The Lehigh Valley Phantoms got back into action to start their 2023-24 American Hockey League season over the weekend, hosting the Cleveland Monsters and the Belleville Senators at PPL Center. The Phantoms fell behind by multiple goals early in both games but ended the weekend on a positive note with a 5-2 win over Belleville. Alexis Gendron’s first AHL goal was the first of five unanswered goals for host Lehigh Valley behind a solid effort for journeyman goaltender Peter Gahagen, who stopped 28 of 30 shots against.
Sunday Scaries
It was a tough start to the season for Lehigh Valley as they surrendered a goal only 31 seconds into their season on Saturday and fell behind 3-0 after one period of play. The poor start put a hush on a solid crowd of 8,449 for the Phantoms’ new season as a couple soft goals allowed defensively put them in a bad spot. The exclamation point was a misplay by goaltender Cal Petersen behind his own net that Tyler Angle was able to convert on from an extreme angle (pun intended).
The bright side of the game was seeing Samu Tuomaala’s first AHL goal late in regulation as the Phantoms went just one for five on the power play overall. The young defender played in two games in the early stages of the 2021-22 season and makes an early mark with a few more years of experience under his belt. It’s a much younger, newer iteration of the Phantoms compared to the past few years, and the process of gelling is already underway.
You Gotta Fight
It was a feisty afternoon on Sunday as the Phantoms traded dance partners with the nearby Hershey Bears to take on the Belleville Senators. Just like the day prior, the Phantoms fell behind by two goals separated by just 13 seconds in the first period but responded in kind almost instantly. Gendron, a rookie, got the party started by nabbing a loose puck after a Senator lost his edge just inside the blue line and beat the goaltender with a well-placed shot.
If the Phantoms stopped to think about a comeback after the goal, they didn’t show it with their play. They’d even up the score with a big weekend from veteran forward Cooper Marody, who had three points (two goals, one assist) on opening weekend. He snuck in from the side while the Phantoms were shorthanded to even the score at two less than two minutes after the Gendron goal.
Scrappy, Upstart Phantoms
The two teams filled the penalty sheet in the second game, each accruing 25 minutes in penalty minutes and tallying once on six power play attempts. Tanner Laczynski’s goal on the man advantage capped off a stretch of five goals in just the first half of the period. The Senators’ shorthanded goals against spelled the difference as Adam Ginning’s goal proved to be a back breaker. Lehigh Valley earned one more shorthanded goal to tie a franchise record in a single game with Rhett Gardner tallying on the empty net to make it 5-2.
It’s a solid rebound game for the Phantoms where the play favored them more over time. Naturally, the opening weekend of the season is far from the complete picture of any teams that take the ice across the AHL, but finding some early success is a positive sign. With the organization looking to be more competitive from the top down, Lehigh Valley has its eyes set on more in the 2023-24 season. The next month of play is littered with Atlantic Division matchups, the first true test of the mettle of this Phantoms squad, and it’ll be important to get going in the right direction early.
