PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Penguins, Game #10

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-3) vs. W-B/Scranton Penguins (7-2-0)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Friday, November 8, 2024 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #10

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-3) return to PPL Center to open a three-game homestand as they also conclude a home-and-home series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Tonight’s battle of streaking teams features the Phantoms on a four-game point streak and the Penguins on a four-game win streak.

Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are also in the middle of a busy stretch of head-to-head games that will see the Keystone rivals square off three times in an eight-day stretch including another rivalry showdown at PPL Center next Wednesday, November 13.

Tonight’s game is a Berks Dollar Dog Night with dollar hot dogs available through the end of the first period.

The Phantoms are 0-2-1 against the Penguins so far this season. Tonight is Game 4 out of 12 in the season series.

LAST TIME – The Phantoms kept coming and coming but NHL goaltender Tristan Jarry had the answer almost every time as the veteran netminder put on a clinic in a 2-1 overtime win for the Penguins on Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre. Hunter McDonald’s first official pro goal (in regular season) finally broke through for the Phantoms after almost 48 minutes to even the score at 1-1 but Tristan Broz roofed an overtime winner from the right circle to earn the bonus point for the Baby Pens. Adam Ginning and Louie Belpedio blasted shots off the post in the second period and Jarry showcased his skills against repeated Phantoms challengers. Meanwhile, Cal Petersen was tested in net and was very strong in a 25-save performance.

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/

ON THE MOVE – 27-year-old winger Anthony Richard was recalled to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and made his Flyers debut on Tuesday at Tampa Bay. Richard (4-5-9) is leading the Phantoms in scoring and has a five-game point streak. The AHL veteran of 491 games has scored 148-151-309 with stays in Milwaukee, Chicago, Syracuse, Laval, Providence and Lehigh Valley. He has also played in 24 career NHL games scoring four goals with four assists on recalls to Boston, Montreal and Nashville.

20-year-old forward Sawyer Boulton was loaned to the Reading Royals to make his ECHL debut on Wednesday night. Boulton was recalled by the Phantoms on Thursday. The London Knights product has played in three games with Lehigh Valley this year.

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 last Saturday at the Springfield Thunderbirds. 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

– Samu Tuomaala (3-5-8) is tied for the AHL lead in power-play points having scoring 3-4-7 on the man advantage. Alex Limoges of Hershey also has seven power-play points. Tuomaala scored 15-28-43 in 69 games in his rookie season while representing the Phantoms at the AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose.

– Olle Lycksell is getting his chances but is still in search of his first goal of the season. Lycksell is second in the AHL with 40 shots on goal including five on Wednesday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Only Dryden Hunt of the Calgary Wranglers has more with 41. Lycksell’s 19 goals in just 38 games was tied with Cooper Marody for most on the Phantoms last year.

– The Phantoms are tied for first in the AHL with 36.0 shots on goal per game. Rochester also is averaging 36 shots.

– Lehigh Valley’s power play is tied for second in the AHL with Milwaukee at 26.7% 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 (7-2-0) is heating up and on a three-game win streak entering this week’s home-and-home series against Lehigh Valley. Tristan Jarry (4-0-0, 1.69, .946) 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 along with 81 career AHL wins with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Jarry 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 and lifetime at PPL Center is 10-4-1, 2.47, .922.

Rutger McGroaty is still in search of his first career pro goal. The former Winnipeg first-rounder declined to sign with the Jets and joined the Penguins instead. However, he does have some familiarity with scoring goals at PPL Center when he recorded a hat trick for the University of Michigan against Colgate in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Regionals in Allentown.

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 0-2-1 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 11-1-3 overall in that span against the Phantoms overall 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
Tristan Broz 4-2-6
Mac Hollowell 0-6-6

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 26.7%, 2nd / PK 80.5%, 21st / PP vs. WBS, 1-7
W-B/Scranton – PP 15.4%, 18th / PK 89.3%, 5th / PP vs. LV 2-12

SEASON SERIES
10/18/24 – Away – Loss – 3-4
10/19/24 – Home – Loss – 0-3
11/6/24 – Away – OT Loss –  1-2
11/8/24 Home
11/13/24 Home
12/21/24 Away
12/27/24 Away
1/26/25 Away
2/14/25 Away
2/16/25 Home
3/14/25 Home
3/16/25 Home

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

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

Friday, November 15 – Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds

The post PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Penguins, Game #10 appeared first on Lehigh Valley Phantoms.