Another Chance

The Phantoms are in a unique position to be able to get some immediate vengeance on the team that was responsible for their worst weekend of the season. It is quite amazing that we are nearly 2/3 of the way through the season, and this was the first weekend that the team was held without a win… plus, they got a point out of it anyway.

I’d like to say right off the bat here that it was great to see all of the Phantoms fan support out in the St. Louis area. While the Bandits drew a lot more fans than I thought they would, there was still a loud group of purple-and-orange-clad fans to my right, near the rafters of the Summit Center. Most of them were friends and family of Chad Boeckman, and it was great meeting some of you.

From watching the games, there were three main things that I saw. First of all, you have to give credit where it’s due… St. Louis is a pretty talented team. They have a ton of skill, they were physical, they played well, they executed their game plan, and just plain and simply converted more of their chances than the Phantoms did.

Secondly, the Phantoms did not seem to have a whole lot of passion, especially on Friday night. I doubt it was complacency after coming off of five straight wins, but there was definitely a certain motivation missing from the players.

Thirdly, and not to use it as an excuse, but the extra 15 feet of width on the Olympic rink favored the Bandits. I’m not saying the Phantoms would have won on an NHL-sized rink, but with St. Louis knowing the rink better, practicing on it every day, playing on it in every game, and using their speed in the open space, it caused some trouble in the defensive zone. At the very least, it took a bit of an adjustment period for the Phantoms to get used to it – and St. Louis scored two goals in the opening period of both games.

There were a couple of bright spots on the weekend. The Bandits power play was held scoreless. Heading into the weekend, discipline was one of the major things that the coaching staff was stressing on. Just by virtue of the stats, you can tell that the discipline was there. The Bandits only got five chances on the man-advantage over the weekend – that’s how you keep the league’s best power play in check.

Another bright spot is Johnny Meo’s play of late. I said it last week, when he was contributing as well, but Meo’s hustle and grit is paying off. Missing his front two teeth, and expecting surgery here pretty soon, Meo notched two goals on Friday to help the Phantoms comeback from a 3-1 deficit to force OT and then assisted on McGinty’s first career goal. Congrats to McGinty on that and to Meo on his POW honorable mention.

I would also like to congratulate Carl Nielsen on his first fight in a Phantoms uniform. Nielsen and Mike Murray squared off early in the game on Friday night. It was probably the best fight of the season, lasted a good 30-45 seconds, both landed some good shots, Nielsen caught Murray with a myriad of uppercuts, and eventually it was Murray who went down.

The injury bug is sure starting to take its toll. Of course, Kramarz and Houston are still out from months ago with their ankle problems. Washnock was still being held out for at least one more weekend. Derek Carr is out. Alden Hirschfeld had to sit one out. Verbeek got injured last week after a practice, Bailey got sick all of a sudden on Saturday night, and Snead and Bonnett were playing pretty banged up on Saturday as well.

It seems like just as the Phantoms were starting to get into some productive line combinations, the injuries started to pile up again. I don’t know if it was the short week or what, but hopefully we get these guys back soon.

Even with the rough weekend still fresh on everyone’s mind, I’d still like to remind people that the Phantoms are 1-1-2 against St. Louis this season – that’s not horrible considering that the Bandits own the NAHL’s best record by nine points.

After sweeping the showcase, it was said that the boys took pride in defending their home ice and making the Ice Zone the toughest place to play in the NAHL. The Phantoms have a chance on Friday and Saturday to let the Bandits experience the discomfort of a 10-hour bus ride home after a winless weekend, and to move above .500 against the league’s top team. Now, it’s all about executing.