When new minor league facilities are built, no matter what the sport, part of the attraction is what those facilities might potentially mean to attracting and keeping young players in the organization.

The Phillies found after moving into Coca-Cola Park that players who competed there as a visiting player or had talked to players who were familiar with the place, were quicker to sign with the team because of the facilities available to them.The Philadelphia Flyers are finding that out too, and it definitely helped to get Greg Carey to sign a two-year extension last week. The deal is a two-way deal, meaning that the organization has him signed whether he's playing in Philadelphia or Lehigh Valley.The facilities at the PPL Center are among the best that you'll find in hockey. Some have even compared them favorably to facilities of some teams in the NHL. Medical facilities and professionals are right on site, the workout facilities are top-notch, and the other amenities for the players are beautiful.It also doesn't hurt that the place is packed for every game and the fans are nothing short of ecstatic about the team and their players."I really like it here," said Carey. "The fan support is great. The organization is great, and they treat us incredibly well. I've only had the opportunity to play in two other places, but I definitely feel at home here and am excited to come back here for another two years."The 26-year-old has 26 goals and 43 points this season, both matching the career-highs that he established last season with Springfield.The Flyers signed veteran players like Chris Conner, Colin McDonald, Andy Miele, T.J. Brennan and Will O'Neill in the past couple of offseasons and many of those players have also talked about the impact that the facilities and fans have on playing as a Phantom."You really can't ask for more than this," said Brennan. "This place is phenomenal and the fans go nuts, so this is the type of place that's somewhat of a destination for players looking for a new team."NOT IN THE LYON'S NET ... Goalie Alex Lyon may have been playing on the road, but he owned the net in last week's game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. As the Phantoms look to chase down the Penguins, Lyon delivered his fourth shutout of the season, turning away 31 shots. Lyon is the first Phantoms goalie to have four shutouts since Michael Leighton in the 2010-2011 season. Lyon is also now the Lehigh Valley all-time leader in shutouts with four. Anthony Stolarz, the other goalie on the roster, is right behind him with three. Lyon also engineered a 4-1 win over Utica Saturday night at home.CALLING IN HELP... Defenseman Brandon Manning is listed as day-to-day for the Flyers and Will O'Neill exited Saturday's Phantoms game with an apparent upper-body injury. Those two facts seem to make the fact that defensemen Jesper Pettersson and Max Lamarche were reassigned from the Reading Royals to the Phantoms roster on Monday. It could be that there will be a current Phantom heading for Philadelphia and that O'Neill may miss time.THANKS FOR THE HELP ... The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins seemed ready to run away with the division, but a four-game losing skid, followed by a 3-3-0-0 stretch, has slowed that idea. Meanwhile, the Phantoms have wins in five of their last six games, leaving them just four points behind the Pens in the Atlantic Division. The two teams have a home-and-home series Friday and Saturday, with Friday night's game being at the PPL Center.