Phantoms Post-Game EXTRA! (3/8/22)

HERSHEY, Pa - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-24-10) continue to fade further away from the playoff picture in the Atlantic Division following their sixth straight setback Tuesday night in Hershey.

Tuesday's Game Story -> https://insideahlhockey.com/article/game-story-lehigh-valley-0-at-hershey-4-3822

Three Things

1. Too Many Passengers

Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere didn't mince words when talking to InsideAHLHockey.com after the game, in regards to his team's overall effort.

"Too many passengers" was a phrase he used five times in his post-game presser.

"It's one thing [to have trouble] scoring goals, but you have to battle harder than that," Laperriere said, adding, "It doesn't matter if we have a new lineup - if we just go through the motions like we did tonight we won't win this weekend. We just need to be better."

2. Last Minute (Literally) Backup Goalie Change

While Felix Sandstrom was pegged as Tuesday's starter, his scheduled backup Pat Nagle became suddenly ill and was unable to play - forcing a last minute addition as Kirill Ustimenko was brought from Reading, Pa to Hershey, Pa leading up to puck drop.

In fact, Sandstrom took the warmup as the lone Phantoms goalie. Ustimenko arrived and was in-gear and on the bench a few minutes into the first period - wearing Garrett Metcalf's old #45.

3. Injury Updates - Allison, Cates, Strome, Zamula

Laperriere provided injury updates to InsideAHLHockey.com after Tuesday night's game.

Wade Allison

• Laperriere said Allison is expected to return to Phantoms lineup this weekend .

Jackson Cates

"He's doing okay. His head is fine. His neck is fine. But he has other stuff he's dealing with," Laperriere said of Cates' condition following that scary hit into the end boards Saturday night.

Matt Strome & Egor Zamula

Laperriere said he was hopeful that neither would miss too much time with their respective ailments.