PREVIEW: Phantoms at Crunch, Game #33

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-13-5) at Syracuse Crunch (15-9-7)
War Memorial at Oncenter, Syracuse, NY
Saturday, January 4, 2025 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #33

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms continued their snowy travels through central New York as they visit the Syracuse Crunch, AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lights. Tonight’s game is the first of four meetings this season between the Phantoms and the Crunch.

Lehigh Valley (14-13-5) picked up a 4-2 win at the Utica Comets on Friday in the first game of 2025 as the Phantoms started their three-game road swing.

Syracuse (15-9-7) is getting hot by keeping their opponents cold. The Crunch boast the top defense in the league allowing just 2.35 goals per game and are currently on a four-game winning streak

The Phantoms will also travel to Hershey on Tuesday before their first home game of the calendar year on Friday, January 10 against Hartford featuring a Blackout Night with accompanying Blackout Knit Caps for the fans presented by the Morning Call.

LAST TIME – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms opened 2025 with a W in Utica, New York on J.R. Avon’s winner in the third period on their way to a 4-2 win over the Comets. Massimo Rizzo collected a denied wraparound effort from Elliot Desnoyers and sauced a pass into the slot where Avon whacked it home in mid-air still inches off the ice. Rodrigo Abols (8th) hammered home another goal and added an assist while Alexis Gendron (9th) scored just 26 seconds later to give Lehigh Valley a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Adam Ginning  (1st) sealed the win with a late empty-netter from his own blueline at the boards. Cal Petersen made 20 saves in the win including 10 straight in the third period alone to deny Utica’s late push for a tying marker.

MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for tonight’s game here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/

TRANSACTIONS –
Dec 29 Sawyer Boulton     – Add – Recalled from Reading
Jan 2 Xavier Bernard      – Add – Recalled from Reading
Jan 2 Mason Primeau    – Add – Recalled from Reading

PHANTASTIC – 

– Rodrigo Abols has a two-game goal streak and has five goals in the last nine games.

– J.R. Avon is on a two-game goal streak.

– Alexis Gendron has two goals in the last three games and also three goals in the last six. He just turned 21 years old on December 30.

– Jacob Gaucher has 99 pro points in his career.

– Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson has four goals in the last nine games as well as five goals in the last 12. Wilson’s 250 games with Lehigh Valley is third all-time since the team arrived in Allentown trailing only Greg Carey (277) and Chris Conner (265).

– Lehigh Valley leads the AHL with 12 overtime games and six overtime wins. The Phantoms are 6-4 in overtime decisions and 1-1 in shootouts. The Phantoms have now played five straight games without an overtime which is their longest stretch of the season.

– Lehigh Valley is second in one-goal games with 20 trailing only Hershey. The Phantoms are 10-5-5 in the one-goal squeakers including 7-0-2 at home in one-goal games.

LEHIGH VALLEY DECEMBER SCORING
Jacob Gaucher 6-4-10
x – Olle Lycksell 4-5-9
Zayde Wisdom 3-6-9
Helge Grans 2-6-8
Alexis Gendron 3-4-7
Rhett Gardner 2-5-7

STOPPING BY SYRACUSE – Syracuse (15-9-7) is getting it going with a four-game win streak and a defense that allows a league-low 2.35 goals per game. The Crunch prevailed over Belleville 3-2 on Friday. The AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning has moved up to fifth place in the North Division largely due to the stellar goaltending of Brandon Halverson (10-4-4, 1.70, .937) who is coming off his league-leading fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday against Toronto. Veteran defenseman Derek Pouliot (5-18-23) leads the Crunch in scoring. He played 25 games for the Phantoms in the shortened 2020-21 season and has 226 NHL games under his belt mostly with Pittsburgh and Vancouver and is a three-time AHL All-Star (2015, 2016, 2020) with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and San Antonio. Rookie Dylan Duke (11-8-19) is a fourth-rounder out of the University of Michigan and leads the team in goals. 32-year-old veteran Conor Sheary (6-11-17) has nearly 600 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Washington and Tampa Bay scoring 124-143-267 but is back in the AHL for the first time since the 2015-16 season when he was with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The last time the Phantoms visited the War Memorial at Oncenter it was Lehigh Valley’s first win at Syracuse in eight years with Cooper Marody’s hat trick leading the way in a 6-4 decision on March 29, 2024.

SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
x – Olle Lycksell 9-15-24
Samu Tuomaala 8-15-23
Jacob Gaucher 13-9-22
Anthony Richard 6-10-16
Rodrigo Abols 8-7-15
Oscar Eklind 4-11-15
Alexis Gendron 9-5-14

Syracuse
Derrick Pouliot 5-18-23
Dylan Duke 11-8-19
Niko Huuhtanen 8-10-18
Jesse Ylonen 6-12-18
Conor Sheary 6-11-17

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 19.0%, 11th / PK 82.0%, 20th
Syracuse – PP 13.8%, 30th / PK 82.9, 16th

COMING UP –  The Phantoms’ road trip to open 2025 concludes Tuesday at the Hershey Bears. The first home game of 2025 is Friday, January 10 against the Hartford Wolf Pack on a Blackout Night at PPL Center complete with Blackout Knit Caps from The Morning Call.

UPCOMING

Saturday, January 4 (7:00) – Phantoms at Syracuse Crunch

Tuesday, January 7 (7:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears

Friday, January 10 (7:05) – Hartford Wolf Pack at Phantoms – Blackout Knit Caps from The Morning Call

Saturday, January 11 (7:05) – Phantoms at Hartford Wolf Pack

Sunday, January 12 (5:00) – Phantoms at Bridgeport Islanders

Wednesday, January 15 (7:05) – Phantoms vs. Belleville Senators, Pregame Happy Hour, $2 Beers

The post PREVIEW: Phantoms at Crunch, Game #33 appeared first on Lehigh Valley Phantoms.