Hockey Night In Allentown: Season 13 On Tap 10/3/26

“Rise up, gather round
Rock this place to the ground”

-Def Leppard

PreSeason Report

The Phantoms went 1-1 on the preseason.  A game was cancelled in Wilkes-Barre because they couldn’t figure out ice.  The Phantoms beat Hershey at home before losing to Wilkes-Barre on perfectly good PPL Center ice.  The lineups in both games were “tryout” kinda deals, with some of the young and new players combined with some guys who may play a bunch of this season in Reading.  For the most part, we thought the team played hard, though, and were fairly well organized and on top of things–at least until the second period of the Scranton game.  For what it’s worth, here are the lines from the two games:

Vs Hershey

90 Pautov 9 Thompson 15 Powell

13 Ciernik 41 Kressler 21 Kaplan

27 McLaughlin 8 Berard 11 Bancroft

76 Bantle 10 Haskins 32 Robidoux

46 Sevigny 42 Gill

92 Edward 38 Reid

26 Wylie 65 Perrott

64 Bjarnason (80 Petruzzelli)

Vs Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

25 Foote 23 Studnicka 90 Pautov

27 McLaughlin 74 Wisdom 21 Kaplan

13 Ciernik 9 Thompson 15 Powell

8 Berard 14 Gruden 11 Bancroft

19 McDonald 42 Gill

4 Murchison 44 Dineen

92 Edward 65 Perrott

35 Kolosov  (64 Bjarnason)

Wait, Who Are Those Guys?

Unlike the past twelve season, I’ve been geeking out about this lineup a little bit.  It’s got a nice mix of rookies, real Flyers prospects, and veteran contributors with well-rounded skills. It’s a nice mix, so I wrote a whole piece with player capsules and scouting reports for each player.  Read it here. 

Now, of course coaching, teamwork, injuries, Flyers drama and such, can interfere with what should be a nice season of hockey.  We’ve got a long way to go, but it looks like it might be a fun ride.

Here’s a printable copy:  26_10_01-Phantoms-Roster

While we’re at it, here’s the Media Kit for tonight:  Hartford Opener

What’s New At The Arena

Things seemed pretty familiar in the old barn for pre-season.  You can still use cash at Burger Prime and I think the Bru Daddy bar.  The taps behind section 107 have been replaced with the old “Wall O’ Fridges” with a wide variety of cans for purchase.  I’ve heard rumor that there will be new group areas at the back of the Bru Daddy bar, above 108, as well as part of section 111 somehow.  There seemed to be better usher coverage about the arena for the preseason games than last season–not to say they were very effective, but it’s preseason for everyone, you know.

GAME DAY!

Show Time: 7:05PM

All Gates:  6:00PM

Pemier Member Gates: 5:45PM

Hockey: 7:20PM

TV:  Service Electric TV2, Flo Hockey.

Radio:  Streaming from PhantomsHockey.com or the Phantoms App.  Air: 1470-AM WSAN

Giveaway: Rally Towels

Tickets: Good seats are still available and there are a few deals to be had on the secondary market.

Parking:  No changes noted in the parking situation.  My preferred deck did not even bother collecting parking at the final preseason game so I had to pay regular rates–which was more.  Win some and lose some.  It appears they will start collecting parking shortly after 4PM this season, depending on location.

Referees: Rob Hennessey (#87), Chad Ingalls (#39) Linesperson: Davids Rozitis (#62), John Rey (#16)

What To Watch

• Watch for new fans in new seats as folks move around from year to year.  I’ll remain in 105, same seats as last season, but the first time in a while I haven’t moved.
• Watch for the new group areas and the demise and encroachment on standing room spaces around the arena.  It’s something happening on the baseball side too, as groups have become so vital to ticket sales.
• Watch for the lines and pairs announcement to see who’s in the lineup tonight.
• Watch the power play units.  Who’s out there?  Who’s the defender?  Do they look like they know what they’re doing?
• Watch for who starts in net.  I would go with Bjarnason, but it feels like Kolosov has the inside track for #3 in Philadelphia, so perhaps he gets first shot at it.  They’ll both be used, of course.
• Watch for any difference in uniforms.  They wore their latest whites for the preseason games, so that’s what I expect.  But, you never know and sometimes there can be a surprise.
• Watch out for Rangers fans.  Make sure to point out to them that Hartford is not the real Rangers.  They love that.

Up Next

The Phantoms have the week off, and return to the ice at the PPL Center next weekend for two with visiting Cleveland.  Saturday is a normal 7:05PM start, while Sunday is a football-killing 1:05PM start (Eagles play at 9:30AM in London, Steelers and Giants both have 1PM games.)

The following week is a busy one with three on the road in New England.

See you at the arena,

@Kram207

Featured Image by Jack Mitroka.