PREVIEW: Phantoms at Marlies, Game #23

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-8-5) at Toronto Marlies (11-3-5)
Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 (6:00 p.m.) – Game #23

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-8-5) continue their four-game road trip with their first trip north of the border as they take on the Toronto Marlies at 6:00 p.m.

Tonight’s game is a homecoming for several Phantoms players including J.R. Avon, Garrett Wilson and Zayde Wisdom who all hail from the Toronto area.

The Marlies have only three regulation losses this season, fewest in the AHL. The Marlies are in third place in the division in points but also have games-in-hand on the rest of the league. Toronto’s .711 points percentage is best in the division.

Lehigh Valley is looking to bounce back following consecutive heartbreakers against the first-place Hershey Bears.

LAST TIME –A see-saw game in Chocolatetown on Sunday evening seemed poised to result in a Phantoms victory as the Orange and Black continued pressing and largely dominating in the third period in hopes of breaking a 4-4 tie. But Ethen Frank (17th, 18th) blasted home his second of the game and league-leading 18th of the season with just 3:07 left to snag another win for Hershey. J.R. Avon and Zayde Wisdom both knocked in their first goal of the season with Wisdom’s shorthanded marker from Brendan Furry providing the Phantoms with a 2-1 lead. But former Phantom Mike Vecchione (5th) quickly equalized for Hershey who took a 4-2 lead in the second. The Phantoms rallied with consecutive goals by Rhett Gardner (4th) and Alexis Gendron (6th) on the power play. Anthony Richard had a Lehigh Valley season-high three assists.

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/

TEDDY BEAR MANIA – Jacob Gaucher scored the latest Teddy Bear Toss goal in team history via a shorthanded breakaway with just 29.9 seconds remaining in the second period. The Phantoms are thrilled to announce they broke their own team record with 11,853 teddy bears!

The Phantoms will be making a special delivery to our friends at Valley Youth House who will distribute the bears to provide comfort and enjoyment for thousands of kids in the region.

TRANSACTIONS – 
Dec 2 Helge Grans – Add – Loaned from Philadelphia
Dec 6 Sawyer Boulton – Del – Loaned to Reading
Dec 6 Sam Sedley – Del – Loaned to Reading
Dec 8 Sawyer Boulton – Add – Recalled from Reading
Dec 8 Sam Sedley – Add – Recalled from Reading
Dec 8 Mason Primeau – Add – Recalled from Reading

PHANTASTIC – 

– The Phantoms lead the AHL with 10 overtime games out of 22 games total. The Phantoms are 4-4 in overtime decisions and are 1-1 in shootouts. Lehigh Valley is second in overtime wins trailing only Cleveland (5).

– Lehigh Valley has played in 15 one-goal decisions out of its first 22 games going 7-3-5 in the squeakers. That’s second in the AHL for most one-goal games trailing only Hershey (16). The Phantoms are 5-0-2 at home in one-goal games.

– Helge Grans had a two-game goal streak upon his return to the Phantoms from the Philadelphia Flyers where he played in six games including his NHL debut on November 18 against Colorado

– Olle Lycksell leads the AHL with 89 shots on goal ahead of Pierrick Dube of Hershey who has 82 for second-most.

– Ethan Samson is second among AHL defensemen with 54 shots on goal

– 27-year-old veteran Anthony Richard has scored 2-5-7 in six games since returning to the Phantoms from the Philadelphia Flyers two weeks ago. That includes a three-assist performance his last time out on Sunday at Hershey. The high-scoring impact player is approaching an impressive milestone of 500 career AHL games. Richard has played in 494 games with Milwaukee, Syracuse, Chicago, Laval, Providence and Lehigh Valley scoring 151 goals with 166 assists for 317 points. He also has played in 31 career NHL games including seven games with the Flyers in his November call-up scoring two goals with four assists.

TANGLE IN TORONTO – Toronto (11-3-5) has the fewest regulation losses in the AHL with their most recent coming against Laval 5-4 on Saturday. Toronto is in third-place in the North in points but its .711 points percentage is best in the division and third-best in the AHL trailing only Calgary and Hershey.

The Marlies have nine overtime games this season out of 19 games total. They trail only the Lehigh Valley Phantoms who have 10 overtime contests out of 22 games.

New head coach John Gruden is the father of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player Jonathan Gruden. The former Islanders and Bruins assistant coach previously played 91 games in the NHL and also with Providence and Grand Rapids in the AHL. Fourth-year pro Alex Steeves (12-4-16) leads the Marlies again after cranking out 27 goals last year. Former Buffalo first-rounder who played with the WBS Penguins last year Alex Nylander (8-4-12) joined the Marlies on an AHL contract but two weeks ago was signed to an NHL deal with Craig Berube’s Maple Leafs. 23-year-old rookie fourth-rounder Artur Akhtyamov (7-0-1, 1.70, .933) has the top goals-against average in the AHL fronting a three-goalie rotation that includes Matt Murray and Dennis Hildeby. Combined they have backstopped Toronto’s defense to a league-best 2.47 goals allowed per game which includes an 87.7% penalty kill success rate that is best in the conference and fourth in the AHL. 22-year-old defenseman Topi Niemela is also a highly regarded third-rounder

SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
Samu Tuomaala 8-12-20
Olle Lycksell 5-12-17
Anthony Richard 6-10-16
Jacob Gaucher 8-5-13
Ethan Samson 4-6-10
Oscar Eklind 4-6-10
Rhett Gardner 4-6-10

Toronto
Alex Steeves 12-4-16
x Alex Nylander 8-4-12
Logan Shaw 2-10-12
Nick Abruzzese 5-5-10
Topi Niemelä 0-9-9

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 20.9%, 7th / PK 82.7%, 16th
Toronto – PP 20.9%, 8th / PK 87.7%, 4th

COMING UP –  The Phantoms road-swing continues  pair of games at the North Division-leading Cleveland Monsters. Lehigh Valley’s next home games are Wednesday, December 18 against the Providence Bruins and Friday, December 20 against the Toronto Marlies on meLVin Youth Knit Winter Cap Night for the kids in a game featuring holiday-style fun!

UPCOMING

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

Wednesday, December 18 (7:05) – Providence Bruins at Phantoms – Pregame Happy Hour, $2 Draft Beers

Friday, December 20 (7:05) – Toronto Marlies at Phantoms – meLVin Youth Winter Knit Cap presented by Reilly Children’s Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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