When we last saw the Phantoms on home ice, they were surrendering a chance at victory to the hated Hershey Bears by surrendering a goal with 12 seconds left in the game. A comedy of errors, to be sure. A rookie head coach puts out an over-matched defensive pair who turn the puck over while a still-developing goalie makes a save only to leave the rebound in front of the net with no help from his defense. Plenty to work on in that one short sequence.
On Sunday, they lost in overtime in Hershey to close out the 3/3 weekend.
It’s Military Appreciation Night with plenty going on at the arena. The Rochester Americans are here.
Records and Standings
Record: 9-4-1-1
Standings: 3rd Place (Hershey Looming)
Home: 4-2
Away: 5-2-1-1
Recent: 1-1-1 in 3-game weekend
Overtime: 2-1
Shootout: 1-1
Friday: 4-0
Saturday: 4-1-0-1
Sunday: 0-1-1
Sunday 3/3: 0-0-1
Wednesday: 1-2
October: 5-3-0-1
November: 4-1-1
White “Home” Jerseys: 4-1
Black with Orange “Alternate” Jerseys: 2-0-1-1
Orange “Away” Jerseys: 3-2
“Black-Out” Jerseys: 0-1
Post-Game Fan Event Game: 1-0
Player Update
Trade: LHD Dennis Gilbert sent back to Ottawa for RHD Maxence Guenette. On first blush it seemed like perhaps Ottawa wanted a more veteran presence on the blue line whom they could call up to the National League right away. Or, perhaps the Flyers just wanted to get younger and more right-handed. On further inspection it seems Gilbert wasn’t a good fit for the organization. Last season he was traded from the Buffalo organization to Ottawa in-season. Some whispers that Gilbert was battling an injury, but some other whispers that his lack of ice time was for other reasons. Perhaps this isn’t a Phantoms problem.
Guenette is a former 7th-round pick of the Senators who has 8 games of NHL experience. He’s 24 years old. Last season with AHL Belleville: 58g, 9G, 14A, 23Pts, 34PM, +13. It was his best season as a professional. He’ll need to pass through waivers before being added to the Phantoms.
D Adam Ginning was added on a conditioning loan from Philadelphia. Expect to see him in the lineup tonight.
Lines Sunday in Hershey
21 Bump 25 Pederson 52 Barkey
91 Grundstrom 23 Dorwart 20 Marody
72 Gendron 56 Gaucher 12 Kaplan
22 Robertson 74 Wisdom 36 Boulton
19 McDonald 5 Samson
4 Murchison 15 Kyrou
24 Berger 3 Grans
35 Kolosov (Backup: 64 Bjarnason)
Some veteran scratches at the end of the first 3/3 of the season. Eklind is the guy who maybe isn’t 100% although he did play earlier in the home-stand, but didn’t stand out. McDonald returned after leaving Saturday’s game with an injury.
Gendron Interview from Phantoms Media
Alex Bump Interview from Phantoms Media
Other Notes from Phantoms Media:
- Bump is third in the AHL in Rookie Scoring
- Bump is first (tied) in the AHL in assists for a rookie
- Bump leads all rookies with 45 shots
- D Ty Murchison has a +9 rating, which is 2nd among rookies, and third among all D-men
- D Christian Kyrou is +8, 7th among D-man. His 8 assists rank 5th.
Royal Report
Reading is 8-3-2 and in second place in the ECHL North. The delay in opening their home schedule was due to improvements made to their concourse. Perhaps it’s time for another trip down there?
Enter Rochester
The Rochester Americans are the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. This is their only visit to Allentown this season; the Phantoms will be at their place on December 13. Not a ton of familiar names on the roster, here’s the write-up from Phantoms Media:
Rochester (10-6-0) has won two straight to move into a tie with the Laval Rocket for first place in the North Division. First-rounders Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund have both been recalled to Buffalo. But 19-year-old Konsta Helenius (5-7-12) is still around and he is also a first-round selection. 2023 AHL All-Star with Hartford, Zac Jones (0-13-13), leads all AHL defensemen in points and assists. He’s played 115 career NHL games for the New York Rangers over parts of the last five seasons. Rochester’s 25.3% power play conversion rate is first in the conference and fifth in the AHL. The Amerks are lighting it up for 3.44 goals per game, sixth in the AHL and second-best in the conference behind only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Goaltender Devon Levi (7-2-0, 2.96, .891) is tied for the league lead in wins and was among the best in the AHL last year finishing third in wins (25) and sixth in GAA (2.20). Mike Leone is in his second season at the bench for the Amerks who went 42-22-8 last year and advanced to the third round of the Calder Cup Playoffs before Laval knocked them out.
GAME DAY!
It’s Military Appreciation Day at the arena. The game will be televised nationally on NHL Network, so everyone behave themselves.
Traffic: Seventh street was closed for a time today; please check traffic before leaving and perhaps plan to avoid seventh street if possible.
Promotion: No word on Happy Hour for tonight. If they bring it back, look for small drafts for a good price at participating vendors.
Tickets: It should be a good crowd for a mid-week tilt today as the organization was very pro-active in trying to fill the North side of the arena for the NHL broadcast. However, there are still good seats to be had and there are some mighty fine deals on the secondary market.
Special Teams: Rochester is good on both sides of the puck for man-advantage scenarios. The Phantoms are struggling on the PK, but better on the Power Play. Not great.
Media Kit: Rochester 2025
Officials: Refs: Chris Conway (#33), Austin Rook (#26) Lines: Jud Ritter (#34), Patrick Dapuzzo (#57)
What To Watch
- Goalie: If Kolosov is the #1 then he’ll get tonight. If we’re alternating, then it will be Bjarnason. Watch for that.
- Check the lineup tonight; it should be our best foot forward as it is a stand-alone mid-week game and not stacked on a weekend.
- Watch to see if we can continue to keep the sloppy penalties to a minimum and improve on special teams.
- Keep an eye out for young players like Bump and Barkey and Kyrou who are playing well.
- Watch to see if it’s Happy Hour tonight before the game and if there are any other cup-size shenanigans.
- Check out the new Pro Shop over in the former 99 Bottles. We’re planning a full piece on it soon, but it’s a nice addition and something that should have been present from the get-go. Better late than never. The signage directing you there is good.
- We’ve heard rumblings about some improvements in quality and availability in Chickie’s. See if you notice any differences.
Up Next
The Phantoms head for New England this weekend with games in Providence and Hartford Friday and Saturday respectively. No week-day games Thanksgiving week, but Black Friday up in Wilkes and we’ll return here “Cyber Saturday” for Laval.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207
Featured Image is by Jack Mitroka.