PREVIEW: Phantoms at Checkers, Game #57

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (28-21-7) vs. Charlotte Checkers (30-16-6)
Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
Saturday, March 28, 2025 (4:00 p.m.) – Game #57

TODAY – The Phantoms travel to sunny Charlotte, North Carolina for a pair of weekend matinees against the Charlotte Checkers, AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. This weekend is also an important series in the Atlantic Division standings with the fifth-place Phantoms chasing after fourth-place Charlotte and trailing by only three points entering today’s game.

Lehigh Valley (28-21-7) is 1-1-0 against Charlotte this season after the two teams split a pair of games in Allentown in December. This is the only Charlotte trip of the season for the Phantoms.

It’s a bit of a new-look lineup for the Phantoms after a handful of transactions amidst the NHL trade deadline.

There are 16 games remaining in the regular season and Lehigh Valley enters today with a Magic Number of 21 points to clinch a spot in the Top 6 in the Atlantic Division for a third consecutive berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Charlotte (30-16-6) has also had some roster movement during the Trade Deadline week.

LAST TIME – The Phantoms ran out of gas in the weekend finale as they fell at rival Hershey 4-0 on Sunday to take their fourth shutout against this season. Hunter Shepard had a 21-save performance for the Bears. Dalton Smith scored his first for Hershey. He was briefly a Phantom with 11 games played in the 2015-16 season and is the son of former Philadelphia Flyer Derrick Smith. First-rounders Ivan Miroshnichenko (16th) and Hendrix Lapierre (4th) also scored goals against Keith Petruzzelli who made a number of strong saves in holding off the Bears as best he could.

MEDIA MATERIALS – Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games at the following link: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media-materials/

 

TRANSACTIONS –
Mar 6 Matt Miller – Add – Recalled from Reading
Mar 7 Keith Petruzzelli – Del – Loaned to Reading
Mar 7 Aleksei Kolosov – Add – Returned by PHI to Phantoms
Mar 7 Olle Lycksell – Del – Recalled to Flyers
Mar 7 Emil Andrae – Del – Recalled to Flyers
Mar 7 Rodrigo Abols – Del – Recalled to Flyers
Mar 7 Nikita Grebenkin – Add – Trade with Toronto, Loaned by PHI
Mar 7 Givani Smith – Add – Trade with Colorado, Loaned by PHI
Mar 8 Sam Sedley – Add – Recalled from Reading
Mar 8 Matt Brown – Add – Recalled from Reading

WELCOME! – The Phantoms have received forwards Nikita Grebenkin and Giani Smith via trades on Friday by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Grebenkin, 21, arrives from the Toronto Marlies in the Scott Laughton trade. The 6-2 fifth-rounder in 2022 has played most of his season with the Toronto Marlies where he has scored 9-21-30 in 39 games while also seeing action in seven NHL games with the Maple Leafs.
Smith, 27, arrives from Colorado in the Erik Johnson trade and has seen limited action this season with seven NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche and six AHL games with the Colorado Eagles. He has played 168 NHL games in parts of six seasons with Detroit, Florida, San Jose, and Colorado scoring 9-13-22. Smith has played 157 career games in the AHL where he has registered 26-27-53 including stints with Grand Rapids, Charlotte and the Colorado Eagles.

HEADING BACK UP – The Flyers have recalled three deserving players from the Phantoms summoning defenseman Emil Andrae as well as forwards Rodrigo Abols and Olle Lycksell. Additionally, the Flyers have loaned goaltender Aleksei Kolosov to the Phantoms. Andrae, 22, has played in 25 games with the Phantoms this season scoring 3-13-16. The second-year pro has also played in 24 games with the Flyers this season scoring 1-5-6. Ābols played in nine NHL games in January and February making his NHL debut and scoring his first NHL goal at 29 years old. The Lativa product has scored 12-15-27 with the Phantoms in 44 games. Lycksell, 25, leads the Phantoms in scoring with 17-24-41 in just 40 games played. He also represented the Phantoms at the AHL All-Star Classic. The third-year pro has also played in six games with Philadelphia this season recording zero points.

ROAD WARRIORS – The Phantoms are 9-4-1 on the road since January 1 after beginning the season with a far less stellar 4-8-3 mark in away games from October through December. Lehigh Valley had a five-game point streak (4-0-1) on the road before falling in the most recent two away games at Milwaukee and at Hershey.

PHANTASTIC – Cal Petersen is tied for most assists by a goaltender with Spencer Martin of Chicago with four. Petersen has tied Alex Lyon (2016-17) for the Lehigh Valley record for most assists in a season by a goalie.

Phantoms Record Book
Most Assists by Goalie:
Cal Petersen – 4 (2024-25)
Alex Lyon – 4 (2016-17)
Franchise record:
Scott Munroe – 6 (2008-09)

– The Phantoms scored three or more goals in nine consecutive games before they were shut out on Sunday. Lehigh Valley also has three or more goals 11 of the last 13 games scoring 51 goals over the stretch since January 29 and averaging 3.9 goals per game. The Phantoms have scored five goals in four of the last seven games.

– The Phantoms are 15-8-2 since January 1. Lehigh Valley is 17-1-1 when scoring four or more goals in a game. The Phantoms are 18-0-2 when holding their opponents to two goals or fewer.

– The Phantoms are 19-6-4 when scoring the first goal and are 14-3-1 when leading at the first intermission.

– The Phantoms have played 56 games which is the most in the AHL. With just 16 games remaining in the season, Lehigh Valley enjoys a more spread out and gradual schedule of games the rest of the way.

IMPENDING MILESTONES
– Garrett Wilson, 399 pro points
– Garrett Wilson, 274 games with Lehigh Valley (Record: Greg Carey, 277 games)

CHECKING ON THE CHECKERS –  The Phantoms travel to Charlotte for the first time this season with hopes of catching the Checkers in the standings. Lehigh Valley trails Charlotte by just three point for a spot in the top half of the division but the Checkers also have four games-in-hand. 29-year-old goaltender Ken Appleby (12-7-1, 2.00, .907) has had an impressive career resurgence two years removed from a multi-year stretch with Worcester of the ECHL. Appleby now leads the AHL with five shutouts while also leading the league in GAA. The Checkers are fourth in the AHL in team defense allowing just 2.63 goals per game. The Checkers just added experience NHL goaltender Kappo Kahkonen in a trade with Winnipeg while rookie prospect Cooper Black (8-3-1, 1.67, .922) has ben especially impressive in between time on the shelf due to injury.

The Phantoms and Checkers previously split a two-game series in Allentown with Lehigh Valley taking the opener 2-1 on December 28 on a 29-save gem for Parker Gahagen and a winning shorthanded goal with just 3:05 left for Brendan Furry. The Checkers got revenge in the New Year’s Eve rematch 6-3.

30-year-old veteran defenseman Trevor Carrick (9-30-39) is second on the Checkers overall and fourth in the AHL in scoring among defensemen. Former San Jose prospect, 26-year-old John Leonard (23-18-41) leads the Checkers and is tied for second in the AHL with Brendan Furry of the Phantoms with four shorthanded goals. That includes back-to-back shorthanded goals on the same Phantoms’ power play on December 31 at PPL Center. 22-year-old Justin Sourdif (14-12-26) is always a thorn in the side of the Phantoms and is coming off scoring his first NHL goal last month and a three-point performance with two goals against Springfield on Wednesday.

Scoring Leaders
Phantoms
x – Olle Lycksell 17-24-41
Jacob Gaucher 19-16-35
Samu Tuomaala 11-21-32
Anthony Richard 14-16-30
x – Rodrigo Abols 12-15-27
Alexis Gendron 16-7-23
Zayde Wisdom 8-15-23

Charlotte
John Leonard 23-18-41
Trevor Carrick 9-30-39
Rasmus Asplund 17-17-34
Kyle Criscuolo 17-15-32
Justin Sourdif 14-12-26

Special Teams:
Lehigh Valley – PP 18.2%, 19th / PK 80.6%, 21st
Charlotte – PP 21.5%, 5th / PK 86.9%, 1st

COMING UP –  Lehigh Valley will rematch at Charlotte on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Phantoms return to PPL Center for a five-game homestand, their longest of the season, beginning with a two-game series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, March 14 and Sunday, March 16.

UPCOMING

Sunday, March 2 (5:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears

Saturday, March 8 (4:00) – Phantoms at Charlotte Checkers

Sunday, March 9 (1:00) – Phantoms at Charlotte Checkers

Friday, March 14 (7:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Sunday, March 16 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – Kids Takeover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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