Frost Getting Back On Track

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Morgan Frost wasn't exactly pleased to be among the cuts at Philadelphia Flyers training camp earlier this fall.

"I don't think it was too much of a secret I was a little upset at the start of the year coming down," he told InsideAHLHockey.com after Saturday's home loss to Syracuse - a 3-2 decision that extended the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' season-opening winless streak to seven games.

The Phantoms (0-5-2) held 2-1 leads heading into the third period of both of their games over the weekend. Friday night in Utica, a 2-0 lead in the final minute of the second period turned into a 5-2 loss. Saturday, a 2-1 lead was nullified 4:30 into the third period before Syracuse completed the comeback in overtime.

"We need to figure out a way to win games. It's frustrating," Frost said . "Yeah, I don't know. I think at the start [of the year], we were playing from behind a lot. But now we're getting leads and we can't hold them, so something needs to be fixed."

The main reason the Phantoms are winless through the first seven games of their season has been their inability to score goals. Lehigh Valley has managed just 10 goals on the season. Their power play (2-for-32, 6.3%) has also been largely ineffective. The Phantoms are at the bottom of the 31-team American Hockey League (AHL) in both goals for and power play success rate.

Despite a failed 6-on-3 power play attempt in Hershey, a 1-1 game in the final five minutes against Hartford and the two blown leads this past weekend, perhaps the Phantoms aren't too far off from turning the page on this season-opening slide.

"I think like honestly, the last three games we've gotten better and better and better. That's why it's it's really frustrating," Frost said after Saturday's game. "I think we're doing so many good things, but it's just little mental errors. We have to figure out a way to score more than two goals in a game, for sure. Our goalies have been so good for us. I think if we put three or four up there, we're probably gonna win a lot of nights. Yeah, it's frustrating."

For Frost, getting past the fact that he didn't make the NHL roster out of camp and re-focusing his energy into getting his confidence and timing back at the AHL hasn't been an overnight transition.

After a strong outing in his first AHL preseason appearance, it was a quiet opening weekend for Frost. So quiet, that head coach Ian Laperriere glued him to the bench for most of the third period of their 2-1 loss in Hershey on October 17.

""I want more out of him," Laperriere told InsideAHLHockey.com after that game. "He's one of my leaders, one of the guys I'm relying on to create offense. But he has to play better defense to create that offense."

While Frost admitted it took him some time, he said he's feeling a lot more like himself these few games - a good sign for the Phantoms, who desperately need to get into the win column when they resume action Wednesday night with their fourth meeting of the season against rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

"I've felt a lot better the last three games, I think [I'm] moving my feet," Frost said, adding that not making the NHL team out camp left him pretty disappointed upon arriving in Lehigh Valley. "And now I've kind of just embraced it. I obviously want to get back up there, but it doesn't help me when I'm super frustrated with myself and getting down on myself."

"You see his demeanor too, like, he's happy to be on the ice," Laperriere said of Frost. "It's tough to go out there when you're not in a good mood, and he's been he's been really good lately in practice and in games and it's only going to help him and help us in the bigger picture."

Frost was involved in both of his teams' goals Saturday, setting up an eventual rebound goal form Gerry Mayhew in the 1st period and using his speed and shiftiness in the second period to open up space for himself in the neutral zone before he deked and snapped  a quick shot past Crunch goaltender Amir Miftakhov for his first goal of the season.

"That was a nice shot, not too many guys can do that," Laperriere said of Frost's goal.

After opening the season with just one point in four games, Frost has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last three games - hopefully a positive sign that Frost is re-gaining that offensive confidence.

"Honestly, I don't know if you can see me out there but I'm just trying to smile the whole game and have fun, even if I make mistakes," Frost said of his new-formed attitude. "I think that's when I play my best hockey, so that's what I've been doing the last three games: just having fun. [I'm] going to try and continue to roll with that."