Lehigh Valley Phantoms

	Lehigh Valley Phantoms
City:	Allentown, Pennsylvania
League:	American Hockey League
Division:	North Division
Founded:	1996
Home Arena:	PPL Center
Colors:	Black, orange, electric blue, white
Owner(s):	The Brooks Group
General Manager:	Chuck Fletcher
Head Coach:	Ian Laperrière (2021-22
Media:	The Morning Call; WFMZ-TV channel 69
Affiliates:	Philadelphia Flyers (NHL); Reading Royals (ECHL)
Franchise history
1996–2009:	Philadelphia Phantoms
2009–2014:	Adirondack Phantoms
2014–present:	Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Championships
Division Championships:	1 (2017–18)

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a core city of the Lehigh Valley.^[1] The Phantoms franchise has been the top minor league affiliate for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers since the 1996–97 season, previously playing in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Phantoms until 2009, and in Glens Falls, New York, as the Adirondack Phantoms until 2014.

History

In March 2011, plans were announced for a new arena, the PPL Center, in the downtown area of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Demolition at the arena site began in January 2012.^[2] In February 2012, it was announced that the Adirondack Phantoms, a franchise that originated as the Philadelphia Phantoms, would relocate to the PPL Center in Allentown from Glens Falls, New York. The franchise originally intended to begin play in Allentown in 2013, but due to litigation over the construction of PPL Center, the team did not play until the 2014–15 AHL season. The purple color used since the team's inception was replaced by electric blue when the team relocated to the Lehigh Valley.^[1]

The arena has been consistently full. During the 2015–16 season, the PPL Center was filled at a 97.9% capacity on average, and had 24 sellouts in the 38 Phantoms home games, including the last 13. The Phantoms finished seventh in the AHL attendance rankings with an average of 8,244 fans, surpassed only by teams with larger venues.^[3]

Mascots

On August 13, 2014, the Phantoms introduced their new mascot, "meLVin".^[4] meLVin wears the number 55, which is LV in Roman numerals. The LV refers to "Lehigh Valley". He became the third mascot for the Phantoms' franchise, after "Phlex" (Philadelphia Phantoms) and "Dax" (Adirondack Phantoms).

Philadelphia Phantoms Season-by-season results

Regular season

Season	GP	W	L	T	OL	SL	Pts	GF	GA	Standing
1996–97	80	49	18	10	3	—	111	325	230	1st, Mid-Atlantic
1997–98	80	47	21	10	2	—	106	314	249	1st, Mid-Atlantic
1998–99	80	47	22	9	2	—	105	272	221	1st, Mid-Atlantic
1999–2000	80	44	31	3	2	—	93	281	239	3rd, Mid-Atlantic
2000–01	80	36	34	5	5	—	82	246	244	4th, Mid-Atlantic
2001–02	80	33	27	15	5	—	86	206	210	3rd, South
2002–03	80	33	33	6	8	—	80	198	212	4th, South
2003–04	80	46	25	7	2	—	101	216	168	1st, East
2004–05	80	48	25	—	3	4	103	235	185	2nd, East
2005–06	80	34	37	—	2	7	77	197	232	6th, East
2006–07	80	31	41	—	2	6	70	222	271	7th, East
2007–08	80	46	27	—	4	3	99	236	212	2nd, East
2008–09	80	43	30	—	2	5	93	234	232	4th, East

Playoffs

Season	Prelim	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
1996–97	—	W, 3–0, BALT	L, 3–4, HER	—	—
1997–98	—	W, 3–1, ROCH	W, 4–0, HER	W, 4–2, ALB	W, 4–2, SJNB
1998–99	—	W, 3–0, CIN	W, 4–3, KEN	L, 2–4, ROCH	—
1999–2000	—	L, 2–3, HER	—	—	—
2000–01	—	W, 3–1, ROCH	L, 2–4, WBS	—	—
2001–02	W, 2–0, ROCH	L, 0–3, SYR	—	—	—
2002–03	Out of playoffs.
2003–04	—	W, 4–2, NOR	L, 2–4, WBS	—	—
2004–05	—	W, 4–2, NOR	W, 4–1, WBS	W, 4–2, PROV	W, 4–0, CHI
2005–06	Out of playoffs.
2006–07	Out of playoffs.
2007–08	—	W, 4–3, ALB	L, 1–4, WBS	—	—
2008–09	—	L, 0–4, HER	—	—	—

Adirondack Phantoms Season-by-season results

Calder Cup Champions	Conference Champions	Division Champions	League Leader

Records as of April 20, 2014.^[5]