The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, are back in the Calder Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive year.
The Phantoms, coached by former Flyers forward Ian Laperrière, will take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a best-of-three first round series. Lehigh Valley clinched the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division after going 32-31-6-3 in the regular season.
The Phantoms went just 4-7-1-0 against the Penguins this season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has won the last five meetings, with the Phantoms’ last victory in the rivalry coming on the road back on March 9th at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Phantoms will look to move past last season’s agonizing end, where they fell in three games – all away – to the Charlotte Checkers in a thrilling First Round matchup.
HOW DO THE PLAYOFFS WORK?
The playoff format in the AHL is a tad different than the NHL. The Phantoms are one of 23 teams that will have a shot at winning the Calder Cup this season. Six teams from the Atlantic, five teams from the North, six teams from the Central, and seven teams from the Pacific make up the field. Teams that play in the First Round play a best-of-three series before the winners advance to the Division Semifinals, which are a best-of-five. The Division Finals are also a best-of-five, while the Conference Finals and Calder Cup Finals are best-of-seven series.
WHAT DOES THE PHANTOMS’ PATH LOOK LIKE?
Lehigh Valley’s path through the Atlantic could be a tough climb. Should they defeat the Penguins in the First Round, they will face the top-seeded Hershey Bears. Hershey ended the season as the top team in the AHL with a remarkable 53-13-0-5 record and 111 points. If the Phantoms were to upset the Bears, they would take on one of the Providence Bruins, Charlotte Checkers, or Hartford Wolf Pack in the Division Finals. From there, they will have to face the winner of the North Division in the Eastern Conference Finals before taking on the Western Conference champion in the Calder Cup Finals.
HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE THE PHANTOMS BEEN IN THE PAST?
The Phantoms have previously won two Calder Cups in their history in 1998 and 2005 while they were known as the Philadelphia Phantoms. However, they have not advanced to the Division Semifinals in the current playoff format yet, and they have not even advanced to the Division Finals since 2018 when they went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals; only to lose to the eventual Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies.
WHO SHOULD YOU WATCH OUT FOR?
11 Phantoms players who appeared in last year’s playoffs will play again this time around, and 13 players overall from the 2023 postseason roster are returning. Olle Lycksell led the Phantoms in points (4) and was tied for the team lead in goals (2) and assists (2) last postseason, and after averaging over a point per game in the AHL this season (39PTS in 38GP) when he wasn’t recalled to Philadelphia, he’ll look to impress once again up front. Lycksell tied Cooper Marody for the team lead in goals this regular season as well with 19, respectively.
Speaking of Marody, he led the Phantoms in assists (37) and points (56) this year in his second season with the team. The former 2015 sixth-round pick has appeared in 18 playoff games across his AHL career and racked up a goal and two assists against Charlotte in last year’s playoff series. He will be a major factor in the Phantoms’ offense against the Penguins.
(Eric Payne Photography)
Adam Brooks is the lone former Calder Cup champion on the Phantoms’ roster. Brooks, a forward, helped Toronto win in 2018 and has skated in 36 playoff games, by far the most of any active Phantoms player. His veteran prowess and previous championship experience will be paramount in helping guide a young Phantoms club to postseason success.
Defensively, Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard could be the two guys to really keep an eye on. Both blueliners spent time with the Flyers after the team suffered numerous injuries and traded away Sean Walker, and they both looked solid. After being sent down to garner playoff experience, they can use this series and any potential future games as a tryout to keep a full-time job in Philadelphia next season.
Attard led all Phantoms defensemen in goals (10) and was second in defensive scoring behind Emil Andrae, another young player who started the season with the Flyers and has shown flashes of brilliance with the Phantoms this season.
In goal, Cal Petersen led all Phantoms netminders in games played (28) and will likely start Game 1 in Wilkes-Barre. Petersen put together a 10-15-3 record to accompany a .902 SV%, 2.71 GAA, and 2 shutouts in the regular season. Felix Sandström, Alexei Kolosov, and Parker Gahagen are also on the playoff roster, but expect the veteran Sandström to serve as Petersen’s backup or even get some serious playing time if Petersen struggles.
(Eric Payne Photography)
WHEN ARE THE GAMES AND HOW CAN YOU FOLLOW THEM?
Game 1 takes place on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre at 7:05pm ET, while Game 2 will move to Allentown on Friday at 7:05pm ET. Should Game 3 be necessary, the Penguins will host on Monday in a winner-takes-all event at 5:05pm ET. Games can be seen on AHL TV or on the Service Electric Network. Game audio will also be broadcast on the Phantoms365 app.
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