Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank
Bucket Hats and meLVin’s Birthday!
February 11, 2025
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have a busy weekend ahead over the Valentine’s Day holiday including a pair of rivalry matchups with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Lehigh Valley (22-18-6) is in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 26 games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season. The top six teams qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs. The team’s roster has been bolstered over the NHL Four Nations break with the recent return of Emil Andrae, Rodrigo Abols, Jacob Gaucher and Anthony Richard.
Friday is the lone away game of the weekend with our final trek to northeast Pennsylvania as the Phantoms and Penguins rekindle the romance on Valentine’s Day.
The Phantoms are at home on Saturday against the Syracuse Crunch on Bucket Hat Night presented by Capital Blue also featuring live music from “Jimmy and the Parrots” on Saturday Night Hockey Live.
Sunday at 3:05 p.m. is a rematch against the Penguins at PPL Center on meLVin’s birthday!
LAST WEEK
February 7 – Phantoms 3 – Cleveland Monsters 2 (SO)
February 8 – Hartford Wolf Pack 4 – Phantoms 2
THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, February 13 (7:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Saturday, February 14 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms
Sunday, February 15 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms
WEEKLY RECAP
Friday, February 7, 2025
Phantoms 3 – Cleveland Monsters 2 (SO)
J.R. Avon and Samu Tuomaala scored in the shootout while Parker Gahagen made 24 saves in his sixth win in a row as the Phantoms downed the visiting Cleveland Monsters 3-2 in the return from the AHL All-Star Break. Olle Lycksell (13th) and Massimo Rizzo (5th) scored for the Phantoms in the first period to take a 2-0 lead but a pair of goals for Roman Ahcan equalized things at 2-2 forcing Lehigh Valley’s league-leading 17th overtime game of the season.
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Hartford Wolf Pack 4 – Phantoms 2
Alexis Gendron (13th) and Oscar Eklind (5th) scored for early leads for Lehigh Valley but Anton Blidh (14th, 15th) converted a pair including an empty-net dagger at the end while Brett Berard (9th) scored on a 2-on-1 at the end of the second period to give the Pack a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games at the following link: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/
TRANSACTIONS –
Feb 6 JoJo Cassaro – Add – Recalled from Reading
Feb 7 Jacob Gaucher – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 8 Jacob Gaucher – Del – Recalled to Flyers
Feb 8 Anthony Richard – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Jacob Gaucher – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Emil Andrae – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 9 Rodrigo Abols – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Feb 10 JoJo Cassaro – Del – Loaned to Reading
REINFORCEMENTS –
Defenseman Emil Andrae and forwards Rodrigo Ābols, Jacob Gaucher and Anthony Richard have all recently returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as the Philadelphia Flyers have gone on a two-week Four Nations Tournament break. Richard returned in time for Saturday’s game which was his 500th in the AHL.
Andrae, 22, has played in 15 games with the Phantoms this season scoring 2-7-9 while also playing in 24 NHL games with Philadelphia scoring 1-5-6.
Ābols, 29, was recalled to Philadelphia on January 20 and played in nine games with the Flyers scoring his first career NHL goal last Sunday, February 2 at Colorado. The Lativa product who made his NHL debut had initially decided to return to North America after playing the last four seasons in Sweden and has thrived in his opportunity to see if he was indeed good enough to play in the NHL. Abols has scored 9-10-19 with the Phantoms in 34 games.
Gaucher, 23, made his NHL debut with the Flyers at Colorado on Sunday, February 2 and played in four total games with Philadelphia. He recently returned to the Phantoms for just one game vs. Cleveland on Friday before returning to the Flyers for Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh. Gaucher’s busy week saw him play five games in seven days between the Flyers and Phantoms combined. Gaucher leads the Phantoms with 14 goals.
Richard, 28, has played in 15 games with the Flyers scoring 2-4-6 setting a new personal high for most NHL games in a single season eclipsing his previous mark of 13 games wth Montreal in 2022-23. With the Phantoms this season, he has scored 8-11-19 in 19 games played while also missing a month due to injury. Richard just playing his 500th career AHL game in a career that has included stints with Lehigh Valley, Providence, Laval, Syracuse, Chicago and Milwaukee scoring 152 career goals with 167 assists for 319 points. He has also played in 39 career NHL games scoring 6-8-14.
PHANTASTIC –
– Goaltender Parker Gahagen has a personal six-game win streak since December 28 going an incredible 6-0-0, 1.29, .949 during that stretch. Gahagen’s microscopic 1.29 GAA is third in the AHL in that stretch for all goalies with three or more games played.
– Olle Lycksell has goals in five of his last seven games with eight total goals over the extended period which dates back to December 18. Lycksell is averaging almost a point-per-game with Lehigh Valley having scored 13-15-28 in 30 games this season. He has also played in six NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.
– Friday was Louie Belpedio’s 400th career pro game. The 28-year-old from Skokie, Ill. is in his third season as an alternate captain with the Phantoms. The righty shooting defenseman out of Miami (Ohio) University has played in 385 AHL games with Iowa, Laval and Lehigh Valley as well as 16 NHL games with Philadelphia and Minnesota. Tonight is also his 150th game with the Phantoms where he has scored 16 goals including four overtime winners.
– The Phantoms lead the AHL with 16 overtime games and are also tied for the tops with seven OT wins (along with Laval). Olle Lycksell leads the AHL with three overtime winners. Lehigh Valley is 7-5 in overtimes and 3-1 in shootouts.
Lehigh Valley is also second in the AHL with 28 one-goal decisions (Hershey has 29) and boasts a record of 16-6-6 in the squeakers including 10-1-3 at home.
IMPENDING MILESTONES
– Garrett Wilson, 397 pro points
– Garrett Wilson, 264 games with Lehigh Valley (Record: Greg Carey, 277 games)
UPCOMING
Friday, February 14, 2025 (7:05)
Mohegan Arena, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-11-4) has won three straight to move into a tie for the best points percentage in the division with Hershey. The Penguins rallied from a 4-1 deficit to post a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over Cleveland on Saturday. Two weeks ago, the Baby Pens trounced Hershey 9-0 with a pair of hat tricks by Vasily Ponomorev and Ville Koivunen who had four goals in the rout. Reinforcements for the Baby Pens have arrived while veteran goaltender Tristan Jarry has been recalled. Joel Blomqvist is back as are Ponomorev and Emil Bemstrom (19-22-41) who is fifth in the AHL in scoring. The Phantoms have zero wins in five tries at Wilkes-Barre entering the last northeast Pennsylvania visit of the season. Lehigh Valley is 2-5-1 against the Penguins overall this year.
Saturday, February 15, 2025 (7:05)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Hartford Wolf Pack at Phantoms
Syracuse (19-16-10) is coming off a 5-0 blowout win at Hershey last Saturday to get back in the W column. The Crunch are hanging onto fifth place and the final playoff spot in the North Division. Lehigh Valley won at Syracuse on Brendan Furry’s overtime winner on January 4 after Alexis Gendron and Helge Grans staked the Phantoms to an early 2-0 lead in the first period on the road. Syracuse equalized against Parker Gahagen with a 6-on-5 goal by Gabe Fortier with just 17 seconds left. Goaltender Brandon Halverson (12-7-7, 2.20, .918) has been an inspirational comeback story. He currently rates fourth in the AHL in goals-against average after spending more time in the ECHL than the AHL in recent seasons. Halverson’s impressive campaign has led to an NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning which he signed last week. Former Phantom Derrick Pouliot (6-30-36) is the top defenseman scorer in the AHL and joined Halverson at the AHL All-Star Classic. Syracuse head coach Joel Bouchard has been very good friends with Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere since they were five years old.
Sunday, February 16, 2025 (3:05)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms
The Penguins and Phantoms wrap up the weekend with a rematch of their Friday night clash in Wilkes. The Phantoms are 2-1-0 against the Penguins at PPL Center including a November 13 overtime win on Olle Lycksell’s strike in the Pens’ most recent Allentown visitation. Alexis Gendron had two goals in that game and has scored four of his 13 goals this season against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Samu Tuomaala has recorded five assists against the Penguins while Oscar Eklind has scored three of his five goals this season against Wilkes. Former Columbus Blue Jacket Emil Bemstrom has lit it up against the Orange and Black with 6-5-11 in the season series. Rookie talent Tristan Broz has scored five of his 11 goals against the Phantoms including an overtime winner in Wilkes-Barre on November 6. Boris Katchouk has scored 5-4-9 in the season series. He’s a former NHL’er of 176 career games with Chicago, Ottawa and Tampa Bay. The Phantoms are 2-5-1 against the Penguins. This is Game 10 out of 12 in the season series.
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Samu Tuomaala 10-20-30
Olle Lycksell 13-15-28
Jacob Gaucher 14-14-28
Alexis Gendron 13-7-20
Rodrigo Abols 9-10-19
Anthony Richard 8-11-19
Zayde Wisdom 6-11-17
UPCOMING
Friday, February 14 (7:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Saturday, February 15 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms – Bucket Hats from Capital Blue. Margaritaville Night. Live Music “Jimmy and the Parrots”
Sunday, February 16 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – meLVin’s Birthday with his mascot friends!
Wednesday, February 19 (8:00) – Phantoms at Grand Rapids Griffins
Friday, February 21 (8:00) – Phantoms at Grand Rapids Griffins
Saturday, February 22 (8:00) – Phantoms at Rockford IceHogs
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