The Lehigh Valley Phantoms were slightly below average record-wise during November but did finish the month out strong.
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and with a new month underway, now seems like the perfect time to dive in how they performed throughout November. While the Philadelphia Flyers AHL-affiliate didn’t find the same success as their NHL counterpart, the Phantoms still had a couple of positive moments of their own in what was a somewhat substandard 30-day period.
Following a lackluster October where they walked away with just three wins out of seven games, Lehigh Valley finished November with a 7-6-2 record, earning 16 of a possible 30 points during that span. Among the highlights were four overtime victories over the Hersey Bears, Charlotte Checkers, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Harford Wolfpack with the latter two igniting a two-game winning streak to end the month. The Phantoms now sit fifth in the Atlantic Division with 25 points in 22 games, which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference and tied for 14th in the league overall.
Leading the way for them offensively have been veteran forwards Greg Carey and Cal O’Reilly, who have posted 15 points in 20 and 21 games each. They both played large roles in the Phantoms’ last game, too, as O’Reilly assisted on both Carey’s game-tying and Andy Welinski‘s game-winning goals in the overtime victory over the Wolfpack.
Rounding out the list of scoring leaders are Mikhail Vorobyev (14 Points, 5 Goals, 9 Assists, 19 Games), Welinski (12 Points, 4 Goals, 8 Assists, 14 Games), and Tyler Wotherspoon (10 Points, 1 Goal, 9 Assists, 19 Games), who have all helped Lehigh Valley have one of the league’s best offenses at home, ranking sixth with 41 Goals-For in 13 games at the PPL Center. Goaltender Alex Lyon has also been tremendous between the pipes, slashing a 2.38 Goals-Against Average with a .919 save percentage in 12 games.
As far as prospects go, here’s how some of them have faired early on this season:
- F Nicolas Aube-Kubel: 22 Games, 4 Goals, 3 Assists, 7 Points
- D Mark Friedman: 18 G, 1 G, 6 A, 7 P
- F Maksim Sushko: 19 G, 3 G, 3 A, 6 P
- F German Rubtsov: 14 G, 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
- F David Kase: 18 G, 3 G, 2 A, 5 P
- F Issac Ratcliffe: 15 G, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
- F Pascal Laberge: 5 G, 3 G, 1 A, 4 P
- F Carsen Twarynski: 7 G, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
- F Matthew Strome: 12 G, 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
- F Connor Bunnaman: 5 G, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P
It’s worth noting that Rubtsov, Ratcliffe, and Bunnaman have all missed time this month with injury but Ratcliffe and Rubtsov have returned to the lineup recently while Rubtsov remains out of action.
The Phantoms will clash with the Springfield Thunderbirds in their next contest on Wednesday, who currently have a one-point lead on Lehigh Valley for fourth in the division.