It’s another Sunday matinee at the PPL Center today. Put on your costumes and let’s do that hockey!
“First One To Five Wins”
The Phantoms are 2-2 overall as they return home to cap a 3-in-3 in which they’ve split the first two games. Here’s the season thus far:
LOST to Cleveland 5-2
WIN over Belleville 5-2
WIN at Springfield 5-2
LOST at Hartford 5-1
On the young season, Olle Lycksell leads the team with 4 goals, while Tanner Laczynski is tops in points with 6.
Among the netminders, Cal Peterson is 1-2 with a 4.01 Goals Against, while Parker Gahagen is 1-0. We thought Parker played well last Sunday–he’ll certainly get another shot today–but he needs to stop trying to handle the puck. And I say that after he notched an assist in last Sunday’s affair.
Here’s how they lined up last night:
29 Gendron – 9 Laczynski – 20 Marody
28 Lycksell – 91 Desnoyers – 27 Tuomaala
17 Wilson – 22 Gardner – 19 Allison
15 Bellerive – 56 Gaucher – 46 Brown
98 Mete – 7 Belpedio
37 Ginning – 12 Attard
2 Grans – 3 Karashik
40 Petersen (31 Gahagen)
Player Spotlight – #22 Rhett Gardner
Rhett Gardner is a 27yo left-shooting centerman, born in Moose Jaw, SK, and drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round in 2016. He played four years of college hockey at the University of North Dakota. He has 40 games of NHL experience with the Dallas Stars, while logging 205 games of AHL time with the Texas Stars. Last season he saw 71 games of playing time in the AHL with 10 goals and 30 assists. He had 75 minutes of penalty time. His scouting report gives him high marks for size (6’3″) and awareness, and notes that he’s not been a big point producer at any level. He should add some quality hockey play on the PK and provide some defensive responsibility for his line.
GAME DAY!
It’s a 3:05PM event time this afternoon at the PPL Center. It has not been clear about early doors for Premier Season Members this season, but expect to get in at either 2PM or 2:15PM. There will be a costume parade on the ice, they tell me, but check with the team for the details and what kind of costumes will be allowed.
Good seats are still available, and very reasonable on the secondary market. Parking has been a bit crowded, but no other details to share for this season. Remember, the Community Deck (6th/Walnut) and the Maple Street Deck are just $5. My record avoiding the parking overlords clutches this season is 1-4. Remember, street parking is free on Sunday EXCEPT in the PPL Center area–usually Hamilton and within two blocks.
Remember to check which restaurants are open prior to or following the game. Spotlight: Brü Daddy. The former ROAR has become a brew pub (né Hop Daddy). They have a pretty diverse and extensive menu of freshly prepared bar-type foods and pizzas. Everything I’ve had there has been good, over about a dozen visits–but they sometimes run out of things or limit the menu on event nights. The beer list includes several different styles of brews–not just 37 IPAs. It’s right across Hamilton from the arena, which means they can get crowded, although they weren’t terribly crowded last Sunday when I was there. Pro tip: On exit, go straight across the street to the LVHN Entrance rather than down the block to the main entrance to the arena. It’s closer and usually there’s no line.
It’s a rematch with Springfield, whom the Phantoms beat 5-2 Friday night. I didn’t notice any former Phantoms on their roster, but a fair few familiar names of guys who’ve done some damage against us in the past.
It’s a small sample, only four games into the season, but the Phantoms’ Power Play has been solid: 4 out of 20 opportunities with no shorties yielded, good for 11th in the league. The Penalty Kill, a huge problem the past couple seasons, his rated in the middle, giving up 3 goals on 19 times short-handed. However, 3 short-handed goals (last Sunday) makes the unit look pretty good!
OFFICIALS
Referee Rob Hennessey (#87)
Referee Casey Terreri (#75)
Linesperson Robert Peterkin (#51)
Linesperson Tyler Loftus (#11)
MEDIA KIT (rosters, stats, etc.)
What To Watch
- Watch to make sure Gahagen doesn’t screw around with the puck behind his net
- Watch to see if Springfield does anything to try to slow down Olle Lycksell, who did well against them the other night
- If that Lycksell/Desnoyers/Tuomaala line is intact, watch for them to do some damage
- If that Wilson/Gardner/Allison line is together, watch to see if they can get any offense going or if it’s just more of a checking line. See if you think Allison could be better-used on a line with more scoring, or if this is going to be his role with the Flyers then he needs this work?
- Watch to see how many people decided to stay home and watch football and baseball
Up Next
Another Sunday game?!? Yup. Team will be in Hershey on Saturday and then back home for another Sunday Soirée versus a tough Harford team–this time at 5:05PM. If we’re going to do Sunday, 5PM is my preferred game time. Why all the early-season Sundays? I don’t know for sure, but I think they accepted them in a quest to get a home game in every weekend for the first five weeks of the season. The following weekend, we’ll finally get our first Friday game of the season, so I’m looking forward to that.
See you. at the arena (maybe next week)
@Kram207