Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank
Two Home Games This Weekend
January 20, 2025
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms went 2-1-0 last week and are tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 40 games played and 32 remaining in the 2024-25 regular season.
Lehigh Valley (19-15-6) has a pair of home games this weekend against Springfield and Bridgeport. The Saturday clash against the Bridgeport Islanders is meLVin Youth Jersey Night for the first 2,500 kids age 14 and younger.
LAST WEEK
January 15 – Belleville Senators 2 at Phantoms 3
January 17 – Phantoms 3 at Rochester Americans 2 (SO)
January 18 – Rochester Americans 3 at Phantoms 2
THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, January 24 (7:05) – Springfield Thunderbirds at Phantoms
Saturday, January 25 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms
Sunday, January 26 (3:05) – Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
WEEKLY RECAP
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 – Belleville Senators 2
Anthony Richard (7th) broke a 2-2 tie in the third period with 10:46 left for the power-play game-winning goal as the Phantoms edged past the B-Sens 3-2 at PPL Center on Wednesday night. Rodrigo Abols (9th) and Helge Grans (5th) each had a goal and an assist. Cal Petersen backstopped the win with 24 saves while the penalty kill held Belleville to 1-for-7 on the power play including four important kills in the third period.
Friday, January 17, 2025
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 – Rochester Americans 2 (SO)
Rodrigo Abols finished off perhaps the weirdest game of the season with a winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Phantoms prevailed in western New York 3-2 on Friday night. Isak Rosen of Rochester thought he had scored the winning goal at the beginning of overtime but the officials overturned the decision after conferencing determining he had contacted Phantoms’ goaltender Parker Gahagen. Abols had the winning strike in the fourth round but the officials initially ruled it had gone off the crossbar and was not a goal. The refs changed their decision again and Lehigh Valley picked up the wild win. Samu Tuomaala kept it going with his tying shootout goal in the third round. Ethan Samson (7th) sniped early and Brendan Furry (4th) scored an exciting shorthanded goal on a wraparound in the third period to give the Phantoms the lead before Rochester tied it with a 6-on-5 goal in the last minute.
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Rochester Americans 3 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2
Isak Rosen (15th, 16th) got his revenge with a pair of overtime goals to lead Rochester to a 3-2 rematch victory at PPL Center on Saturday night as two teams traded road victories in the weekend series. Felix Sandstrom’s return visit to Allentown resulted in a 25-save performance and a win against his former team. Helge Grans (6th) and Anthony Richard (8th) both lit the lamp for a second time on the week. Goaltender Keith Petruzzelli was strong in his Lehigh Valley debut with 32 saves on 35 shots. Penalties plagued the Phantoms and allowed the Amerks to pick up the win via special teams with a 3-for-7 performance on the power play.
MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games at the following link: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/
ELEVATING ABOLS – 29-year-old center Rodrigo Abols has been recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers for his first NHL call-up. The Latvia native has scored 9-10-19 in 34 games with the Phantoms this season. The 6’4″ center played in the AHL in 2019-20 with Springfield on a contract with the Florida Panthers but has been in Sweden for the last four season prior to his return to North America in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. He can become the third Phantoms player to make his NHL debut with the Flyers this season joining Aleksei Kolosov and Helge Grans.
PROMOTING PETRUZZELI – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have recalled goaltender Keith Petruzzelli from the Reading Royals of the ECHL. Petruzzelli, 25, is 6-12-3, 3.37, .893 with Reading this season. The Wilbraham, Massachusetts native has appeared in 99 professional career games going 48-39-8, 2.98, .900. He played well in his Lehigh Valley debut on Saturday with 32 saves in a 3-2 loss against Rochester. In 2023-24 with the Toronto Marlies, Petruzzelli was 6-8-2, 3.55, .867 while also playing in seven games with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL going 4-3-0, 3.70, .881.
PHANTASTIC –
– The Phantoms are 6-2-1 in January. The Phantoms have gone 10-5-1 since December 14.
– Five out of nine games in January have been decided by a score of 3-2. The Phantoms are 3-1-1 in those games with a 3-2 final.
– Lehigh Valley’s shootout win on Friday was the second of the season and the team’s first since Opening Night on October 12 against Hartford.
– Anthony Richard is scheduled to play in his 500th career AHL game on Friday. The 28-year-old from Trois Rivieres, Quebec has scored 152 goals with 167 points for 319 points in his career with Lehigh Valley, Providence, Laval, Syracuse, Chicago and Milwaukee. He has also played in 31 NHL games including 7 this season with the Flyers scoring 2-4-6.
– Brendan Furry is tied for second in the AHL with three shorthanded goals all of which have been scored since December 21. Furry’s other goal this season was a 3-on-3 overtime winner at Syracuse on January 4. The Toledo, Ohio native has scored all four of his goals this season on backhand shots.
– Lehigh Valley leads the league in overtime games, overtime wins and one-goal games. The Phantoms have played 15 overtime games and are 7-5 in OT decisions and 2-1 in shootouts. The Phantoms are 14-6-6 in one-goal games including 8-1-3 at home. Last Saturday against Rochester was the first regulation one-goal loss at home this season.
IMPENDING MILESTONES
– Anthony Richard, 499 AHL games
– Louie Belpedio, 395 pro games
– Garrett Wilson, 396 pro points
UPCOMING
Friday, January 24 (7:05)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Springfield Thunderbirds at Phantoms
Springfield (17-17-3) is looking to climb into playoff contention in the Atlantic and is just two points back of Hartford for the sixth-place position and final spot. The Thunderbirds lost on Monday to the Bridgeport Islanders 4-3 after they were shutout by Brandon Bussi at the Providence Bruins on Sunday 4-0. Veteran captain Matthew Peca (13-13-26) leads the team while 19-year-old first-rounder Dalibor Dvorsky (12-14-26) from Slovakia, the #10 overall selection in the 2023 draft, has St. Louis Blues fans excited for the future. Fellow rookie, 20-year-old Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (7-17-24) from Finland is also being watched closely. Third-rounder Colten Ellis (12-6-2, 2.68, .920) has been solid between the pipes. The Phantoms went 1-1-0 in their two games at Springfield in November including a Jacob Gaucher hat trick against Ellis on November 2 in a 5-2 win and a November 14 loss by a 4-3 count with Marcus Sylvegard scoring a pair of the T-Birds. This is Springfield’s first visit to PPL Center and is also Game 3 out of 4 in the season series.
Saturday, January 25 (7:05)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms
Last place Bridgeport (9-25-4) has the fewest wins and worst points percentage in the AHL. But that didn’t stop the Islanders from slamming the door on a road-fatigued Phantoms team two Sundays ago via Henrik Tikkanen’s 21-save shutout on January 12 in a 5-0 Bridgeport win. That one ended a 12-game home losing skid for the Islanders and was only their second win at home this season. Islanders captain Cole Bardreau (3-7-10) missed that game with an injury but the popular former Phantom has since returned to the Isles’ lineup. 35-year-old sniper Chris Terry (9-23-32) leads the team and had two goals against Lehigh Valley in the first matchup. He is also the AHL’s active career-scoring leader with 320 goals and 773 points. Former Hershey Bear Brian Pinho (17-10-27) had a six-game goal streak early in the season and will represent the Islanders at the AHL All-Star Classic. The Islanders are surrendering just under 4 goals per game, worst in the AHL, and their 75.2% penalty kill, which rates 31st out of 32, isn’t exactly helping their cause. This is Bridgeport’s first visit to PPL Center and is Game 2 out of 6 in the season series.
Sunday, January 26, 2025 (3:05)
Mohegan Arena, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Phantoms wrap up the weekend in Northeast Pennsylvania in search of their first win of the season at Mohegan Arena. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (20-9-4) is tied for fourth place in the Atlantic with the Phantoms entering the week although the Baby Pens have a whopping seven games in hand after a Saturday postponement against Belleville due to ice repairs. Their setbacks at Belleville and Laval last week on the road ended an eight-game point streak and saw the team blowing third-period leads back-to-back.
The Phantoms are 2-4-1 against the Penguins and are 0-3-1 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton entering Game 8 out of 12 in the season series.
NHL veteran goalie Tristan Jarry (4-1-1, 2.16, .926) has cleared waivers and joined the WBS crew. The Phantoms pinned the lone AHL loss this season on the 29-year-old NHL veteran of 279 career games back on November 8 during Jarry’s conditioning loan with four goals on just 19 shots against him at PPL Center. Former Columbus Blue Jacket Emil Bemstrom (16-17-33) has scored over a point-per-game with Wilkes. Rookie Ville Koivunen (10-17-27), acquired last year in a trade with Carolina, is second among all AHL rookies in scoring. University of Denver product Tristan Broz (12-7-19) has scored five goals against the Phantoms including an overtime goal on November 6 but has been out for the last three weeks due to injury.
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Samu Tuomaala 8-18-26
Jacob Gaucher 14-11-25
x – Olle Lycksell 9-15-24
x – Rodrigo Abols 9-10-19
Anthony Richard 8-11-19
Alexis Gendron 11-7-18
UPCOMING
Friday, January 24 (7:05) – Springfield Thunderbirds at Phantoms
Saturday, January 25 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms – meLVin Youth Jersey Night
Sunday, January 26 (3:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Wednesday, January 30 (7:00) – Phantoms at Bridgeport Islanders
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