“That’s the way, That’s the way it ought to be,Yeah, yeah, mama sayThat’s the way it ought to stay.”
–Led Zeppelin
About Last Night
The Phantoms took it to the playoff-bound second place Providence Bruins last night with a 3-2 overtime win that might not have been that close. Shots don’t count as goals around here, but when a game is that close, to have a 33-15 lead in shots as the Phantoms did last night, does tell you something about the game. The Phantoms were able to get pucks to the net consistently all night, which was good to see, and it’s the way it ought to be. Polei had a fight during the first shift (see cover photo); perhaps that set the tone. While the team didn’t play with quite the immediacy of a playoff game, they did show a pretty consistent effort throughout, we think here at Top Level Minors.
Playoffs?!?
The two points for the win coupled with Springfield’s loss to Belleville, moves the Phantoms that much closer to a playoff spot. Hartford did not play, but the WBS win vaulted them into a tie for the third seed, which would at least get us one home playoff game, unlike last season. Avoiding Charlotte is the key here, as we discussed yesterday.
Player News
Marody returned to the ice following a game off due to injury. It’s not known if he’s suffering lingering effects of a head blow he took a couple weeks ago. Wisdom continues to miss time with an unknown injury. Matt Miller made his pro debut and scored a goal! No sign of new Russian goalie Kolosov just yet.
Lines last night:
24 Brooks 9 Laczynski 20 Marody
13 Furry 22 Gardner 27 Tuomaala
17 Wilson 56 Gaucher 91 Desnoyers
10 Polei 16 Avon 25 Miller
6 Andrae 2 Grans
98 Mete 7 Belpedio
19 McDonald 5 Samson
32 Sandstrom (Backup: 40 Petersen)
GAME DAY!
It’s Star Wars Night! And, it’s Saturday Night Hockey Live! All gates at 6:00PM anticipate a nice crowd with photo opportunities (read: crowded) on the concourse. Season tickets get in early. Expect a 7:15 puck drop. Good seats are still available, but going fast and rather pricey on both the primary and secondary markets.
We’ve got a great game for you tonight. Cleveland is in town.
The Cleveland Monsters have been a good hockey team all season long and sit in second place currently, in the AHL North. However, they’ve hit the skids a bit lately. They are currently on a 7-game winless streak. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. They lost in overtime to the hated Penguins last night, and were trounced in Rochester on Wednesday.
OFFICIALS
Referee Peter Schlittenhardt (#12)
Referee Jack Young (#24)
Linesperson Tommy George (#61)
Linesperson Jud Ritter (#34)
MEDIA KIT
What To Watch
- Watch for who starts in net tonight. We thought around here that Sandstrom allowed a couple soft goals last night, and that a possible scenario would be to have Kolosov get his debut in front of a home crowd rather than on the road tomorrow. But maybe there’s not that much hurry. Probably look for Peterson tonight, and maybe get Kolosov out there for the warm-ups and back-up duty.
- Watch for how the officials call the game. Schlittenhardt returns tonight as the head Referee. They were letting them play last night as each team only had one power play. Local favorite Jud Ritter gets the call tonight on the lines.
- I’d probably go with the same lines and pairs tonight as long as everyone is healthy. Watch to see what Lappy does there.
- Watch to see if the team can create consistent pressure like they did last night.
Up Next
Headed up the pike for a Sunday matinee tomorrow versus the hated Penguins in the shadow of the Wyoming Valley Mall.
Next weekend they’ve got Hershey in Hershey on Friday night, followed by Bridgeport on Saturday at the PPL Center on Fiesta Night, wearing the black-out gear.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207