Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank

Push for the Playoffs

March 18, 2025

Allentown, PA – The Phantoms are getting closer and closer to clinching a third consecutive berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs as they continue their five-game homestand at PPL Center.

Lehigh Valley (30-23-7) has a Magic Number of 13 points with 12 games remaining in the regular season. The Phantoms have shown thriving since January 1 with a record of 17-10-2 in 2025. Lehigh Valley is holding steady at fifth place in the Atlantic Division. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs.

The team’s five-game homestand is the longest of the season which continues on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Admirals featuring the return of Lehigh Valley captain Cal O’Reilly. Friday and Saturday home games against the Syracuse Crunch and Providence Bruins wrap up the busy stretch. Saturday’s game includes the first-ever Phan-Con in conjunction with Lehigh Valley Comic Con featuring various heroes and super-villains at PPL Center!

LAST WEEK
March 14 – Phantoms 3 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 1
March 16 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 5 – Phantoms 3

THE WEEK AHEAD
Wednesday, March 19 (7:05) – Milwaukee Admirals at Phantoms
Friday, March 21 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms
Saturday, March 22, (7:05) – Providence Bruins at Phantoms

WEEKLY RECAP
Friday, March 14, 2025
Phantoms 3 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 1
Aleksei Kolosov (27/28) had probably his best game with the Phantoms as he shined with several tremendous saves including a spectacular denial of a Penguins’ 2-on-0 at the end of the second period. Lehigh Valley pushed through for a hard-fought 3-1 win on Friday with Ethan Samson breaking a 1-1 tie in the second period. After that, it was a grind to the finish line including Kolosov’s big saves and a difficult and lengthy 5-on-3 penalty kill early in the third period. Garrett Wilson opened the scoring just 70 seconds into the contest with his 10th goal of the year for his milestone 400th career point. Zayde Wisdom capped the night on his empty-netter with just 1.4 seconds left.

Sunday, March 16, 2025
W-B/Scranton Penguins 5 – Phantoms 3
The Phantoms kept rallying but the Penguins eventually survived with a handful of fortunate bounces along the way to defeat the Phantoms 5-3 at PPL Center on Sunday afternoon. Newcomers Givani Smith and Nikita Grebenkin both scored their first goals with the Phantoms while Ethan Samson (9th) scored his second of the weekend. Lehigh Valley rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2. But Joona Koppanen (5th, 6th) scored a shorthanded goal in the first and an empty-netter at the end to lead the Baby Pens as goaltender Sergei Muashov stayed perfect at 9-0-0. Valtteri Puustinen scored the winner with just 3:36 shot on a deflection of an Owen Pickering point-shot breaking a 3-3 tie.

MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games at the following link: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/

A RECORD FOR THE CAPTAIN –Lehigh Valley Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson has broken the all-time Lehigh Valley record for most games with the team by suiting up in his 278th Phantoms gameon Sunday passing Greg Carey who played 277 games with Lehigh Valley from 2016-20. Also celebrating his 34th birthday at the same time, the rugged winger has scored 57-70-124 in his five seasons with the Phantoms with 665 penalty minutes, also a Lehigh Valley record.

“It’s a huge honor,” Wilson said. “In the AHL, you’re moving lots and you never know where you’re going to find a home. And I’m lucky to find it here. Rob and Jim Brooks have been great for me. Keep me around and helping out the young guys. Philly is trusting me with taking care of the young guys and it’s a huge honor for me and I don’t take it lightly.”

In a pro career beginning in 2011 with the AHL San Antonio Rampage and ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones, Wilson has since played in 876 career professional games scoring 186-215-401 over 14 seasons. He recorded his milestone 400th career point with a goal early in last Friday’s game.

PHANTASTIC – The Phantoms are 17-10-2 since January 1. Lehigh Valley is 18-1-1 when scoring four or more goals in a game. The Phantoms are 20-0-2 when holding their opponents to two goals or fewer.

– The Phantoms are 21-6-4 when scoring the first goal and are 16-3-1 when leading at the first intermission.

– Aleksei Kolosov has started three straight games in his return to the Phantoms going 2-1-0, 2.34, .903.

– Garrett Wilson and Zayde Wisdom both scored their 10th goals of the season on Friday. The Phantoms now have eight players in double digits in goals including Jacob Gaucher (20), Olle Lycksell (17), Alexis Gendron (16), Anthony Richard (15), Rodrigo Abols (12), Samu Tuomaala (11) along with Garrett Wilson (10) and Zayde Wisdom (10). Knocking on the door to break into the club are Brendan Furry (9) and Ethan Samson (9).

UPCOMING
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Milwaukee Admirals at Phantoms
Milwaukee (31-19-10) makes its first-ever appearance at PPL Center and currently holds down first place in the Central Division. That’s pretty typical for the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators who racked up a 19-game win streak late last season, the second-longest in AHL history. Cal O’Reilly is still thriving at 38 years old and leads the Admirals in scoring with 10-31-41. The future AHL Hall of Famer played for the Phantoms for four seasons through 2023 suiting up for 218 games for the Orange and Black while scoring 36-87-123. He was recently honored as just the ninth player to suit up in 1,000 AHL games and he rates sixth all-time in AHL history with 599 career assists and is 18th with 775 points. O’Reilly also scored a breakaway goal against the Phantoms on February 25 as Milwaukee took the first meeting 5-3. Former San Jose first-rounder Ozzy Wiesblatt (14-20-34) led the Ads’ attack with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick while Kyle Marino (7-8-15) scored twice including the winner in the third period to break a 3-3 tie. Anthony Richard starred for the Milwaukee Admirals in the first four-and-a-half seasons of his career and scored a goal in his recent return to America’s Dairyland against his former team.

Friday, March 21. 2025 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms
Syracuse (27-19-12) is making a run up the North Division standings having risen to a tie for fourth and fifth place with Cleveland. The Crunch are embroiled in a three-horse race for the last two playoff spots in the division and their offense has found its stride at just the right time as evidenced by a 17-goal explosion in a two-game series against Springfield last weekend with 9-4 and 8-3 victories in their home-and-home set. Veteran and former Phantom Derrick Pouliot (7-41-48) leads the Crunch and is also tops in the AHL in assists and is first among all defensemen in points having contributed 6-15-21 on the power play. Veteran NHL’er Conor Sheary (17-29-46) has played 593 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Tampa Bay and is playing in the AHL for the first time in nine years when he was with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fourth-rounder from the University of Michigan Dylan Duke (16-15-31) is having a strong rookie campaign. Brandon Halverson (16-9-8, 2.32, .913) is eighth in the AHL in GAA and the 28-year-old has earned an NHL contract with the parent club Tampa Bay Lightning after spending most of the last five seasons in the ECHL. The Phantoms are 2-0-0 against the Crunch including an overtime win at Syracuse on January 4 via Brendan Furry’s backhand winner and a 4-2 win on February 15 at PPL Center with Alexis Gendron striking twice.

Saturday, March 22, 2025 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Providence Bruins at Phantoms
Providence (33-19-7) got off to a slow start to begin the season but now is closer to the top as the third-place Bruins trail Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by just one point for second place and a potential first-round bye in the playoffs. Georgii Merkulov (13-32-45) leads active Bruins players following the recall of veteran Vinni Lettieri to Boston and Merkulov also had an overtime winner against the Phantoms on November 23 in Rhode Island. Former Philadelphia Flyer Tyler Pitlick (17-21-38) is second among active Bruins after the recall to Boston of Patrick Brown (16-28-44) who is another former Flyer. First-rounder Fabian Lysell (11-23-34) is finding his stride while new arrival and 20-year-old second-rounder Fraser Minten (9-8-17) recorded a natural hat trick last week against Springfield shortly after joining from Toronto in a trade for Brandon Carlo. Former Vancouver prospect Michael DiPietro (22-8-6, 2.05, .907) is in the running for the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as te 25-year-old is leading the league in wins while ranking second in GAA and save percentage. Providence is giving up just 2.58 goals per game, second in the AHL behind only Colorado. The Phantoms took an overtime victory in the most recent meeting between the teams on December 18 via Olle Lycksell’s winning strike at PPL Center.

TRANSACTIONS
Mar 14 Matt Brown                  – Del – Loaned to Reading
Mar 16 Matt Brown                 – Del – Loaned to Reading
Mar 16 Matt Miller                   – Del – Loaned to Reading
Mar 16 Sam Sedley                   – Del – Loaned to Reading
Mar 17 Parker Gahagen          – Del – Loaned to Reading

Phantoms Scoring Leaders
x – Olle Lycksell 17-24-41
Jacob Gaucher 20-16-36
Anthony Richard 15-18-33
Samu Tuomaala 11-21-32
Zayde Wisdom 10-17-27
x – Rodrigo Abols 12-15-27

UPCOMING

Wednesday, March 19 (7:05) – Milwaukee Admirals at Phantoms – Pregame Happy Hour, $2 Draft Beers. Cal O’Reilly of the Milwaukee Admirals returns to PPL Center.

Friday, March 21 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms

Saturday, March 22 (7:05) – Providence Bruins at Phantoms – First ever PHAN-CON! Costumed Characters. Fans can come dressed up as well. Photo Stations and lots of fun!

Friday, March 28 and Sunday, March 30 – NCAA Hockey Allentown Regional hosted by Penn State Nittany Lions

 

 

 

 

 

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