Lehigh Valley Phantoms P.A. announcer fires up the fans

Petr Straka swings into the right circle and lets the puck fly. Goal. The crowd at the PPL Center celebrates.


About a minute later, Phantoms public address announcer Joe Wowk begins the delivery to announce the scoring. 

"Phantomssss," he shouts, holding onto the "S" sound.

And the crowd echoes back a thunderous "GOAL," and then Wowk announces the goal-scorer's name, the players with the assists and time of the goal.

In his second year behind the mike at the center ice bench between the penalty boxes, Wowk has become part of the game-day fabric for Phantoms games at the PPL Center. The married, 40-year-old father of a six-year-old boy, has become a personality at the hockey game, whether it's announcing the starting lineups or welcoming the crowd before the opening puck drop.

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