PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. IceHogs, Game #20

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-6-4) vs. Rockford IceHogs (7-9-2)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #20

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-6-4) cruise into December on a three-game win streak and four-game point streak as they tangle for the first time ever with the Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lehigh Valley keeps winning the nailbiters including three-straight one-goal triumphs. The Phantoms just concluded a successful November that featured a 5-1-0 record at home.

LAST TIME – Trailing 2-0 at the midway mark of the game, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms found their legs and pushed back against the visiting Laval Rocket for yet another come-from-behind win with a 4-3 victory over the Laval Rocket on Saturday night at PPL Center. Elliot Desnoyers (2nd) got the Phantoms on the board in the second period and then it was three straight in a stretch of under 4:30 into the third period that vaulted the Phantoms into the lead when Rodrigo Abols (4th), Anthony Richard (5th) and Jacob Gaucher (7th) all beat Laval goaltender Jakub Dobes. Parker Gahagen recorded his first win of the season with a strong 28 saves. While late goals and exciting comebacks have been a hallmark of the Phantoms this season, this was the first time Lehigh Valley has bounced back from a deficit at the second intermission to win the game.

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/

PETEY 300 – Veteran goaltender Cal Petersen is on the verge of his milestone 300th career pro game. The 30-year-old from Waterloo, IA was key to the Phantoms’ playoff run last season and has thrived in recent games since November 22 going 2-1-0, 2.31, .926 including a season-high 41-save gem last Wednesday at Hartford that featured a full-extension diving denial to his right that has to rate as the best save of the season. Petersen has played in 299 career pro games including 193 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Ontario (Cal.) Reign plus 106 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.

WORKING OVERTIME – The Phantoms have gone to overtime in almost half of their games this season, 9 out of 19, and recently went to OT in three consecutive games. Lehigh Valley leads the league with nine overtime games and also has four overtime victories to tie for the AHL lead with Cleveland and Hartford.

The Phantoms are 4-3 in overtime decisions and are also 1-1 in shootouts.

Lehigh Valley won consecutive overtime games last week for just the fifth time in team history and also the second time this month.

This is the second time in team history that Lehigh Valley has racked up four overtime wins in the same month. It first happened in November 2019. The Phantoms are now halfway to last year’s team record of eight OT wins in a single season.

Lehigh Valley Back-to-Back Overtime Wins:
Nov 29-30, 2019 – Brennan vs. WBS, Welinski vs. HFD
Dec 31 2021 – Jan 1 2022 – O’Reilly at UTC, Clendening vs. BRI
Feb 21-24 2024 – Maordy at WBS, Brink at CLT
Nov 9-13 2024 – Gardner vs. UTC, Lycksell vs. WBS
Nov 27-29 2024 – Tuomaala at HFD, Lycksell vs. HER

HIGHWAY TO HELGE – The Flyers have assigned defenseman Helge Grans back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Grans, 22, was recalled to the Flyers on November 18 and played in six games during his first career NHL opportunity. Grans recorded one assist in his NHL debut on November 18 against Colorado. He has also played in 14 games for the Phantoms this season scoring one goal with two assists for three points. Last year with Lehigh Valley, Grans played in 56 games scoring 1-7-8. He is in his fourth season in the AHL having played 185 career games with the Ontario (Cal.) Kings and Lehigh Valley Phantoms combined scoring 11-33-44.

TRANSACTIONS – 
Nov 25 Sam Sedley – Add – Recalled from Reading
Nov 29 Sawyer Boulton – Del – Loaned to Reading
Dec 1 Sawyer Boulton – Add – Recalled from Reading
Dec 2 Helge Grans – Add – Loaned from Philadelphia

PHANTASTIC – 

– Lehigh Valley has played in 13 one-goal decisions out of its first 19 games going 7-2-4 in the squeakers. That’s second in the AHL for most one-goal games this season trailing only Hershey (14). The Phantoms are 5-0-1 at home in one-goal games.

– Second-year defenseman Ethan Samson scored goals in back-to-back games last week and also had three goals in a stretch of four games including a pair of power-play markers. After missing Friday’s game due to illness, Samson returned to the lineup with a pair of key assists in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Laval. 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 80 shots on goal ahead of Pierrick Dube of Hershey who has 74 for second-most. Lycksell (5-10-15) has moved up to second on the team in scoring. After scoring zero goals among his first 49 shots, Lycksell has lit it up for five goals on 31 shots since November 9 including going 2-for-2 in Friday’s overtime win against Hershey. Last year, he averaged over a point-per-game while tying for the team-lead 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.

– Samu Tuomaala (8-12-20) racked up four points last weekend including a two-goal game with an overtime winner on Wednesday at Hartford. The second-year winger leads the Phantoms in scoring and is tied for 11th in the AHL and sixth in the Eastern Conference.

– Defenseman Hunter McDonald is first 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. McDonald’s blocked shot triggered a late tying goal by Rhett Gardner at Hartford on Wednesday and he impressively connected on a lengthy stretch-pass onto the tape of Olle Lycksell for a breakaway goal against Hershey on Friday.

ROCKFORD REPRESENT – It’s the first-ever meeting between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. Rockford (7-9-2) got back in the W column with a 6-3 win at the Chicago Wolves on Sunday on the strength of a hat trick by former Phantom Gerry Mayhew (6-2-8) who signed with the Hogs on October 27. The eighth-year pro has 155 career AHL goals in 402 games. He spent the last two seasons with the Charlotte Checkers after appearing with Lehigh Valley in the 2021-22 season scoring 9-7-16 in 24 games before a recall to the Flyers where he scored six goals in 25 games.

Jackson Cates is in his second season with Rockford after scoring 11 goals for the IceHogs last year. He played in 102 games with the Phantoms over two seasons from 2021-23 scoring 13 goals. Defenseman Colin Felix is another former Phantom on the IceHogs.

First-rounder Frank Nazar (10-11-21) leads the IceHogs in his rookie season following two years with the Michigan Wolverines. He scored a goal in Michigan’s first-round win over Colgate at PPL Center on March 24, 2023. Colton Dach (7-8-15) is a second-rounder from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets who is in his second year of pro hockey.

The Icehogs are in their 18th season in the AHL since joining from the former United Hockey League in 2007.

SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
Samu Tuomaala 8-12-20
Olle Lycksell 5-10-15
Jacob Gaucher 7-5-12
Anthony Richard 5-7-12
Oscar Eklind 4-6-10
Rodrigo Abols 4-5-9

Rockford
Frank Nazar 10-11-21
Colton Dach 7-8-15
Cole Guttman 6-7-13
Brett Seney 2-9-11
Kevin Korchinski 2-8-10

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 22.0%, 6th / PK 83.1%, 15th
Laval – PP 20.3%, 9th / PK 88.1%, 3rd

COMING UP –  The Phantoms are back at home on Saturday, December 7 against the Hershey Bears in the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by Big Woody’s

UPCOMING

Wednesday, December 4 – Phantoms vs. Rockford IceHogs – Pregame Happy Hour

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

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

Tuesday, December 10 (6:00) – Phantoms at Toronto Marlies

Thursday, December 12 (7:00) – Phantoms at Cleveland Monsters

Saturday, December 14 (7:30) – Phantoms at Cleveland Monsters

 

 

 

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