It’s meLVin’s birthday! Let’s have a party! Winning a hockey game would be a nice present, don’t you think?
Birthday Bash
We like mascots just fine around here. The crazier the antics the better. And when you get a whole mess of mascots together for a party? Crazy stuff could happen. Especially during the mascot hockey game. Last season I unearthed all the introductory videos from when we first met the puck-nosed pladottle who would become our mascot. The videos are in THIS POST. Even if you’ve seen those videos before, they’re worth another watch.
About Last Night
Shootout loss. If it had gone on any longer I would have needed my heart pills. Here’s the Phantoms Media info on the long shootout:
“It was a history-making night. Lehigh Valley played its longest shootout in team history in a 12-round marathon to secure a valuable standings point while the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack prevailed on a goal by Justin Dowling to finally end the insanity in a 5-4 final. The Wolf Pack did not lead all night long…until the very end of the lengthy battle.
The game eclipsed the previous longest shootout in Lehigh Valley history on November 1, 2015 with a 10-round win at Hershey on a goal by Kevin Sundher. The longest shootout in PPL Center was a nine-round duel back in the team’s inaugural season when Adam Comrie struck for the winner against the Norfolk Admirals on December 27, 2014.
However, the game still fell shy of the franchise-record 15 rounds played by the Adirondack Phantoms against Binghamton Senators on April 14, 2013 when new defenseman Mark Alt scored the goal to finally end the night making a winner of Brian Boucher between the pipes.”
Here’s Coach’s thoughts on the game:
Records and Standings
Record: 23-23-2-3
Standings: Sixth Place, leading Springfield by 2 points
Home: 11-12-1-2
Away: 12-11-1-1
Recent: 3-6-0-1 in last 10
Overtime: 4-2
Shootout: 4-3
Friday: 5-9
Saturday: 14-4-0-3
Sunday: 2-5-1
[Sunday 3/3: 0-2-1]
Monday:.0-1-1
Wednesday: 3-4
October: 5-3-0-1
November: 5-3-1-1
December: 5-5-1
January: 5-6
February: 2-6-0-1
White “Road” Jerseys: 9-4-1-1
Black with Orange “Alternate” Jerseys: 6-7-1-1
Orange “Home” Jerseys: 5-6
“Black-Out” Jerseys: 0-2-0-1
“Faux-Back” Keystone Black: 2-2
Charcoal Gray “Forgotten Preseason”: 1-1
“Orange Out” 2026: 0-1
Post-Game Fan Event Game: 2-1
Hartford Again
It’s a rematch of last night’s game against last-place Hartford. The only name on the roster that is familiar is Derrick Pouliot. He was on the Phantoms during the shortened 2021 pandemic hockey. We did beat them a couple times up at their place, but many of the goal scorers from those games are no longer on our team.
GAME DAY!
Expect to see many of meLVin’s mascot friends about the arena.
Event Time: 3:05PM; Hockey 3:17PM
Doors: All doors 2:00PM; Season Ticket Doors: 1:45PM
Parking: Street parking is free in some areas of Allentown on Sundays, but use caution in the arena block they may still check on event day.
Promotion: No giveaway for the birthday this season, unfortunately.
Calendar: Yes, meLVin’s birthday is often in February, but the Pladottle calendar is slightly different from our own.
Tickets: Good seats are still available, including some nice discounts on the secondary market.
Pre-Game: Check on your favorite pre-gaming restaurants and bars as many are not open until later or closed on Sundays.
Post-Game: We’re not big fans of these 3:05PM starts, but it is a nice opportunity to go out after the game. Also, today, Premier Member Season Ticket Holders get to shoot the puck for $1000.00 after the game! Sign up on the concourse!
Media Kit:
Officials:
Referees: Morgan MacPhee (#43), Luke Stork (#54) Linesperson: Anthony Lapointe (#58), Jud Ritter (#34)
What To Watch
- Kolosov in net is probable. I wouldn’t mind seeing a shutout. Not calling it; just saying.
- Watch to see if they can look organized. So many times it looks like they never played together before.
- Watch for some urgency on defense. It hasn’t been there lately, or there’s been lapses that are unexplainable.
- Watch for your favorite non-meLVin mascots. Hershey and Scranton are off, so there’s a chance Coco and Tux could be in the building. I love seeing Ferrous and FeFe from the IronPigs as well. Less likely to see Gritty, as he get’s his own day to visit. The Phanatic is down in Clearwater. Some college and corporate and high school mascots should be about.
- Watch out for the kiddos. They’ll be everywhere. Here’s hoping my section has an usher today.
Up Next
Here we go with March, the penultimate month of the season unless you think this team goes deep enough in the playoffs to be still playing in May.
This week, an odd Tuesday game up in Utica. Next weekend is a 3/3 with Friday and Saturday home for a double-dip of Charlotte–provided they can figure out how transportation works. The team will then head for a Sunday matinee in Bridgeport.
The following weekend is another three-in-three and we’ve got a home Wednesday game on the 18th. College hockey will return to the PPL Center in 2028, I’ve been told.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 6, 3:00PM Eastern Time. The AHL trade deadline is the same.
See you at the arena,
@Kram207
Featured image by Jack Mitroka. It has been cropped to fit the space.
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