Samu The Killer Whale?
Not quite. But young Samu Tuomaala is headed for the AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose. The Finn just turned 21 but has been turning in outstanding performances all season long. On the Phantoms the rookie is second in goals (Lycksell) and second in points (Marody) with 10/17/27 over 33 games. The “33 games” part of those stats is important, too, because his availability for every Phantoms game has been a big help to the team and proof of durability in his first full season of North American professional hockey. From the Phantoms, here’s some league-wide perspective as well: “Among AHL rookies, Tuomaala is fourth in points (27) and tied for first among Eastern Conference rookies (with Joshua Roy of Laval). He is also third in assists (17) and sixth in goals (10) among AHL rookies and is also tied with Roy for first among Eastern Conference rookies in those categories.”
Our first look at Tuomaala was back at the start of the 2021-22 season. He opened with the Phantoms but it soon became obvious that he wasn’t physically ready for the AHL. His speed was notable but some of the physicality was difficult, and he returned to Europe. It was disappointing because on the heals of the 2021 mini-season it appeared the Flyers were well-stocked with ahead-of-the-curve young talent. Some of that has manifested, but there have also been some disappointments. Samu’s return and impact has been a revelation this season. Congratulations to him on the well-deserved honor.
First In Our Hearts, Seventh In The Standings
The Phantoms continue to languish near the bottom of the AHL Atlantic. They are currently 14-13-5-1 with the mid-way point of the 2023-24 season fast approaching. They got an overtime win and an overtime loss last weekend–3 of 4 standings points–in games against their difficult Pennsylvania rivals. That has to be a positive as we begin the 2024 calendar year. They continue to be “tops” in the entire nation in penalty minutes–now tied with Laval. They did commit more infractions than their opponents last weekend at Wilkes-Barre and Hershey, but it was in the ballpark. Perhaps they’re getting this under control? They need to if they are going to climb in the standings.
The Hamilton Street Heroes continue to be in the top 5 in power play in the nation. The unique aspect of it, though, is that they are a much more effective unit on the road compared with at home. The PK remains middle of the pack at #16 overall. Once again, the unit performs better on the road compared with the home ice PPL Center.
“You Come And Go, You Come And Go”
All due credit to Culture Club, but the roster has been reasonably stable since “Hockey Night” went on hiatus (Upper Body, day to day) prior to the New Year weekend. Defensemen Adam Karashik and Mason Millman have been up and down with Reading. Karashik currently on the Phantoms and Millman currently with ECHL Reading as of this writing. F Alexis Gendron (2022 Rd 7; 5-2-7 in 17 games) has been reassigned to juniors in Drummondville. C Rhett Gardner has returned from NHL Philadelphia.
Lines last Sunday in Hershey:
16 Avon – 9 Laczynski – 19 Allison
28 Lycksell – 22 Gardner – 20 Marody
17 Wilson – 91 Desnoyers – 27 Tuomaala
24 Brooks – 56 Gaucher – 15 Bellerive
6 Andrae – 7 Belpedio
98 Mete – 12 Attard
37 Ginning – 5 Samson
40 Petersen (32 Sandstrom)
As far as the scratches, Grans and Polei remain out with injury, the nature and return is unknown at this time.
GAME DAY!
It’s a Friday Dollar Dog night, and 10th Anniversary (Lehigh Valley) Weekend.
Dollar Dogs are only the first Friday game of the month because adding those four extra Friday games across the whole season would be asking just too much. So, enjoy, from doors open (6:00 public, 5:45 season members) until the first intermission. For Anniversary Weekend, Season Members can upload photos to be shown on the big board–see the link in your email or contact your membership representative.
Good seats are still available. Leave a little extra time for traffic and parking as there may be some disruption today across the valley.
ENTER HARTFORD: Hartford has been solid this season and are firmly in second place in the AHL Atlantic ahead of Providence and behind the powerhouse that is Hershey. However, they are just 4-4-2 over their last 10 (Phantoms are a similar 4-4-1-1) and on an 0-1 streak, so they’re not at all unbeatable. In the season series this go-round, the Phantoms are 1-3-1 (Hartford 4-0-1) head to head. Over the past 5 seasons the Phantoms are 5-4-0-1 (Hartford 5-2-2-1) on home ice versus the Whale Wolfpack. Some of the variation in the records will tell you that the games are often close and often go to extra time or shoot-out. Nevertheless, Hartford has always been a tough team for the Phantoms and tonight will not be easy.
Our old friend Artem Anisimov has just joined this team. Forward Adam Sykora just returned from World Juniors. F Brennan Othmann and D Matthew Robertson just returned from New York, while F Jake Leschyshyn was recently called up to the NHL. Overall, they’re getting guys back.
The Wolfpack are third in Power Play and no worse on the road. Their PK is also near the top 10 and not significantly worse as a road unit. They will take penalties, though, ranking 7th in the nation.
Post Game: Head to Chickie’s for some free raffles at 10:00, 10:15 and 10/30!
OFFICIALS
Referee Tanner Doiron (#1)
Referee Chris Waterstradt (#88)
Linesperson Ryan Jackson (#84)
Linesperson Josh Cleary (#45)
MEDIA KIT
What To Watch
- Watch for Sandstrom to get the start in net tonight
- Watch to see if the Phantoms can stay out of the box. They could very well win the penalty minutes tonight and that might go a long way towards beating a team who wins on special teams quite a bit.
- The team is at just about full strength. Watch to see if they play like it.
- Watch the officials. This crew doesn’t seem familiar to me. Perhaps that’s on me, but it could be a wild one or it could be the same old crews are part of the reason the Phantoms special teams units have such bad stats at home. I don’t know. Just keep an eye on this crew.
- Watch out for plenty of questionable people wearing Rangers jerseys. I don’t hate the Hartford team nor the New York team, but these are among my least-favorite fans.
Up Next
Right back here tomorrow for the Mighty Bears and Diaper and Wipe Donation Night for Valley Youth House, plus, Saturday Night Hockey Live.
The Phantoms will then head to Rochester for a mid-week tilt before parking in Cleveland, Ohio next weekend. What if Cleveland ends up hosting a football game the same weekend? Golly.
We’ll then return to home ice on Friday January 26 for NOT-a-dollar-dog night versus Wilkes-Barre.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207