Friday, April 1, 2016

Game 69 Preview: Lehigh Valley at St. John's

The Phantoms finish their regular season series with St. John's this weekend in Newfoundland, Canada. Photo: Nina Weiss/The Home News
I'll have full coverage of tonight's Phantoms game against the St. John's IceCaps. The puck drops at a special time of 6:00 p.m. ET, but make sure you're following me on Twitter -> @TonyAndrock and now on Facebook (be sure to like the Facebook page!) for all the latest updates and information this evening. Stay tuned here online after the game for a recap of the action.

You can help keep me on the road covering the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by making a donation via GoFundMe or PayPal.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (29-32-4-3) are in Newfoundland, Canada this weekend for a pair of games at the Mile One Centre against the St. John's IceCaps (29-30-8-3). 


Both games, including tonight's matchup, begin at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. On the league's schedule, it says 7:30 NDT but that is Newfoundland time which is 90 minutes ahead of those in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia area on the east coast of the United States.

While both teams are all but out of playoff contention, it's a chance for some younger players to get their feet wet at the AHL level. The Phantoms will have two players making their debut tonight in defenseman Reece Willcox and forward Oskar Lindblom.

For live on-the-scene coverage tonight, Charles Dart covers the IceCaps and will be in St. John's with updates. I'll be following via AHL Live with full coverage from Highland Park Hockey HQ. Full recap of the action here online after the game.

All of the regular news, notes, stats and more to get you ready for tonight's game in a full preview after the jump.

By The Numbers

LV: 68 games played, 29-32-4-3 = 65 points
7th Place - Atlantic Division
Last 10 Games: 2-6-2-0
Streak: 2-0-0

STJ: 70 games played, 29-30-8-3 = 69 points
6th Place - North Division
Last 10 Games: 3-7-0-0
Streak: 0-2-0

Special Teams

Power Play

LV: 16.8% - 15th in AHL
STJ 17.7% - 10th in AHL

Penalty Kill


LV: 82.4% - 18th in AHL
STJ: 85.3% - 7th in AHL

Leading Scorers (Active)

LV: Chris Conner (51GP, 16G-32A), Taylor Leier (63GP, 18G-26A), Petr Straka (58GP, 19G-18A), Danick Martel (60GP, 21G-13A)

STJ: Bud Holloway (64GP, 19G-38A), Charles Hudon (63GP, 26G-24A), Gabriel Dumont (65GP, 19G-27A), Morgan Ellis (67GP, 14G-23A)

Starting Goaltenders

LV: Martin Ouellette (2-3-0, 3.81 GAA, .896 SV%, 0 SO)
STJ: Zachary Fucale (15-17-4, 3.14 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO)

Season Series

Tonight is the third of four regular season meetings between the Phantoms and IceCaps. Back in late October, the two teams split a pair of games at the PPL Center. Lehigh Valley was dominant in the first of the two-game set, cruising to a 5-1 victory. Two nights later, the IceCaps were the better team - prevailing with the two points in a 3-2 decision over the Phantoms.

Head to Head Scoring Leaders

LV: Taylor Leier (2GP, 1G-2A), Chris Conner (2GP, 2G-0A), Tim Brent (2GP, 0G-2A)

STJ: Bud Holloway (2GP, 0G-3A), Mark Barberio (2GP, 0G-2A), Charles Hudon (2GP, 1G-0A)

Goalies Head to Head Stats


LV: Martin Ouellette - No Stats
       Connor Knapp - No Stats

STJ: Eddie Pasquale - No Stats
        Zachary Fucale - (1GP, 1-0-0, 2.00 GAA, ,920 SV%, 0 SO)

Season Series Schedule

Wednesday 10/28, St. John's - 1 at Lehigh Valley - 5
Friday 10/30, St. John's - 3 at Lehigh Valley - 2
Friday 4/1, Lehigh Valley at St. John's - 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday 4/2, Lehigh Valley at St. John's - 6:00 p.m. ET


Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Roster Notes

Martin Ouellette is expected to get the start in net tonight for Lehigh Valley, coming off back-to-back wins last weekend. Connor Knapp will be the team's backup goaltender.

Jason LaBarbera is out for the season, per Flyers' GM Ron Hextall. Ouellette and Knapp will be the Phantoms' duo in net the remainder of the season.

The Phantoms reassigned defenseman Max Lamarche to Reading, leaving Lehigh Valley with seven defensemen on the roster.

Two players will be making their AHL debuts tonight. Defenseman Reece Willcox will get his first taste of pro hockey on the back end, while promising forward Oskar Lindblom will slot in on the fourth line.

Scratches: Jason LaBarbera (out for season), Christian Marti (healthy), Phil DeSimone (healthy), Michael Parks (out for season), Dalton Smith (healthy), Jay Rosehill (healthy) and Logan Pyett (out indefinitely)

Lines

Petr Straka - Tim Brent (A) - Danick Martel
Taylor Leier - Cole Bardreau - Colin McDonald (C)
Aaron Palushaj - Pavel Padakin - Chris Conner
Tyrell Goulbourne - Steven Swavely - Oskar Lindblom

Sam Morin - Mark Alt
Davis Drewiske - Reece Willcox
Adam Comrie - Robert Hagg

Martin Ouellette - Connor Knapp


Recent Transactions

3/26: ADD - F Oskar Lindblom signed to ATO
3/21: ADD - G Connor Knapp recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL)
3/21: DEL - F Joe Rehkamp released from PTO
3/21: ADD - RW Pavel Padakin recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL)
3/21: ADD - D Reece Willcox signed to ATO
3/20: ADD - G Martin Ouellette recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL)
3/20: DEL - G Anthony Stolarz recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)


You can help keep me on the road covering the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by making a donation via GoFundMe or PayPal.


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