Wilson: 'It's Gut Check Time' For Phantoms

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - It's been anything but fun for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms through the opening quarter of the 2021-22 season.

They began the year on a seven-game winless skid (0-5-2) before winning three of their next four games. Just when it looked like the Phantoms were getting back on track, they entered another winless slide which sits at eight games (0-5-3) as they get set to host Cleveland and Hartford this weekend.

"It's tough, it's unacceptable and I'm tired of it," Phantoms assistant captain Garrett Wilson told Inside AHL Hockey after the team's latest loss last weekend against Charlotte. "We've got to find a way to start winning some hockey games."

Whether it's the growing pains that come with inserting an entirely new coaching staff into the mix, the plethora of injuries in the organization decimating the team's depth, the call ups of their top performers from the first 19 games or perhaps some combination of several other things, to say things haven't gone well in Lehigh Valley so far would be a massive understatement.

"It's gut check time," Wilson stated, adding, "We're not doing our job right now. We get paid to perform, and we're not performing. [We] can't keep losing like this."

READ ALSO: Phantoms' Heightened COVID Awareness Following Opponents' Outbreaks

Arguably the most frustrating thing about the Phantoms' early-season woes is how they've been able to keep games close, sometimes even taking a lead into the third period, but ultimately finding ways to come up short.

Lehigh Valley hasn't won a single one-goal game through 19 contests, going 0-3-5 in those one-goal games with two more losses (3-1 to Hartford Oct 23 and 4-1 to Bridgeport Nov 27) by way of one-goal games turned into wider margins in the waning moments due to some empty net tallies. At one point, the Phantoms lost four straight games by one goal (0-1-3).

"I mean, we're in the games so we're not too far off," Wilson reiterated. "It definitely hurts a lot more being in it the whole game and losing these close ones - the one goal games. We've been on the wrong end of all of them."

Even with more than half of their losses (10 of 16) being winnable games, this team needs to find a way to turn it around - and quickly - if they have any hopes of playing past April 23rd's regular season finale.

"We got to stick together here find a way. There's still a lot of a lot hockey left in the season. So look at that at that as a positive and hopefully start stringing a few together here."