Game 10 Preview: Hartford at Lehigh Valley
Editor's Note: *I'll have full coverage of tonight's Phantoms game against the Hartford WolfPack live from the PPL Center in downtown Allentown, Pa.
- The puck drops at 705 p.m. ET, but make sure you're following along on Twitter -> @TonyAndrock for live in-game updates
- Stay tuned in at Phantoms Central after the game for a full recap of the action.
- Don't forget to subscribe to Inside AHL Hockey's YouTube channel for post-game player interviews.
ALLENTOWN - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-1-1) look to keep on their winning ways Saturday night against Atlantic Division opponent Hartford WolfPack (3-4-1), American Hockey League affiliate (AHL) of the New York Rangers.
BY THE NUMBERS
LV: 9 games played, 7-1-0-1 = 15 points 2nd Place Atlantic Division Streak: 6-0-0-0 Last Ten Games: 7-1-0-1
HFD: 8 games played, 3-4-0-1 = 7 points 5th Place Atlantic Division Streak: 0-3-0-1 Last Ten Games: 3-4-0-1
Special Teams
Power Play
LV: 4-for-46 = 8.7% (27th) HFD: 7-for-31= 15.0% (7th)
Penalty Kill
LV: 33-for-42 = 78.6% (28th) HFD: 35-for-40 = 88.6% (6th)
LEADING SCORERS
LV: Danick Martel (9GP, 9G-3A), Mike Vecchione (9GP, 2G-7A), Phil Varone (9GP, 2G-5A) and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (9GP, 3G-3A)
HFD: Cole Schneider (8GP, 3G-3A), Joe Whitney (8GP, 2G-4A), Scott Kosmachuk (8GP, 1G-5A) and Adam Tambellini (8GP, 4G-1A)
STARTING GOALTENDERS
LV: Alex Lyon (5-1-1, 2.50 GAA, .917 SV%, 0 SO) HFD: Chris Nell (3-2-0, 2.97 GAA, .901 SV%, 0 SO)
SEASON SERIES
Tonight marks the second of six meetings between the Phantoms and WolfPack this season. Hartford defeated Lehigh Valley in a shootout in the opening weekend of the season. Lehigh Valley won the season series last year, going 4-3-1 against Hartford in 2016-17.
Season Series Schedule
Sunday, October 8th: Lehigh Valley - 1 at Hartford - 2 (SO)Saturday, October 28th: Hartford at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Wednesday, December 20th: Hartford at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, February 17th: Hartford at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, March 16th: Lehigh Valley at Hartford - 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday, April 7th: Lehigh Valley at Hartford - 7:00 p.m. ET
LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS
Roster Notes
Alex Lyon is expected to draw back in net for the Phantoms Saturday evening. Dustin Tokarski made his second start of the season for Lehigh Valley Friday night in Springfield, and almost quietly had a strong night in net (26 saves - 28 shots) to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Phil Myers returned to the Phantoms' lineup on defense after missing the previous two games with a lower body injury that the team was holding him out as a precaution. Max Lamarche was the healthy scratch on defense. If the team continues its cautious approach with Myers, it's not unlikely to see Max Lamarche in on defense. Lamarche is well-liked by the coaching staff to say the least. More on that another day.
Radel Fazleev, who sat out Wednesday's game as a healthy scratch, returned to the lineup up front on the fourth line. Tyrell Goulbourne was a healthy scratch to make room for Fazleev in the lineup. Perhaps Goulbourne gets back in Saturday night?
T.J. Brennan remains out and is expected to miss another 2-3 weeks with his undisclosed injury suffered October 14th at home against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Expected Lines
Greg Carey - Phil Varone - Cole Bardreau Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Oskar Lindblom - Corban Knight (A) - Chris Conner (A) Radel Fazleev - Mikhail Vorobyev - Colin McDonald (C)
Will O'Neill - Mark Alt Mark Friedman - Reece Willcox Sam Morin - Phil Myers
Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski
Projected Scratches: Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery - out indefinitely), Tyrell Goulbourne (healthy), Max Lamarche (healthy) and T.J. Brennan (out 2-3 weeks as of 10/23)
