Phantoms

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms now have a magic number of six to clinch a playoff spot. However, they played some of their worst hockey of the season in one of their biggest weekends of the season.

Against all odds, the Phantoms stared a 4-0 deficit in the face and rallied back, scoring four unanswered goals in the final 21 minutes of regulation before sealing a 5-4 win in overtime over the St. John’s IceCaps on Tuesday night.

They started off strong, but in the end, had to hold off another furious rally. The Phantoms returned the favor on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night in the second half of a home-and-home, defeating the Penguins, 3-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms fell to the Syracuse Crunch, 5-4, in overtime on Wednesday night, but ultimately gained a huge point in the standings on the Wilkes-Barre​/Scranton Penguins to inch closer to first place in the Atlantic.

The Phantoms playoff push is alive and well with a successful weekend, winning two of three games. They could also receive some help down the stretch from two budding Flyers prospects.

The Providence Bruins broke the game open in the second with three goals and added three more in the third for a 7-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Colin McDonald’s goal with 1:56 remaining broke a tie and gave the Phantoms the win on Saturday afternoon in Hartford with a 3-1 victory over the Wolf Pack.

Chris Conner scored with 0.5 seconds left in the second period, giving the Phantoms a 3-2 lead going to the third. Two early goals paced the Phantoms in the final period, before the Springfield Thunderbirds rallied back for two goals and forced the Phantoms to hold on for a 5-4 win on Friday night.

With the Flyers taking things outside on Saturday night, another announcement involving the Flyers AHL affiliate came on Saturday evening as well. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will face the Hershey Bears in the 2018 AHL Outdoor Classic on Jan. 20, 2018 to be held at Hersheypark Stadium.