczynski, Danick Martel, Phil Varone, Nick Cousins and more.

It is the second consecutive season for the Phantoms to land a trifecta at Springfield coming just barely over a year after Olle Lycksell’s hat trick in Western Mass on October 20, 2023. Gaucher has four goals in the last two games and is tied for sixth in the league in goals. The 23-year-old from Longuiel, Quebec had eight goals with the Phantoms in his AHL rookie season last year but scored 22 goals with the Reading Royals in the ECHL in 2022-23.

Gaucher had been centering the fourth line in most Phantoms games this season was bumped up to the first line by  head coach Ian Laperriere for Saturday’s game.

Gaucher’s four goals last week was tied for most in the AHL with Jonathan Lekkerimäki of the Abbotsford Canucks. Gaucher did it in only two games while Lekkerimäki had four games. Gaucher had only three shots on goal for his hat trick and is shooting at 27.3% on the season with six goals coming on just 22 shots.

PHANTASTIC

– Anthony Richard is on a five-game point streak scoring 3-4-7 in that stretch since October 25 and now leads the Phantoms in overall scoring with 4-5-9. The 28-year-old veteran from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec as amassed 309 points in 491 games in his outstanding AHL career that has included stops in Milwaukee, Chicago, Syracuse, Laval, Providence and Lehigh Valley.

– Second-year winger Samu Tuomaala has points in four of the last five games (2-3-5). Tuomaala scored 15-28-43 in 69 games while representing the Phantoms at the AHL All-Star Classic in his rookie season.

– Olle Lycksell is getting his chances but is still in search of his first goal of the season. Lycksell is tied for the league-lead with 35 shots on goal. With eight games so far, the Phantoms have played slightly fewer games than most other AHL teams. Lycksell’s 19 goals in just 38 games was tied with Cooper Marody for most on the Phantoms last year.

– The Phantoms are second in the AHL with 36.25 shots per game trailing only Coachella Valley at 36.6.

– Lehigh Valley’s power play is second in the AHL at 27.6% trailing only the ludicrous 40.5% power-play conversion rate of the Charlotte Checkers.

PETER PIPER PICKED A PECK OF PICKLED PENGUINS – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-2-0) is heating up and on a three-game win streak entering this week’s home-and-home series against Lehigh Valley. Tristan Jarry (3-0-0, 1.95, .937) has thrived while he is down from Pittsburgh on a conditioning loan and is still available to start both games against the Phantoms this week. The 29-year-old underperformed in three games with the big club to begin the season going 1-1-0, 5.47, .836 and is back in the AHL for the first time since 2018-19 while finding his form again. Jarry has 137 wins in 260 career NHL games.He was a thorn in the side of the Phantoms back in his AHL days with four shutouts at PPL Center in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

Emil Bemstrom (2-6-8) leads the scoring as the former Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins forward of 228 career NHL games has done well in his return to the AHL. 21-year-old Rookie Ville Koivunen (2-6-8) was a Round 2 selection of Carolina who was acquired at the 2024 Trade Deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel deal.

The Phantoms are 0-2 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season including a 4-3 loss in NEPA on October 18 and a 3-0 loss in Allentown on October 19 despite outshooting the Penguins 41-17. The Penguins are 6-0-1 at PPL Center in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 regular seasons combined and 10-1-3 overall in that span against the Phantoms but Lehigh Valley won the most important meetings via a playoff-series clinching overtime triumph on Jacob Gaucher’s goal in Game 2 of the opening round.

SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
Anthony Richard 4-5-9
Jacob Gaucher 6-2-8
Samu Tuomaala 3-5-8
Oscar Eklind 2-3-5
Rodrigo Abols 2-2-4

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Emil Bemstrom 2-6-8
Ville Koivunen 2-6-8
Sam Poulin 2-5-7
Boris Katchouk 4-1-5
Mac Hollowell 0-5-5

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 27.6%, 2nd / PK 78.4%, 22nd
W-B/Scranton – PP 17.1%, 13th / 88.9%, 5th

COMING UP –  The Phantoms return to PPL Center Friday, November 8 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a Berks Dollar Dog Night and Saturday, November 9 taking on the Utica Comets featuring a Postgame Skate with the Phantoms players presented by NJM Insurance.

UPCOMING

Wednesday, November 6 – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins

Friday, November 8 – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – Berks Dollar Dogs

Saturday, November 9 – Utica Comets at Phantoms – Postgame Skate with Players presented by NJM Insuranace.

Wednesday, November 13 – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – Military Appreciation Night presented by Netizen

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