Back to Hockey! World Series, Football, College Football…It’s been busy with other things, but now we get back to puck.
How Are Things? How Did We Get Here?
Since the Phantoms dropped two in a row at home to open a 3/3 weekend over Halloween, they lost in Hershey then headed to Canada. Getting the international trip out of the way early this season, they lost again to Belleville 3-2, then won in Laval in overtime, 3-2. The team now stands at 3-5-1 on the young season, with only one regulation win to their credit. They are in last place in the AHL Atlantic and 29/32 in the entire league.
What’s Wrong
We need to score more goals. Only once in nine games has the team surpassed three goals in a game–and some of the 3-goal games have included an overtime period. Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, the team is top-5 in power play percentage thus far. But they make up for it by being dead-last in the entire league in penalty-kill percentage.
There are some who predicted this poor record. There are some who are happy about it. But, hold on.
This team has talent. Perhaps it’s a bit to get it to gel. Perhaps the jury is still out on second-year head coach Ian Laperrière. I’ll caution you not to check out early on this squad, though. They have blue-liners who can move the puck. They have goaltending. They have guys who can set up and guys who can finish. They just need to put it together. I remember a few years ago a Hershey team was in last place around the holidays, and was able to rebound to not only make the playoffs but advance. Stay tuned, there’s a lot of hockey left to play in the 2022-23 season.
Player Update
Netminders Ersson and Maier are back with the team. No official word, of course, but Grosenick is battling an injury. Pat Nagle is back with Reading.
Otherwise things have been mostly stable. F Ryan Fitzgerald did play in one of the Canada games, but has been rather part-time, I suspect perhaps a nagging injury. Conjecture only due to lack of information from the team. F Cooper Marody still has not played for the team. His (undisclosed) injury is said to be “week-to-week” when I started asking some questions. He was a point-per-game player last season in the AHL, and should help the offense greatly when he returns. F Isaac Ratcliffe missed the last game. Perhaps just a game off.
Lines from last Saturday in Laval:
20 Willman – 9 O’Reilly – 42 Hodgson
17 Wilson – 91 Desnoyers – 71 Foerster
28 Lycksell – 18 J Cates – 14 Wisdom
22 Barratt – 15 Bellerive – 48 Kile
45 York – 47 Belpedio
44 Connauton – 12 Attard
6 Hogberg – 3 Karashik
30 Ersson (35 Nagle)
Scratches From Laval:
1 Troy Grosenick
13 Ryan Fitzgerald
19 Isaac Ratcliffe
24 Adam Brooks
25 Cooper Marody
37 Adam Ginning
Player Spotlight
F Evan Barratt #22
Originally drafted in the third round in 2016 by the Chicago Blackhawks out of Penn State, the Bristol, PA native played 92 games for the AHL Rockford IceHogs over the past couple seasons. He comes to the Flyers organization via trade on October 26 for D Cooper Zech. Last season at Rockford, Barratt played in 63 games and tallied 14 G and 14 A to go with 70 penalty minutes. Listed at 6’0″ 187lbs and as a center, he adds depth up front for the Hamilton Street Heroes, and has experience on the power play.
GAME DAY!
Remember parking is $10 at the most proximal locations to the arena. It’s slightly more reasonable by pre-purchase pass at the arena deck. Venture a little further and it’s $5. You can pay with cash or credit, or get involved with ParkMobile. Unless you’re in the arena deck, do not back into your parking spot.
Good seats are still available and you can even get some free tickets if you show up with a coat for the WFMZ coat drive before 5PM–otherwise drop off before the game at the WFMZ Gate. It’s Dollar Dog night through the first intermission, although they haven’t disclosed where to find them in the arena.
Springfield is in town. They are the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. They are 5-4-0-2 and in sixth place in the AHL Atlantic. Their power play is ranked 28th; their penalty kill at 9th. #36 Matthew Highmore, #29 Nathan Todd and #91 Martin Frk are their scorers to look out for. #30 Joel Hofer seems to be their better goalie.
OFFICIALS
Referee Jim Curtin (#22)
Referee Patrick Hanrahan (#52)
Linesperson Josh Cleary (#45)
Linesperson Richard Jondo (#55)
MEDIA KIT (Rosters, Stats, etc)
PRE-GAME SPOTLIGHT
Red Ticket Cafe has opened at the former Downtown Diner location at 9th and Hamilton. They are mostly doing breakfast and lunch, as per Billy’s, but will occasionally have evening specials. Tonight is one of those nights. They have a Happy Hour from 4-6PM and drinks by Taylor House Brewing, as a sort of reverse-food-truck set up. It might be worth checking out if you’re looking for something different pre-game.
What To Watch
- I’m assuming Ersson in net tonight. He had a quick stint as backup with the Flyers this week. Watch to see if he looks sharp.
- Watch the Phantoms talented power play versus the highly-ranked Springfield PK, as well as the last-place Phantoms penalty kill versus the foundering Springfield power play. Special teams could be either very important in this game, or not matter at all. Fun, huh?
- The lines will likely be different, but if 91/71 are together again, pay close attention to that line. Desnoyers and Foerster should start to make their presence felt on the score sheet even more than they already have.
- Watch to see if the team can score more than three goals in regulation. If so, look for it to be a win.
- Watch to see if any of the suspected-injured players can make a return tonight. Marody? Grosenick? Fitzgerald? and does Ratcliffe miss another game adding him to that list?
- Which is better? Which is a better value? Upcoming, watch for me to compare the Big Woody’s pizza with the “Big Slice” from 99 Bottles.
Up Next
Right back at it tomorrow for a rematch with Laval. It’s Saturday Night Hockey Live and ’90s Night.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207
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