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Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Phantoms Sign Knapp (G) and Flemming (D)

August 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms News Release


The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have announced that Connor Knapp (G) and Brett Flemming (D) have been signed to AHL contracts for the 2014-15 season. Both players are joining the Phantoms organization for the first time.

Connor Knapp, 24 (5/1/1990), is a third-year pro out of Miami (Ohio) University. The York, N.Y. (near Rochester) native has spent the majority of his carer in the ECHL but also has experience in the NHL and AHL. Last year, the well-traveled netminder wore the sweaters of five different teams including Buffalo in the NHL, Rochester in the AHL, and Alaska, Florida and Greenville (S.C.) all of the ECHL.

Knapp played two games for the Buffalo Sabres making his NHL debut in a relief appearance on April 12, 2014 at the Boston Bruins. He then made his first NHL start the following day in the regular-season finale taking a 4-3 shootout loss against the New York Islanders. His appearance also helped set a record as he was the ninth goalie used by the injury-plagued Sabres in 2013-14, the most ever by one team in a single season in NHL history.

Knapp is a lanky goaltender who checks in at 6-5 and 215 lbs. He has 10 career games in the American Hockey League, all with the Rochester Americans, including three last season and seven games in 2012-13. He went 0-3-0 with a 4.04 goals-against average and .876 save percentage with Rochester last season. His first career professional win actually came against the Phantoms in a spectacular 41-save performance on 42 shots faced on December 7, 2012 in Rochester.

With Greenville, Florida and Alaska, all in the ECHL, Knapp appeared in a combined 29 games in 2013-14 going 11-12-5 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. He was named the ECHL Goalie of the Week for December 16-22 while with the Greenville Road Warriors going 2-0-0, 1.50, .951.

Knapp's senior season at Miami (Ohio) University in 2011-12 saw him capture career bests in wins (15), shutouts (5) and save percentage (.933) while winning the CCHA "Best Goaltender" Award. His 1.59 goals-against average for the season was tops in the NCAA and is an all-time record for the RedHawks hockey program.

Brett Flemming enters his fourth season of professional hockey after spending the past three years in the Washington Capitals organization. The 23-year-old (2/26/1991) from Regina, Sask. spent most of last season with their ECHL affiliate in Reading playing in 52 games and scoring six goals and 12 assists for 18 points with 59 penalty minutes. Flemming was named the team's Most Valuable Player for the the 2013-14 season becoming the first defenseman in the history of the Reading Royals to receive the honor. The Reading Royals team will be affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms for this coming season.

Flemming is a 5-11, 184 lb. defenseman with a righty shot who also played in four games for Hershey last year scoring 0-1-1. He has appeared in 36 games for the Bears in his AHL career over the last three seasons scoring 2-4-6 with 35 penalty minutes.

He was a key component of the 2013 Kelly Cup Champion Reading Royals scoring five goals in the postseason including a pair of goals in their Kelly Cup Finals series triumph over the Stockton Thunder.

In the ECHL over three years, Flemming has played in 143 total games for both Reading and South Carolina scoring 11-25-36 while accumulating 191 penalty minutes.

Flemming was a Round 5 selection of the Washington Capitals in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and he played four seasons of Major Juniors in the Ontario Hockey League for the Mississauga St. Michael's Juniors from 2007-11.

Connor Knapp and Brett Flemming bring the total number of AHL-contract players on the Phantoms to five also including Steven Delisle (D), Kevin Goumas (F) and Matt Hatch (F).

The majority of players assigned to the roster of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the 2014-15 season will be on NHL contracts with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tickets for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms preseason home games are on sale now by calling (610) 347-TIXX (8499) or by logging on to pplcenter.com. The Phantoms will take on the Hershey Bears on Wednesday, October 1 and will battle the Albany Devils on Saturday, October 4. Fans may choose upper-bowl seating for $12 or lower-bowl seating for $15.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have announced that their regular season home opener at the PPL Center is scheduled for Friday, October 17. The full regular-season schedule is expected to be announced by the American Hockey League in a couple of weeks.

Don't miss the action and the fun! Contact the Phantoms for ticket information and to learn how you can save with season tickets and affordable partial-plans. Call the Phantoms at 610-224-GOAL (610-224-4625).

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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