PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Thunderbirds, Game #41

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-15-6) vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (17-17-3)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Friday, January 24, 2025 (7:05 p.m.) – Game #41

TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms open a weekend homestand tonight as they welcome the Springfield Thunderbirds for their first PPL Center visit of the season.

Lehigh Valley (19-15-6) is tied for fourth place with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Atlantic Division standings and is only two points behind Providence for third although both teams also have games-in-hand. The Phantoms have points in seven out of nine in January (6-2-1) and have also secured points in 11 of the last 16 games (10-5-1) since December 14.

Springfield (17-17-3) is the AHL of the St. Louis Blues. The Thunderbirds have lost two straight and are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division but only two points behind Hartford for the last postseason spot.

LAST TIME – Keith Petruzzelli was strong in his Phantoms debut with 32 saves but the Rochester Americans thrived on special teams with a 3-for-7 performance on the power play in downing the Phantoms 3-2 at PPL Center last Saturday night to split the two-game weekend home-and-home series. Isak Rosen scored twice for the Americans, including the winning blast with just 3:07 left, as revenge for his overtime-winning goal the night before that was disallowed. Helge Grans and Anthony Richard struck for the Phantoms in building leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Felix Sandstrom celebrated his return to Allentown after playing four seasons for the Phantoms with a 25-save victory for Rochester against his former team.

MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for tonight’s game here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/

MOVING UP – Rodrigo Abols and Anthony Richard have been recalled to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Abols, 29, made his NHL debut on Tuesday against Detroit. The big center from Latvia made it to the show after 266 pro games in Sweden and 70 games in the AHL. He has scored 9-10-19 in 36 games with the Phantoms and becomes the third Lehigh Valley Phantom to make his NHL debut with the Flyers this season joining Aleksei Kolosov and Olle Lycksell.
Richard, 28, heads back to the Flyers where he played in seven games in November scoring 2-4-6. With the Phantoms this season, he has scored 8-11-19 in 18 games. The Trois Rivieres, Quebec native recently returned to the lineup following a month-long layoff due to injury.

THEY’RE BACK – Goaltender Aleksei Kolosov and forward Olle Lycksell have been assigned to the Phantoms from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kolosov, 23, returns to the Phantoms after playing in 15 games with the Philadelphia Flyers where he went 4-8-1, 3.45, .870. With the Phantoms this season, he has gone 1-2-1, 3.29, .875. Kolosov made his NHL debut on October 27, 2024 against Montreal and recorded his first NHL win on November 23, 2024 with an overtime decision against Chicago. Kolosov’s last game for the Phantoms was October 25, 2024 at the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Lycksell, 25, rejoins the Phantoms as an All-Star having been selected to represent the team at the AHL All-Star Classic taking place February 2-3 in Coachella Valley, Cal. He has played in six games with Philadelphia recording zero points and has also been almost a point-per-game player with Lehigh Valley this season scoring 9-15-24 in 25 games played.

ADDITIONAL TRANSACTIONS – The Phantoms have recalled defenseman JoJo Cassaro from the Reading Royals. The R.I.T. product has scored 6-17-23 in 39 games in the ECHL.
Goaltender Keith Petruzzelli has been loaned to Reading.

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 last Friday was the second of the season and the team’s first since Opening Night on October 12 against Hartford.

– 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
– Garrett Wilson, 396 pro points
– Louie Belpedio, 395 pro games

SUPER SPRINGY – 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.

Scoring Leaders
Phantoms
Samu Tuomaala 8-18-26
Jacob Gaucher 14-11-25
Olle Lycksell 9-15-24
x – Rodrigo Abols 9-10-19
x – Anthony Richard 8-11-19
Alexis Gendron 11-7-18

Springfield
Matthew Peca 13-13-26
Dalibor Dvorsky 12-14-26
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki 7-17-24
Matt Luff 9-13-22
Marcus Sylvegard 10-11-21

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 17.8%, 16th / PK 82.6%, 17th
Springfield – PP 17.3%, 19th / PK 76.2%, 30th

SEASON SERIES
Nov. 2 – Lehigh Valley 5 at Springfield 2
Nov. 15 – Lehigh Valley 3 at Springfield 4
Jan. 24 – Springfield at Lehigh Valley
Apr. 5 – Springfield at Lehigh Valley 

COMING UP –  The Phantoms are back for a Saturday clash against the Bridgeport Islanders on meLVin Youth Jersey Night. Then Lehigh Valley will wrap up the busy weekend with a road matinee on Sunday at the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 3:05.

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 29 (7:00) – Phantoms at Bridgeport Islanders

Monday, February 2 – Tuesday, February 3 – All-Star Break. AHL All-Star Classic at Coachella Valley

 

 

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