Bridgeport is in town tonight as the Hamilton Street Heroes continue to inch towards the back door of the 2023-24 AHL playoff tournament.
Where We Stand
The Phantoms lost last night in Hershey, but the Springfield Angry Birds also lost (in Hartford) so that pushes the Orange team closer to a playoff berth–the final one available in the AHL Atlantic. The Phantoms currently hold a 4-standings-points advantage over Springfield as each team has 4 games yet to play.
As we’ve discussed around here: Almost as important is the hierarchy at the top of the division. Hershey is easily the top team and Providence has a 4-point advantage for the second seed, and the other first-round bye. While Wilkes-Barre in third has designs on that spot, our concern is Charlotte in Fourth. Wilkes needs to hold off Charlotte, who trail them by 2 points, in order to remain in third, which would assure the Phantoms of at least one home game in the first round of the playoffs. This, rather than the alternative of a week in Charlotte where only the folks with the private planes get to go to cheer on the Phantoms.
Roster Moves
F Matthew Brown and D Will Zmolek were returned to Reading. The Penn State connected forwards Tyler Gratton and Jacques Bouquot continue to cycle between Allentown (PTO) and Reading and probably know those traffic circles on 222 by heart right about now. They are in Reading as of this writing.
Still no sign of the AHL-eligibles from the Flyers. The Flyers remain mathematically alive for the playoffs and face the Devils at the Wells Fargo tonight at 5PM. Perhaps we’ll get the eligibles back for next weekend and into the playoffs. If I’m not mistaken, Brink, Attard, Ginning and Lycksell are eligible for AHL post-season. There’s always the scenario where the Flyers shut them down, or hold them back, though, so don’t hold your breath on that.
Lines last night in Hershey:
24 Brooks 9 Laczynski 20 Marody
16 Avon 22 Gardner 13 Furry
17 Wilson 56 Gaucher 27 Tuomaala
25 Miller 91 Desnoyers 14 Wisdom
98 Mete 7 Belpedio
6 Andrae 2 Grans
19 McDonald 5 Samson
40 Petersen (35 Kolosov)
GAME DAY!
Last-place Bridgeport is in town to play the “Phantasmas” on Fiesta Night–Saturday Night Hockey Live. Reportedly, tonight’s game will be presented in English and Spanish.
While in last place, Bridgeport is not a push-over. They are 0-2-0-1 on a three-game winless streak but are 4-5-0-1 overall in their last 10. Remember, Carsen Twarynski and Cole Bardreau are on this team and would like to have a good showing in their former home arena.
Good seats still remain for tonight’s contest. On the secondary market, they can be had for as low as $10.
OFFICIALS
Referee Alex Lepkowski (#74)
Referee Jordan Deckard (#14)
Linesperson Justin Johnson (#57)
Linesperson Robert Peterkin (#51)
MEDIA KIT
What To Watch
- Watch to see if Kolosov gets the net tonight. He was the backup last night so it kind of feels like it.
- Watch 25 Miller. How does he look out there.
- Watch to see if you can figure out which players already have golfing plans scheduled for two weeks from now.
- Watch to see what the attendance looks like. There’s an IronPigs game at the same time tonight–although it’s windy and kinda cold if you’ve gotta sit outside on a hard plastic chair.
What’s Next?
The Phantoms finish off their 2023-24 regular season campaign next weekend with a ‘three-in-three.” They’ll start up in Bridgeport on Friday night, then return to Allentown for a Saturday tilt with Wilkes-Barre and a Sunday afternoon affair versus Charlotte–hopefully with a chance to keep Charlotte from climbing into third place. What was previously called “Salute To Phans” on Sunday is now being promoted as “Our Valley Our Home” Night.
See you at the arena (or, the ballpark, as the case may be)
@Kram207
PS: Featured Image by Jack Mitroka.
PPS: Are you going to an IronPigs game some time? Check out my pre-game podcast “IronPigs Today” in the tab above, as well as Spotify, Apple, and Amazon/Audible. Perhaps we’ll get a “Hockey Talk” version off the ground some day.