“Old people, don’t watch it–because you might die just watching it.”
-Jaromir Jagr
Winner, Winner
Ronnie Attard slammed home the winner in overtime as the Phantoms came from behind to beat the Checkers Wednesday night. It was the second time that Charlotte has lost to the Hamilton Street Heroes at the PPL Center on this road trip following a loss on Teddy Bear Night last Saturday.
Player Report
We did indeed see a couple players return from injury for the mid-week contest. Most surprising was F Adam Brooks. I had heard the nature of his injury, which happened very early in the season, and assumed he would be out mid- to long-term. He was a key contributor last season when he was on the ice. Hopefully he can continue. F Tanner Laczynski, F Rhett Gardner and D Victor Mete also returned.
D Louie Belpedio has returned from the Flyers. He passed through waivers last week but stayed with the NHL team as emergency depth for their road trip. G Felix Sandstrom makes his way back to Philadelphia on emergency recall due to Carter Hart’s illness.
Expect additional moves this afternoon with traffic to and from Reading.
Lines from Wednesday:
24 Brooks – 9 Laczynski – 27 Tuomaala
17 Wilson – 91 Desnoyers – 20 Marody
16 Avon – 22 Gardner – 19 Allison
15 Bellerive – 56 Gaucher – 14 Wisdom
6 Andrae – 3 Karashik
98 Mete – 12 Attard
37 Ginning – 5 Samson
32 Sandstrom (40 Petersen)
Two injured players coming back, playing on the same line and it’s the top line? Perhaps that seems a bold choice, but then we know the ice time doesn’t necessarily divide that way here in the American League.
GAME DAY!
It’s not the first Friday game of the month, so no hot dogs for you.
Enter the Laval Rocket! It’s the O Canada affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. The Rocket are in last place in the AHL North with a record of 6-12-3-2. The Phantoms beat the Rocket back in November on the first night of their Canadian road trip, 3-2. Here’s what Phantoms Media had to say:
“The AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens is looking to climb out of the cellar of the North Division. Laval (6-12-5) finally snapped a nine-game winless skid with a 5-1 blowout of Hartford last Saturday. The Phantoms bested the Rocket 3-2 on November 17 in Quebec to begin the team’s spiral. Tanner Laczynski had one goal and two assists in that game while Olle Lycksell scored twice. Laval broke Cal Petersen’s shutout bid with a pair of 6-on-4 goals in the final 2:30 of the game. Former Devils prospect randon Gignac (7-15-22) leads the offense and fifth-rounder Joshua Roy (8-12-20) is having a strong rookie season as his first-rounder Logan Mailloux (4-9-13). With a pair of rookie goalies, Strauss Mann and Jakub Dobes, the Rocket allow 4.1 goals per game, second worst in the AHL”
Indeed the Rocket haven’t played since last Saturday, getting a big win at home versus Hartford. This game is the first of three on a state-side swing that will take them to Hershey tomorrow then through Syracuse on Wednesday on their way home. They are 1-5-2-2 in their last 10.
Special Teams
The Rocket’s 30th ranked AWAY power play will face the Phantoms 24th ranked HOME penalty kill. Meanwhile, the Phantoms 8th-ranked HOME power play will face the Rocket’ 28th-ranked AWAY penalty kill.
Tickets: Good seats are still available. On the secondary market, tickets are as low as $6.
Parking: Expect some Friday night traffic and some bar and restaurant celebrations as the end of the week is here and the holidays are fast-approaching. I’m sad to report that the parking authority has several close victories over me lately. I need to do better.
Broadcast: Catch the game on Service Electric or AHL.tv if you can’t make it. Listen to Bob streaming on the App or via the web.
Promotion: none
Postgame: Head to Chickie’s for some free raffle opportunities at 10:00, 10:15 and 10:30
OFFICIALS
Referee Graedy Hamilton (#41)
Referee Jack Young (#24)
Linesperson Dan Kovachik (#72)
Linesperson Chandler Yakimowicz (#60)
MEDIA KIT
What To Watch
- I’m watching for Peterson in net tonight, as the goalie rotation has been to my plan so far this home stand. Expect a backup from Reading today (I’ll insert above if I get it by “press” time). Gahagen? Maier?
- Watch to see if any of the other injured players can make it back tonight. Most notable I think is young defender Helge Grans, but I have no idea if he’s close or the nature of his injury.
- To that end, watch to see if any of the players who made it back for Wednesday are now scratches tonight, possibly signifying that there could be a re-injury. Could also be healthy, but just something to watch.
- Watch for penalties. The Phantoms yielded 5 power plays on Wednesday, and we’ve seen in the past that can be their undoing at times. They were able to kill all of them, which was one of the keys to keeping them in that game. They need to play clean against a poor Laval squad and not give up anything easy.
- Watch the defensive pairs. The return of Belpedio should add a stabilizing force assuming he’s sharp and ready to contribute.
- Watch for crowd size. No promotion and it’s holiday party season so it might be kind of sparse.
- Watch for overtime–or a shootout. This Laval team tends to play those types of games.
Up Next
The 5-game home stand concludes tomorrow with Las Phantasmas Fiesta Night versus Springfield. It will also be Saturday Night Hockey Live with between periods entertainment. (Site note: “Hockey Night” preview column will be on hiatus tomorrow as we make the final “Phil Kessel Run” ever. That joke is even less funny now than it was 7 long years ago. To Pittsburgh and back in less than twelve parsecs.)
The team will be in Charlotte next week and we’ll return to the PPL Center on Wednesday, 12/27, to face the Utica Comets.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207
Featured Image by Jack Mitroka