The red-glove penguins are in town and meLVin is giving out free jerseys to the kids. Phil Tomasino hasn’t been as prolific on the score sheet since coming over from the Pittsburgh franchise. Perhaps today is the day that gets going.
About Last Night
The Phantoms got back to their winning ways last night–and solved the puzzle that is 2026 Bridgeport. The. 5-3 final was down to a 4-2 game where the empty net came into play late. Zayde Wisdom had himself a night with two goals and an assist while Kyrou somehow surpassed him in the three-stars voting with 1 goal and 2 assists. It was that fourth line doing work all night, whether they found a matchup they liked or just the continuity of that group while the rest of things have been jumbled due to injuries and call-ups. Bjarnason played a nice game in net and made some key saves. While the overall puck play was quite sloppy, the penalties were kept to a minimum and they were able to kill all three man-advantage opportunities that the Islanders were granted. It was a step in the right direction.
Records and Standings
Record: 21-17-2-2
Standings: Fifth place in the AHL Atlantic, one point behind Hershey
Home: 11-7-1-1
Away: 10-10-1-1
Recent: 2-2 this weekend and last
Overtime: 4-2
Shootout: 4-2
Friday: 4-8
Saturday: 13-2-0-2
Sunday: 2-3-1
[Sunday 3/3: 0-1-1]
Monday:.0-1-1
Wednesday: 3-3
October: 5-3-0-1
November: 5-3-1-1
December: 5-5-1
January: 5-6
February:
“Winter Semester” Xmas to All Stars: 7-6-1
White “Road” Jerseys: 9-4-1-1
Black with Orange “Alternate” Jerseys: 4-5-1-1
Orange “Home” Jerseys: 5-4
“Black-Out” Jerseys: 0-1
“Faux-Back” Keystone Black: 2-2
Charcoal Gray “Forgotten Preseason”: 1-1
Post-Game Fan Event Game: 2-0
Player Updates
-G Perets did indeed return yesterday with the afternoon call-up of Kolosov to back up in Philly. We’re expecting those transactions to undo themselves and for Kolosov to start today versus the red-glove Penguins.
D Oliver Bonk returned to the lineup Friday in Springfield but was a scratch last night. We’ll await his status today.
No word on F Bump. Kinda feels like we won’t see him until after the All Star Break, at this juncture.
D Murchison is out long term with a broken arm.
Lines Last Night Versus Hamilton Bridgeport
43 Eklind 25 Pederson 26 Tomasino
90 Richard 23 Dorwart 20 Marody
72 Gendron 56 Gaucher 12 Kaplan
17 Wilson 74 Wisdom 22 Robertson
37 Ginning 82 Guenette
19 McDonald 15 Kyrou
3 Grans 76 Schmidt
64 Bjarnason ( 1 Perets)
Discussion: Tomasino at wing on the Pederson line should free him up for plenty scoring opportunities. He had been playing a lot of center since coming over and the defensive responsibilities of that position along with adapting to new systems and teammates probably slowed down his score sheet contributions. McDonald did a good job protecting the front of the net and covering for Kyrou who sometimes goes on adventures. Last night those adventures paid off. Grans and Schmidt need to continue to play up to their size.
Red Gloves
The Penguins with the red gloves are no longer the class of the division; that belongs to Providence right now. They are no longer the hottest team in the division; that would be Charlotte currently. But they’re still up there and they’re getting it done after losing players to trades (ie Tomasino) and injuries and call-ups, perhaps more than other AHL squads at this juncture.
They beat Syracuse 4-1 last night at home. Last weekend they beat Hershey in a shootout before getting blasted by Charlotte. They have the rest advantage today, as they did not play Friday night.
Their power play has been abhorrent: Worst in the entire AHL. Let’s hope the Phantoms figured out some things on Penalty Kill last night and this isn’t an opportunity for the red-glove penguins to get right. Their Penalty kill is middle of the pack, and worse on the road.
Their roster has a fair few additions from ECHL Wheeling, and they lost McGroarty to Pittsburgh this weekend. Just today they get winger Tanner Howe back from Pittsburgh. Murashov in net last night for them at home, so we’ll likely see Blomqvist–but he’s had good games in our building before so not a huge advantage going in.
GAME DAY!
It’s a 3:05PM show time with hockey underway around 3:15. All Doors 2:00PM; FMZ and Air Products Season Ticket gates at 1:45PM.
Promotion: Kids meLVin jersey giveaway. They’ll likely have plenty. Stick to the main gates. If you are worried that you are late I’d use the LVHN Gate.
Tickets: Tickets are widely available but there are very few deals as this game seems to be in high demand due to the matinee and the kids giveaway.
Parking: Leave a little extra time as some streets and sidewalks still suffer from snow removal or lack thereof. Also, some street parking is free on Sundays, YMMV near the arena.
Pre-Game / Post-Game: Check that your favorite pre- and post-game spots are open on Sunday, and at what time.
Media Kit:
Officials
Referees: Liam Maaskant (#45), Sydney Harris (#9) Lines: Patrick Dapuzzo (#57), Davids Rozitis (#62)
What To Watch:
- Watch to see if it’s Kolosov in net. He’s been all over this weekend, and we didn’t see Perets return at press time, so it could really be any of the three.
- Watch to see if Bonk returns after having last night off.
- Watch to see if the Penalty Kill can continue to play good hockey against a poorly-rated Penguins unit.
- Watch to see if Tomasino is still on the wing with Pederson and if he can get on the score sheet–maybe a couple times
- Watch the lines, though, sometimes Sunday of a 3/3 can be a bit different. It’s certainly an advantage for our visitors today.
- Watch to see the ratio of Pittsburgh jerseys to Wilkes-Barre jerseys today. Just look for the red gloves.
Up Next
Week off, then two games next weekend to close out the “winter semester” between the holiday break and the all star break. (Did we hear who will replace Barkey from the Phantoms?)
Friday we’ll be right back here to play a rematch of today’s game, then Saturday we’ll head to Bridgeport for a rematch of last night’s game. Then the break.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207