Special, Maybe
Could this end up being a special season for the Phantoms? They haven’t been dominant at all, really, but the way this roster is coming together is starting to feel kind of special. Can’t explain. They’ve got the talent and they’ve got the depth and they’ve got a goalie and that’s a good formula for Calder tournament success. But they have to play. And, play together. The coach has to get these guys ready and put them in a position to succeed. It may feel like the Flyers are in a bit of disarray–perhaps more than usual–and all eyes from Philadelphia will be on this team in the playoffs, players and coaches alike.
About Last Night
Four games left to get ready for the tournament, and it started last night in Syracuse. Forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Ābols have rejoined the team and were in the lineup last night. Gahagen in net, and while the whole thing looked good on paper, it didn’t come to fruition and the Phantoms lost 2-1. This is the first step, though, to getting the guys acclimated and the lines locked in–young additions and returning veterans.
Records:
Overall: 33-28-6-2 (6th Place in Division)
Current First Round Opponent: 1-2 Providence
Regulation Wins: 22
Home: 17-13-3-1
Away: 16-15-3-1
White Jerseys: 17-11-2-1
White-Out Jerseys: 1-2
Orange Jerseys: 8-8-1
Black Alternate Jerseys: 4-4-2-1
Black-Out Jerseys: 1-1-1
Black on Steel Gray Jerseys: 1-2
Fridays: 9-9-2-1
Saturdays: 12-8-3
Sundays: 1-6-0-1
Wednesdays: 9-1-1
Tuesday/Thursday: 1-4
Sunday 3/3: 0-4-0-1
Post-Game Player Event Day: 2-1
October: 2-3-1-1
November: 7-3-2
December: 4-7-1
January: 8-4-1
February: 5-3-0-1
March: 5-6
April: 1-2-1
| GP | GR | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | RW | ROW | GF | GA | STK | P10 | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 68 | 4 | 43 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 93 | 0.684 | 31 | 40 | 224 | 197 | 4-0-0-0 | 6-3-1-0 | 710 |
| 2 | 67 | 5 | 40 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 86 | 0.642 | 32 | 38 | 215 | 175 | 2-0-0-0 | 7-3-0-0 | 809 |
| 3 | 69 | 3 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 84 | 0.609 | 32 | 34 | 230 | 181 | 1-0-1-0 | 5-4-1-0 | 841 |
| 4 | 67 | 5 | 37 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 82 | 0.612 | 30 | 35 | 228 | 205 | 0-4-0-0 | 5-5-0-0 | 893 |
| 5 | 69 | 3 | 34 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 74 | 0.536 | 28 | 32 | 215 | 223 | 0-1-0-0 | 4-6-0-0 | 862 |
| 6 | 69 | 3 | 33 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 74 | 0.536 | 22 | 29 | 199 | 214 | 0-2-1-0 | 3-6-1-0 | 981 |
| 7 | 69 | 3 | 28 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 65 | 0.471 | 18 | 26 | 188 | 227 | 0-1-0-0 | 4-4-2-0 | 968 |
| 8 | 68 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 0.272 | 15 | 15 | 173 | 277 | 0-3-0-0 | 2-8-0-0 | 792 |
Players
As mentioned above, Lycksell and Ābols have returned from the Flyers. D Ty Murchison has joined from the college ranks. He was a 5th round draft pick in 2021, and made his pro debut last night.
D Emil Andrae is still a potential add from the Flyers once they are finished. I’m not looking for Kolosov. There are still a couple other potential college adds, but I don’t think they move the needle or earn playing time for the playoffs.
Lines last night in Syracuse
15 Lycksell 77 Luchanko 74 Wisdom
29 Grebenkin 18 Ābols 72 Gendron
17 Wilson 56 Gaucher 90 Richard
16 Avon 73 Rizzo 13 Furry
19 McDonald 7 Belpedio
37 Ginning 3 Grans
4 Murchison 5 Samson
31 Gahagen (Backup: 40 Petersen)
Discussion: This is probably what we’re looking at going into the playoffs. And, I like it. I wonder about Gardner for Rizzo. Smith on a checking line? Gleason for the young Murchison?
Reading
They have their last regular season game tonight. If they win, they’re in the playoffs too.
GAME DAY!
It’s Star Wars night and Saturday Night Hockey Live–maybe for the last time until October. It’s going to be a big crowd tonight with Hershey in town and all the Star Wars festivities–grab your tickets before you head downtown.
STH Early Entrance: 5:45, All Gates: 6:00; Show Time: 7:05; Hockey 7:17
Look for baseball on Service Electric 50 tonight, hockey on TV2.
First place Hershey may be coasting a bit looking forward to the playoffs, but this should be a good measuring stick for our young players as well as the new line combinations.
MEDIA KIT
OFFICIALS
Referee Mathieu Menniti (#30)
Referee Patrick Hanrahan (#52)
Linesperson Brandon Grillo (#75)
Linesperson Tommy George (#61)
Scouting the Refs: I don’t have any notes on Menniti, but Hanrahan was present for a very unevenly officiated game earlier this season.
What To Watch
- Watch to see what the lines look like. Which young players are getting skates and how much ice time are they getting. Is there a checking line and what does it look like? How does all this work against Hershey, who plays good defense and usually has a good goalie?
- Watch to see how Peterson looks in net. Gahagen has been outstanding since December, but I’m not sure we’ll ask him to start every single playoff game. We probably need both.
- Watch to see if there’s any playoff intensity. From either team.
- Watch to see how many times I have to pay for parking when I go from downtown, over to the baseball game for a bit, back to downtown for hockey.
- Watch to see if Luchanko shoots the puck. He’s been a very unselfish player since he joined, which is understandable, but sometimes the best shot is your own. We need him on the score sheet in the playoffs.
- Watch the scoreboard for Charlotte wins and/or Providence losses. We need to keep Charlotte in the 2 seed to make sure we don’t have to spend the first round down there. I trust the second round would be more fair in terms of home and away schedule.
Up Next
The Phantoms have the week off–last week they spent an evening in a luxury suite over at the IronPigs–before we close out the home schedule with a Friday game versus Cleveland, and the regular season with a Saturday game in Hershey.
See you at the arena,
And, the ballpark,
@Kram207
Featured image by Jack Mitroka