Quick Hits: February 15, 2023
1) After a complete off-day on Monday, the Flyers (22-23-10) traveled yesterday to Seattle. They will hold a practice at Climate Pledge Arena today to prepare for a rematch with the Seattle Kraken (30-18-6) on Thursday night (10:00 p.m. ET). The Flyers will take 13 forwards and three goaltenders on the road trip, having recalled Kieffer Bellows and Samuel Ersson on Tuesday.
Following the game in Seattle, the Flyers will visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night (10:00 p.m. ET), the Calgary Flames on Monday afternoon (4:00 p.m. ET) and the Edmonton Oilers (9:00 p.m. ET) on Tuesday. Ersson is expected to get one of the starts in goal during the road trip.
2) Player Spotlight series: The second of a series of in-depth profiles on Flyers players age 24 or younger takes a look at 23-year-old center Morgan Frost. Each article in the series reviews the subject's development path in the NHL, areas they've improved, issues that could use further refinement, and includes clips of some their top highlights from 2022-23.
The first article in the series focused on right winger Owen Tippett. The next three profiles, in order, will discuss goaltender Carter Hart, defenseman Cam York and left winger Joel Farabee.
3) Phantoms Update: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (24-18-5) lost the first of back-to-back road games against the Charlotte Checkers (27-16-4) as they dropped a 3-2 decision at the Bojangles Coliseum on Tuesday evening. The teams will square off again tonight in Charlotte at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on AHL TV.
The Phantoms roster is suddenly a bit depleted due to NHL recalls (Ersson, Bellows, Olle Lycksell) and various injuries that have arisen over the past week.
Returning from a three-month injury-related absence, veteran goalie Troy Grosenick got the start in net on Tuesday. In a losing cause, he gave up one goal per period and finished with 24 saves on 27 shots. Former Phantoms/Flyers netminder Alex Lyon earned the win with 20 saves on 22 shots.
Lehigh Valley never led in the game. Trailing 2-0 in the second period after a late first period tally by Zac Dalpe (13th) and an early second period marker by Cameron Morrison (3rd), the Phantoms got back in the game on a scorching one-timer goal by defenseman Ronnie Attard (8th) at 4:23. Elliot Desnoyers and Cooper Marody earned the assists. The Phantoms subsequently had a 55-second 5-on-3 power play with a chance to tie the game but struggled generating possession and pressure. The chance went by the wayside with nary a shot on goal let alone any bonafide scoring chances.
In the third period, Henry Bowlby (7th) built a 3-1 lead for Charlotte at 4:30. The Phantoms got outshot by an 11-5 margin in the final stanza despite being the team chasing the game. Finally, with 1:11 remaining in the game, Adam Brooks (5th) cut the gap down to 3-2. Attard and Tyson Foerster got the assists. The Phantoms were unable to generate a tying-goal.
Phantoms starting lineup:
24 Adam Brooks - 51 Artem Anisimov - 71 Tyson Foerster 17 Garrett Wilson - 91 Elliot Desnoyers - 25 Cooper Marody 19 Isaac Ratcliffe - 18 Jackson Cates - 23 Bobby Brink 13 Ryan Fitzgerald - 9 Cal O'Reilly - 14 Zayde Wisdom
4 Egor Zamula - 47 Louie Belpedio 44 Kevin Connauton - 12 Ronnie Attard 8 Mason Millman - 29 Wyatte Wylie
1 Troy Grosenick [35 Pat Nagle]
Scratches: 3 Adam Karashik (injury), 15 Jordy Bellerive (injury), 20 Max Willman (injury), 42 Hayden Hodgson (injury), 37 Adam Ginning (injury), 39 Charlie Gerard (healthy).