“Phantoms Focus” is a weekly column dedicated to discussing Lehigh Valley Phantoms games of the past week, focussing on the players with stand-out performances.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms took to the road last week, playing three games away from the PPL Center. On Wednesday, Lehigh Valley completely demolished the Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 7-2. The Phantoms high-scoring offense continued to roll on Saturday, defeating the Binghamton Devils 5-2. Unfortunately, the men of Lehigh Valley could not win out the week, losing to the Hershey Bears on Sunday 3-1 in a low scoring affair.
Though the youngsters will always get the lion’s share of the attention, it was the Phantoms veterans lighting up the stat sheet this week.
Phil Varone
The eight-year veteran, Phil Varone, was in a sharing state of mind last week. He recorded five assists in the three contests, three of them coming on Saturday against Binghamton. Dishing out helpers has always been a strength for Varone registering 47 last season. Varone currently leads all Phantoms in both assists and points this year.
Greg Carey: "Phil you take it."
Phil Varone: "YO, Phil, take this backhand dish!"
Philippe Myers: "Bro I already have a goal tonight, Nic deal with this."
Nic Aube-Kubel: "K, NBD."
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) October 28, 2018
Chris Conner
Chris Conner, 34-years-old, proved he can still light the lamp in his “old” age. The seasoned AHLer recorded three goals this week, two of them coming in Wednesday’s beatdown against Hartford. Unfortunately, he could not find the back of the net on Sunday, the game the Phantoms need scoring the most. Conner has four goals so far this season, tied for second-most on the Phantoms.
Chris Conner nets this beauty in his 200th game as a member of the #LVPhantoms, the first player to ever accomplish that feat. pic.twitter.com/FqR8FXBYtN
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) October 28, 2018
Tyrell Goulbourne & Nicolas Aube-Kubel
It was a big weekend for both Goulbourne and Aube-Kubel as they received news that they were being called up by the Flyers for some NHL action. This will be Goulbourne’s second opportunity with the Flyers, playing nine games for Philadelphia last season. Aube-Kubel, on the other hand, is receiving his first NHL opportunity. He played well for the Phantoms, recording seven points in eight games.
OFFICIAL: #Flyers recall Aube-Kubel, Goulbourne; loan Vorobyev to @LVPhantoms.https://t.co/FZUwhAHuyq
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 28, 2018
Carter Hart
Carter Hart recorded his second win of the season Saturday night against Binghamton. He stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced. The season is still young and Hart continues to develop and progress. Putting together a solid effort and obtaining the victory Saturday will help Hart forget some of those early bumps in the road.
?Amazing Saves
∟ ?Carter Hart
∟ ▶️Windmill.GIF pic.twitter.com/7Rd3wzuCfs— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) October 28, 2018
Coming up Next
The Phantoms are away from game action until this Friday. They will close out their long road trip in Binghamton against the Devils. Lehigh Valley will return home Saturday to play the Devils again. The start time for both contests is 7:05 pm ET.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
