PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Bears, Game #18

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-6-4) vs. Hershey Bears (14-4-2)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Friday, November 29, 2024 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #18

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-6-4) are back at PPL Center to open a big Thanksgiving Weekend homestand tonight taking on the rival Hershey Bears in Game 3 out 10 in the season series.

The Phantoms are coming off an exciting comeback win in overtime at Hartford on Wednesday night.

Hershey (14-4-2) is back on top in the Atlantic Division and is riding a tree-game win streak and also a five-game point streak (4-0-1).

LAST TIME – One more time for the “Lehigh RALLY” Phantoms who came back late two times at the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday. Rhett Gardner tied the game at 3-3 with 4:27 left and then Garrett Wilson equalized again with a 6-on-5 goal with just 1:47 left to force overtime. Samu Tuomaala capped the comeback with his second goal of the game and team-leading eighth of the season as well as his third career overtime winner.  Cal Petersen made perhaps the Save of the Year with 4:40 left in the first period with a full-extension dive to his right to snag a backdoor rebound try for Blake McLaughlin. That was one of a career-high 41 saves on the evening as the Pack peppered Petersen with 45 shots. Anthony Richard returned to the lineup with a pair of assists on both of the late tying goals.

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/

BRINGING THE RIZZ – Last Friday night’s game at Providence marked the belated pro debut of rookie center Massimo Rizzo who centered Lehigh Valley’s fourth line. Tonight is expected to mark the official PPL Center debut for Rizzo. The two-time national champion at the University of Denver was a seventh-round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes before he was acquired in a trade by the Flyers two summers ago. Rizzo had an appendectomy surgical procedure following the final preseason game which sidelined him for approximately six weeks before he was able to play in his first AHL game.

RICHARD RETURNS – The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned forward Anthony Richard to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Richard has played in eight games with Lehigh Valley scoring 4-7-11. His two assists on Hartford on Wednesday gives him a Phantoms season-high six-game point streak dating ack to his preceding stint with the Phantoms that was briefly interrupted since his last game with Lehigh Valley on November 2. He played in seven games with the Flyers on his recall scoring 2-4-6 including a four-game point streak from November 9 through November 16. The 27-year-old from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec scored 25 goals for Providence last year and 30 goals for Laval the season before that. In 489 career AHL games, Richard has over 300 points on 148 goals and 163 assists for 311 points.

WORKING OVERTIME – The Phantoms are tied with Hartford and Toronto for the AHL lead with eight overtime games this season. Lehigh Valley is 3-3 in overtime decisions and 1-1 in shootouts. Each of Lehigh Valley’s last three wins have come in overtime: Nov 9 Rhett Gardner vs. Utica, Nov 13 Olle Lycksell vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Nov 27 Samu Tuomaala at Hartford.

Almost half of Lehigh Valley’s games have gone to overtime: 8 out of 17.
In November, five out of 10 games have gone to overtime.

LEHIGH VALLEY MOST CAREER OVERTIME GOALS
T.J. Brennan – 5
Samu Tuomaala – 3
Louie Belpedio – 3
Tanner Laczynski – 3

PHANTASTIC

– Second-year defenseman Ethan Samson has scored goals in back-to-back games and has three goals in the last four games including a pair of power-play markers. The 21-year-old right-handed shooter has taken on extra duties this season with his power-play time and it’s paying off. The product of the WHL Prince George Cougars was a sixth-round selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021.

– Olle Lycksell leads the AHL with 76 shots on goal. Lycksell (3-10-13) has moved up to second on the team in scoring. Last year, he averaged over a point-per-game while tying for the team in goals when he scored 19-20-39 in just 38 games played with the Phantoms while also playing in 18 NHL games with the Flyers last year.

– Defenseman Hunter McDonald is second among AHL rookies with a +10 rating. The Round 6 selection in 2022 out of Northeastern University has also shown his toughness with three fighting majors this season.

– The Phantoms are third in the AHL on the power play at 24.1% trailing only Charlotte (35.8%) however the Phantoms have gone just 1-for-12 in the last five games.

– Lehigh Valley is second in the AHL with 33.1 shots per game trailing only Rochester (34.7). The Phantoms have 30 or more shots on goal in 11 out of 17 games this season

HERE COMES HERSHEY – First-place Hershey (14-4-2) is on a three-game winning strean and five-game point streak (4-0-1) after a pair of extra-time thrillers last weekend and more recently a 5-3 triumph over North Division-leading Laval on Wednesday. The two-time defending Calder Cup Champions are heating up again as former Phantom Mike Vecchione (4-9-13) scored the tying goal at Rochester with just nine seconds left last Friday before lighting the lamp again with his second overtime goal of the season on Friday. The next night, it was Ethen Frank (13-8-19) with the shootout winner at Syracuse in a 5-4 decision. Frank is second in the AHL with 13 goals after scoring 59 combined goals in his first two pro seasons. First-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko (7-7-14) was recalled to the Washington Capitals following Alex Ovechkin’s injury. Hunter Shepard (11-2-1, 2.48, .907) is tied for the AHL lead in wins after winning the Baz Bastien Memorial Award last year as the league’s top goalie.

Both teams have secured road wins so far in the series. Lehigh Valley prevailed in Chcolatetown 2-1 on October 30. The Bears broke a late 3-3 tie at PPL Center on Ethan Bear’s strike midway through the third period on November 16 to come away with a 6-3 decision. The Bears return to Allentown on December 7 for their third appearance at PPL Center in a three-week stretch. The two teams will also play in Hershey on December 8 concluding a stretch of four meetings against each other in 22 days. Lehigh Valley’s 2024 Calder Cup Playoff run came to an end last year at the hands of the Bears 3 games to 1 in the Division Semifinals.

SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
Samu Tuomaala 8-10-18
Olle Lycksell 3-10-13
Anthony Richard 4-7-11
Jacob Gaucher 6-4-10
Oscar Eklind 4-5-9

Hershey
Ethen Frank 13-6-19
Alex Limoges 5-10-15
– Ivan Miroshnichenko 7-7-14
Mike Sgarbossa 2-12-14
Mike Vecchione 4-9-13

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 24.1%, 2nd / PK 83.3%, 16th
Hershey – PP 22.4%, 4th / PK 84.5%, 11th

SEASON SERIES
Oct 30 – Win – Lehigh Valley 2 at Hershey 1
Nov 16 – Loss – Hershey 6 at Lehigh Valley 3
Nov 29 at Lehigh Valley
Dec 7 at Lehigh Valley
Dec 8 at Hershey
Jan 7 at Hershey
Mar 2 at Hershey
Apr 4 at Lehigh Valley
Apr 12 at Lehigh Valley
Apr 19 at Hershey

COMING UP –  The Phantoms continue their big Thanksgiving Weekend homestand with Flyers Night on Saturday against the North Division first-place Laval Rocket featuring a pregame Meet and Greet with GRITTY!

UPCOMING

Friday, November 29 – Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears – Phantoms Ballcaps from SECTV. WFMZ-69 Phantoms Coat Drive

Saturday, November 30 – Phantoms vs. Laval Rocket – Flyers Night with GRITTY!

Wednesday, December 4 – Phantoms vs. Rockford IceHogs – Pregame Happy Hour with $2 Draft Specials

Saturday, December 7 – Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears – Teddy Bear Toss presented by Big Woody’s

Sunday, December 8 (5:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears

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