The point streak and the undefeated November came to an end last night in Springfield where the fighting continued from our last visit to Massachusetts. Desnoyers, who had been des-moted lately to fourth line or out, got a third-ling winger spot and scored his first goal of the season. Boulton and Gardner were the fighters of the night. Peterson was in net. The Phantoms once again out-shot the competition, for whatever that may be worth. There was no advantage on special teams in the game.
Records:
Overall: 6-4-2-1 (4th Place)
Home: 4-2-0-1
Away: 2-2-2
White Jerseys: 4-1
Orange Jerseys: 2-3-1
Black Jerseys: 0-0-1-1
Sunday 3/3: 0-0-0-1
Post-Game Event Day: 1-0
Fridays: 1-2-1
Saturdays: 3-2
Sundays: 0-0-0-1
Wednesdays: 2-0-1
October: 2-3-1-1
November: 4-1-1
Players: There have been no roster moves to note as of this writing. One thing to watch here is the goalies. Fedotov and Ersson have had good starts in Philly recently. I’m not sure how long they want to carry three goalies. Could Kolosov come back at some point? Do I even want that?
Lines last night in Springfield:
43 Eklind 56 Gaucher 15 Lycksell
17 Wilson 22 Gardner 72 Gendron
91 Desnoyers 18 Abols 27 Tuomaala
13 Furry 16 Avon 36 Boulton
19 McDonald 7 Belpedio
37 Ginning 5 Samson
8 Gleason 3 Grans
40 Petersen (32 Makiniemi)
Scratches:10 Matt Brown 20 Cooper Marody 55 Xavier Bernard 57 Mason Primeau 73 Massimo Rizzo 74 Zayde Wisdom
Discussion: Boulton gets a hat for the first time in a while. The third line really contributed in points and assists. Gleason on the assist sheet again.
Information from Phantoms Media:
– Second-year winger Samu Tuomaala has scored 3-6-9 on the power play which is tied for first in power play points with Trevor Carrick of Charlotte. Tuomaala also paces the Phantoms in overall scoring with 5-8-13. He scored 15-28-43 in 69 games while representing the Phantoms at the AHL All-Star Classic in his rookie season.
– Rookie winger Alexis Gendron cranked it up during the team’s recent three-game homestand with a pair of two-goal games, both against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 20-year-old waited for his turn to jump into the lineup eventually making his season debut in Game 6. With five goals in just six games played, he has quickly impressed and has thrived in his role on the team’s second line with veterans Garrett Wilson and Rhett Gardner. The seventh-rounder in 2022 out of Coteau Du Lac, Quebec began last season with the Phantoms scoring five goals in 17 games played before he was returned to Major Juniors where he went on a run to the Memorial Cup with Drummondville.
– Rookie defenseman Hunter McDonald has a +9 rating which is tied for first among AHL rookies. The Northeastern University product by way of Fairport, NY recently had a four-game point streak including his first official pro goal on November 6 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The tall and tough 22-year-old was a Round 6 selection of the Flyers in 2022.
– Olle Lycksell’s 60 shots is most in the AHL. Lycksell is now on a three-game goal streak including a pair of pivotal strikes beginning with his tying goal on Saturday against Utica with 3:29 left followed by his first career overtime winner against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. Lycksell had 10 shots in last Saturday’s game and finally scored his first goal of the captain on his 10th shot of the night and 50th shot of the season.
– Defenseman Ben Gleason made his Phantoms debut last Saturday vs. Utica and recorded an assist and then followed that up with a two-assist night on Wednesday with helpers on the tying and winning goals. After another assist on Friday at Springfield, Gleason is now on a combined seven-game point streak with Lehigh Valley and Bakersfield combined. The AHL veteran was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ronnie Attard last Monday. Gleason is in his seventh season in the AHL having previously played 359 games with the Texas Stars and Bakersfield Condors scoring 40-137-177 in his career including 10-22-32 last year with Bakersfield.
– Lehigh Valley’s power play is converting at a 26,7% clip which is second-best in the AHL. The Phantoms are 6-for-21 in November.
– The Phantoms are averaging 34.6 shots per game which rates second in the AHL trailing only Rochester.
GAME DAY!
It’s Saturday Night Hockey Live! Good seats are still available although the price advantage on the secondary market is less than it has been in recent weeks. Expect plenty of Hershey fans who have more time to travel on a Saturday. Remember the arena is mostly cashless. Burger Prime, Bru Daddy Bar and Chickie’s will still take cash, as will Tim Horton’s. Parking has returned to more reasonable collection times, which is nice.
Hershey is doing what they normally do. Just winning. They are of course in first place, although we did beat them in their place here during this point streak. Hershey got spanked by Bridgeport last night at home, 6-1, so they won’t be in a good mood tonight. They are also undefeated on the road this season, so that doesn’t bode well. Hershey has really good special teams, which also isn’t a surprise. (Lehigh Valley power play up to second in the entire league, which is somewhat of a surprise.). Sgarbossa is back from Washington so that’s special. I hate that they get to have Vecchione and Saulnier–I like those guys. Same goes for Strome and Logan Day. Stevenson is maybe their weaker goalie, but he’s the one who got shelled last night so we’ll likely draw the top-notch Shepard.
Kram Komplains About The Arena–the new feature where I urge the PPL Center to get it together after 10 full years: Yup, happy hour beers were 12oz on Wednesday night despite the Phantoms advertising 16oz. Don’t get me wrong, for $2 it’s still a deal, but it’s the part where the Phantoms want to do things one way and the arena management just does whatever they like to enhance their own budget.
OFFICIALS
Referee Samuel Heidemann (#60)
Referee Mason Riley (#79)
Linesperson Robert Peterkin (#51)
Linesperson Jud Ritter (#34)
Scouting the Refs: We saw Riley at PPL Center once before. I gave him high marks for that game.
MEDIA KIT
The Phantoms have begun posting media information. Check this out.
What To Watch
- Watch for Makiniemi to take the net tonight, as we alternate. I’m kinda fine with both of them at this juncture.
- Watch to see if Brown can get back in the lineup. I think he gives our team a bit of speed which we sorely lack. Also, I’ve given up watching for Marody. We’ll see what he is when and if he comes back.
- Watch for Samu on the power play. That dude has been killing it this season on the man-advantage.
- Watch to see if Hershey has any extra juice after getting absolutely waxed last night on home ice. Also a point I might make with any obnoxious Hershey fans in my section.
Up Next
Phantoms out on the road for their next three. First, they’ll head up to Providence and play two there next weekend. Then, a week from Wednesday, they’ll be in Hartford on Thanksgiving eve.
Phantoms back at home on Black Friday for Hershey, and Small Business Saturday for Laval. Good promotions for those games. As we move into December we’ll remain home for two more games, one each with Rockford and Hershey.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207
#KillTheBear