After a rough 5-1 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night, Lehigh Valley will look to bounce back on home ice in front of Flyers legend, and the first head coach in Phantoms history, Bill Barber.
- Barber will be in attendance tonight as a part of the Phantoms first Legends Night of the year. The Hall of Famer will be signing autographs for fans before the 7:05 puck drop between the Phantoms and Tigers.
- Lehigh Valley and Bridgeport Sound both sit in fourth place in the East and Northeast, respectively.
- Phantoms (9-9-2) hold an obvious home-ice advantage with a 6-2-2 record at home, and a problematic 3-7-0 road record. The Phantoms have been outscored 22-34 on the road this season. Two of the teams three road wins came in the first two-weeks of the season.
- After allowing four early goals last night, Rob Zepp was replaced by Anthony Stolarz mid-way though the second period. Friday was Zepp’s first start since missing three games with a lower body injury he sustained during pregame warm-ups on Nov. 26.
- In order to secure a win tonight, the Phantoms must contain their penalty minutes. In Wilkes-Barre last night Lehigh Valley had 52 penalty minutes, including three game misconducts and one five-minute major. While the Penguins did not convert any of their seven power play opportunities, the Phantoms were obviously taking penalties out of frustration in the 5-1 loss.
- Bridgeport (11-8-3) is also hungry for a win, with just one victory in its last eight games, and lost 6-3 to the Bears on Friday. Earlier this season the Tigers went on a 7-1 streak, holding a 10-3-0-1 record.
- Brett Hextall scored the only goal for the Phantoms, Friday to avoid being shutout for the third time this season.
- Last night’s loss ended Brandon Manning’s eight-game point streak.
- Tonight the Phantoms host their first Teddy Bear toss in Lehigh Valley, and encourage fans to bring a Teddy to throw on the ice after the Phantoms first goal of the game. The bears will then be collected and donated to the Valley Youth House. /
