Additional Positive Cases Extends Phantoms' Hiatus
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms haven't played a game since April 5, and haven't been on the ice since last Friday, April 9 due to the American Hockey League's (AHL) COVID-19 protocols affecting the Philadelphia Flyers' top minor league affiliate.
We, at Inside AHL Hockey, reported Saturday (and confirmed through multiple sources) that the Phantoms had a confirmed positive case, which caused the team's pair of home contests last weekend to be postponed. The hope, then, was that it was an isolated case that hadn't spread.
On Monday, the AHL postponed the Phantoms' scheduled road game in Hershey against the rival Bears - again citing the league's COVID protocols.
Fast forward to Wednesday, and the league has also moved to postpone Lehigh Valley's games this upcoming weekend - Friday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Sunday at home against Hershey.
According to one source close to the situation, subsequent testing has revealed more positive cases - the reason why things have really been put on hold.
Another AHL source suggested to Inside AHL Hockey that the Phantoms' pause might extend past this weekend's games, similar to what happened with the Utica Comets last month when they had several games postponed due to the league's COVID-19 protocols. The Comets just returned to game action last weekend, one day short of a full month since their last game on March 9.
