PREVIEW: Phantoms at Bears, Game #7

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-3-2) at Hershey Bears (6-1-1)
GIANT Center, Hershey, PA
October 30, 2024 (7:00 p.m.) – Game #7

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-3-2) open a stretch of three consecutive away games as they take on the  first-place Hershey Bears in a rivalry showdown. Tonight’s game is the first out of 10 on the regular season between the Pennsylvania foes. Lehigh Valley and Hershey have not met since May 11 when the Bears ended Lehigh Valey’s postseason run with a 3 games to 1 series win in the Atlantic Division semifinals.

LAST TIME –The Phantoms seemed poised to earn a split of the weekend series after taking the lead in the third period on back-to-back goals by Alexis Gendron and Garrett Wilson. But Sheldon Dries evened the count with just 1:50 to go with his second goal of the day and Grand Rapids eventually picked up the bonus point in the skills competition in a 4-3 final on Sunday afternoon at PPL Center. Anthony Richard (3rd) also scored for a second consecutive game. Eetu Makiniemi shook off some early rust to produce a solid 30-save performance between the pipes in his Lehigh Valley debut.

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/

GETTING THE CALL – Alexei Kolosov was recalled to the Philadelphia Flyers and made his NHL debut on Sunday night in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Kolosov becomes the first Phantoms product to make his NHL debut this year and is also the 45th Lehigh Valley player and seventh goaltender to do so.

Phantoms Goalies Making NHL Debut with Flyers
Rob Zepp – Dec 21, 2014 (PHI vs. WPG)
Anthony Stolarz – Nov 27, 2016 (PHI vs. CGY)
Alex Lyon – Jan 31, 2018 (PHI at WSH)
Carter Hart – Dec 18, 2018 (PHI vs. DET)
Felix Sandstrom – Dec 30, 2021 (PHI at SJ)
Sam Ersson – Dec 23, 2022 (PHI at CAR)
Alexei Kolosov – Oct 27, 2024 (PHI vs. MTL)

Defenseman Emil Andrae was also recalled and made his season debut with the Flyers in Sunday’s game. Andrae played in four games for Philadelphia last season in October. He was  also strong in Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Boston and record his first career AHL point with an assist on a Tyson Foerster goal.

PHANTASTIC
– Rodrigo Abols has scored in back-to-back games to tie Jacob Gaucher for the longest goal streak with the Phantoms this season. The 28-year-old Riga, Latvia product is back in North America for the first time in five years since a stint with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the 2019-20 season when he scored seven goals in 38 games.

– The Phantoms lead the AHL with 37.6 shots per game. The Phantoms are second in the AHL and first in the conference with 25.4 shots allowed per contest.

– Lehigh Valley’s power play is 5-for-19 for 26.3% which is 3rd in the AHL.

PHANTASTIC
– Rodrigo Abols scored goals in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday representing his first markers with the Phantoms. The 28-year-old product of Riga, Latvia is playing in the AHL for the first time in five years since the 2019-20 season with the Springfield Thundderbirds when he scored seven goals in 38 games.

– Alexis Gendron came through in his season debut with an impressive coast-to-coast goal and assist in the Phantoms’ Sunday afternoon comeback efforts against Grand Rapids. The 20-year-old winger is back with the Phantoms for his second season in the AHL. Last year, Gendron played in 17 games scoring five goals in the first half of the season before he was returned to the QMJHL in January where he helped lead Drummondville to a league title and an appearance in the Memorial Cup.

– The Phantoms lead the AHL with 37.3 shots per game. The Phantoms are allowing 26.8 shots per game which rates 7th in the AHL.

– Lehigh Valley’s power play is converting at 28.6% (6/21) which is second in the AHL trailing only Charlotte (38.7%)

BEWARE THE BEARS – It’s the first of 10 meetings in the regular season between the rival Phantoms at Bears. Hershey (6-1-1) has won four straight and also has a six-game point streak (5-0-1). The Bears finished off a three-game New England sweep last weekend against Providence and Springfield.

First-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko (6-4-10) is second in the AHL in points and also first in the Eastern Conference. Ethen Frank (7-2-9) is second in the AHL in goals after racking up 59 scores in his first two pro seasons including 29 last year. Reigning AHL Goaltender of the Year Hunter Shepard (5-0-0, 1.40, .955) is off to another hot start after he was 27-4-3, 1.76, .929 with five shutouts in 2023-24. Veteran captain Dylan McIlrath is NOT back this season after making the Washington Capitals Opening Night roster. Aaron Ness has been announced as the C for the Chocolate and White. Veteran center Mike Sgarbossa was recalled to Washington this week.

Lehigh Valley and Hershey last met on May 11, 2024 at PPL Center when the Phantoms had their playoff run ended by the first-place Bears 3 games to 1 in the Division Semifinals. One month later, former Phantom Matt Strome scored the championship clincher in overtime of Game 6 against Coachella Valley. The Bears were 53-14-5 last year for 111 points and challenged the all-time AHL record for best points percentage in a long season. Lehigh Valley was 4-6-2 against the Bears in the regular season which was the most wins any team had against Hershey last year.

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

Hershey
Ivan Miroshnichenko 6-4-10
Ethen Frank 7-2-9
Alex Limoges 3-6-9
x – Mike Sgarbossa 1-8-9
Bogdan Trineyev 3-2-5

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 28.6%, 2nd / PK 78.6%, 25th
Hershey – PP 27.5%, 3rd / PK 90.6%, 4th

COMING UP –  The Phantoms continue their three-game road-swing at the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday, November 2 and then will pay a visit to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, November 6.

Lehigh Valley’s next home games are Friday, November 8 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Saturday, November 9 taking on the Utica Comets featuring a Postgame Skate with the Phantoms players presented by NJM Insurance.

UPCOMING

Wednesday, October 30 – Phantoms at Hershey Bears

Saturday, November 2 – Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds

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.

 

 

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