Phantoms Post-Game EXTRA! (2/4/22)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-15-8) hit the midway mark of the 2021-22 season following Friday night's win over Providence.

Friday night's game story -> https://insideahlhockey.com/article/game-story-providence-1-at-lehigh-valley-5-2422

Three Things

1. Good, But Not Great

Yes, the final score was a lopsided 5-1.

And yes, the Phantoms started off strong with a three-goal first period.

But it was far from a dominating performance for those in attendance at PPL Center Friday night.

I led off the post-game presser with head coach Ian Laperriere and asked a bit of a trick question, given the final score, to see if coach would agree and further spin the narrative of a dominating 5-1 blowout that boxscore watchers will likely claim.

"Was it one of the more complete games you've had this season from start-to-finish?," I quipped.

Laperriere didn't take the bait. He provided an honest assessment of the full 60-minute game.

"We did a lot of good things, don't get me wrong, we scored five goals. And the boys worked hard. But you know, there's some stuff that, as a coach, sometimes you're too picky because I know what they can do," he told InsideAHLHockey.com after Friday's game. "I felt like sometimes, especially in the second period & at the end of the first, too, we tried to be a little bit too casual there."

He wasn't overly critical, and rightfully so after a 5-1 win, but there is some truth to the fact that Providence had several series of extended offensive zone pressure late in the first period and carried it over into the middle frame.

The Bruins' top line of Samuel Asselin, Jack Studnicka and Jesper Froden was their best line going, and it came as no surprise after a lengthy shift attacking in the Phantoms' defensive zone that they broke through and got on the scoresheet 4:16 into 2nd period.

"They agreed," coach said of the players in the Phantoms' locker room. "They know, but trust me - I loved the game. We won 5-1. I'm very happy. We score goals, and it's a big two points for us."

2. Frost, Ratcliffe, York Returned To Phantoms Lineup

With the taxi squads now (hopefully) a thing of the past, the Flyers assigned three non-waiver eligible players to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. The Phantoms welcomed the reinforcements with open arms after playing with 18 healthy skaters on the roster for much of the last month.

With Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe and Cam York back in the fold, the team added three high skill-level players into their lineup.

Maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the Phantoms put up a five-spot.

"They're first rounders for a reason, but what I like about them tonight, they jumped [right back] into the structure," Laperriere said of the returnees from the Flyers. "They didn't try to do their own thing because they were 'NHL guys'. They just played the right way, and they played the way those guys been playing for last two months."

3. Offense Flowing Through Hodgson?

How many of you had Hayden Hodgson leading the Phantoms in goals at the half-way point of the season? Now put your hands down, liars.

"You know, that's a good question," Hodgson replied. "I've always stayed confident in myself. I know what I can do. And you know, at this time, it's pretty crazy. But you just kind of think about every game, game by game and just just work upon that."

Hodgson tallied two goals Friday to take the team's lead in that department.

The first, a simple going hard to the net drive with his stick out for a re-direct after an accurate shot-pass to the net from linemate Maksim Sushko.

The second? A nice snap shot on the power play from the right circle.

"Everything hard. That's what I like about him," Laperriere said of Hodgson. "And I told you guys that's all I noticed during the [preseason training] camp."