10th year in Lehigh Valley gets underway
Sting of last season’s playoff defeat is still fresh in their minds
When PPL Center last hosted a meaningful American Hockey League game, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms dropped a 5-2 decision to the Charlotte Checkers in the 2022-23 season home finale.
And that was a darn shame.
Not just because the Phantoms lost, but because the Phantoms ended the season as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and Charlotte ended as the third seed. Due to the distance between the teams, Charlotte hosted all three games of the opening round series between the teams, and ended up needing all three games to eliminate the Phantoms.
Phantoms fans were not rewarded with a home game, and that was frustrating.
The Phantoms will kick off their 10th season in the Lehigh Valley at the PPL Center 7:05 p.m. Saturday when they host the Cleveland Monsters, and then turn around to host the Belleville Senators at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
When asked what he learned from the playoff loss, third-year Phantoms coach Ian Laperriere was blunt.
“Make sure you don’t play the first three playoff games on the road,” he said, perturbed. “Seriously, I was heartbroken about that. We have great fans here in the Valley. They give us unbelievable support.
“The weekend before the playoffs, we were in third place in the division and went into a little slump after we clinched the playoff spot. I feel bad for [team owners] the Brooks brothers, for everybody who invested so much time and energy, but we didn’t even get a home playoff game scheduled. That’s just not right.”
Charlotte averaged less than 4,000 people per game in the playoffs.
“We would have packed the PPL Center solid,” Laperriere said. “People from Philly would have driven up. I‘ve played in the playoffs when you have a packed house, and when the crowd is behind you, you play better.”
That’s the goal for the Phantoms this season: not just make the playoffs, but to get that critical home-ice advantage.
The first step in that process is to help the young players develop with veteran leadership to guide them. With Cal O’Reilly signing with the Milwaukee Admirals in the offseason, veteran Garrett Wilson has been named captain.
Wilson, a physical 6-foot3, 218-pound left wing, is in his fourth season with the Phantoms and is coming off a career-high 43-point season (18 goals, 25 assists). He served as captain for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the first eight games of the 2018-19 season but was called up by the Pittsburgh Penguins and never went back down.
“It was kind of funny in a way,” Wilson said. “But this with the Phantoms is definitely a huge honor especially with this organization. The Brooks brothers run a first-class organization with an unbelievable facility. We’ve got great fans. To lead the charge is an honor.”
“Choosing ‘Wils’ to be captain was the easiest decision of my life,” Laperriere said. “Wils is Wils. I love guys like that. He is a no-nonsense guy who leads by example. We’re lucky to have leadership like that. Any kids or veterans coming our way, you look at him and you know that he’s a pro.”
The defensemen are relatively young and will be tested, but veteran Louie Belpedio, a third-round pick of Minnesota in 2014, had a productive year and is part of the leadership to help the youngsters grow.