The Hamilton Street Heroes are set for their final stretch of games in an attempt to make the playoffs again this season–and hopefully somehow avoid spending the entire experience in Charlotte.
One Game At A Time
There are eight regular-season games remaining, five of them at home. While the magic number is 13 to clinch a playoff birth, I prefer to take it more “one game at a time” no matter how much of a cliché that might be. Going into tonight’s game, the Phantoms have a three-point lead on Springfield for the final playoff spot. We have a 3-in-3 on tap while they play only two, so that burns our one-game “in hand” and we’ll be at the same games-played level by the end of the weekend. They are in Canada playing the two worst foreign teams from the North Division. We have a difficult Providence team tonight–but they’ve already clinched and have a pretty good margin for the two-seed and a first round bye. Tomorrow we have a reeling Cleveland team coming in and then we finish up on Sunday in Wilkes Barre against the hated Penguins.
There are two ways to avoid Charlotte in the first round. But, if you hit both you find yourself in the exact same situation. The Phantoms could overtake Hartford for the 5 seed. Hartford has a 5 point lead, but have lost 4 in a row and are 1-8-0-1 in their last 10. We do not play Hartford down the stretch. The second way might make you a bit ill, but cheer on those Penguins for they could overtake Charlotte for the three seed. They trail by just two points but don’t face Charlotte again. WBS has two with Hershey, two with Bridgeport and one with Hartford down the stretch.
Roster Update
Plenty of comings and goings this time of year. The Flyers are in the mix for a spot in the Stanley Cup tournament. I’m not counting on reinforcements in the form of AHL eligibles any time soon, unless and until they get eliminated. In the mean time, other moves that may or may not be important:
The “Penn State Kids” Bouquot and Gratton continue to move about Eastern Pennsylvania, but have only been playing in hockey games for Reading.
F Matt Miller has signed. He’ll be wearing #25. He joins following a four-year career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He’s not quite a “point per game” kind of guy, but he will contribute both goals and assists. He was an alternate captain for two seasons at Omaha. Miller is signed for next season, and will join now on a ‘PTO’ contract.
Big goalie and big goalie prospect Ivan Fedotov made it here from Russia after playing in the KHL and fulfilling his military obligations to that country. He was immediately added to the Flyers while Felix Sandstrom was sent to the Phantoms. Fedotov got in the game the other night in an OT loss to the Islanders. My understanding is that they need to make a decision about Fedotov’s contract following this season. Meanwhile, another Russian netminder, Alexei Kolosov, made it to the states and was assigned to the Phantoms. He was a third-round pick of the Flyers in 2021 and will wear #35.
D Mason Millman and G Parker Gahagen have been sent to Reading.
Lines Tuesday in Hershey:
91 Desnoyers 9 Laczynski 24 Brooks
13 Furry 22 Gardner 27 Tuomaala
17 Wilson 56 Gaucher 46 Brown
10 Polei 16 Avon 3 Karashik
6 Andrae 2 Grans
98 Mete 7 Belpedio
19 McDonald 5 Samson
40 Petersen (32 Sandstrom)
Discussion: Desnoyers as a first-line winger is a neat idea. The All-Sweden pair has been a thing for a while now. McDonald has settled in as an every-day player these days and Karashik will chip in wherever he can. Marody did play on Saturday but was an injured scratch on Tuesday. Wisdom was an injured scratch.
GAME DAY!
7:05 show time tonight with doors at 6:00 or 5:45 for Season Ticket Members. Good seats still remain on both the primary and secondary markets, some as low as $11. Use ParkMobile to pre-pay for your parking.
It’s Dollar Dog Night! Remember, only the FIRST Friday game of the month because doing every Friday would be just too much. Grab your dogs right up until the first intermission and let’s see if we can break the record.
Providence is in town. They are 4-4-1-1 in their last ten and are firmly in second place in the AHL Atlantic. They haven’t played since last Saturday when they got blanked by Syracuse. Prior to that they beat Utica and Hershey last week. Meanwhile, the Phantoms lost to Hershey in a weird Tuesday affair 1-0, and last weekend took 3 out of 4 standings points by beating said Syracuse team and taking an OT loss in Wilkes-Barre.
OFFICIALS
Referee Peter Schlittenhardt (#12)
Referee Jack Young (#24)
Linesperson Robert Peterkin (#51)
Linesperson Nick Briganti (#58)
MEDIA KIT
What To Watch
- When do we get to see Kolosov? What role has goaltending–or lack thereof–played in the underperformance of the 2023-24 Phantoms? Peterson had a good showing Tuesday in Hershey where the offense–or lack thereof–let him down. Will be interesting to see who takes the ice first tonight. It could be any of the three, and it wouldn’t shock me. If I had to take a wild guess? Sandstrom tonight, Kolosov tomorrow and Peterson Sunday in Scranton.
- Can Marody make it back? We need his offense in the lineup now more than ever.
- Are they gonna get Miller in there right away like with McDonald? Or give him some time to settle in?
- What kind of effort do we see out of the team tonight, with the playoffs in the balance? While Tuesday’s game was an April game, I’m kind of looking at tonight as a harbinger of the way this team is set to finish it out.
Up Next
Three in three this weekend, we’ll be back at it with Cleveland tomorrow on Star Wars Night for Saturday Night Hockey Live. Sunday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre will have the season ticket holders bussing it up there to raise some ruckus.
Next weekend is Friday at Hershey and Saturday home for Bridgeport.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207