After one of the worst losses of the season, one that looked like a season-defining defeat, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms had one of their biggest wins. Such is life in the American Hockey League [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl] during the three-in-three season. The Phantoms beat the Hershey Bears 4-2 on Saturday night and capped it off with hats on the ice to celebrate Boris Katchouk’s third goal of the game. “He's very deserving of that hat trick, and I was just excited to pick up that apple there,” Riley Thompson noted after the game. Katchouk wasn’t on the Phantoms when the season began. He was a midseason addition and part of the shift the team made for the final weeks of the season. The Phantoms wanted to become a bigger team, and they’ve done just that. It’s that shift and leaning into the new identity that will keep them going in a fight for a playoff spot. KATCHOUK’S IMPACT AS A POWER FORWARD Phantoms head coach John Snowden has talked about the importance of getting to the interior all season. The team must get to the dirty areas to score and bear down on their scoring chances. Katchouk does that. “He plays a simple game, he goes hard on pucks, he goes to the net front,” Snowden noted after the 4-2 win. Katchouk’s first two goals of the game came from his ability to power to the net. “He goes to the hard ice and gets rewarded for it,” Snowden added, and with his 212-pound frame, he can get leverage and finish scoring chances. “It’s massive, it’s a part of my identity, a part of my game play, and it showed tonight,” Katchouk mentioned regarding the scoring chances he finished in the net front. You May Also Like: The Clock is Ticking on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms & They Have No Answers [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl/latest-news/the-clock-is-ticking-on-the-lehigh-valley-phantoms-they-have-no-answers] Those goals explain why Katchouk had a sheepish grin when his hat-trick goal was scored on a redirected puck from the blue line into the empty net. The puck was cleared from the defensive zone, and he was standing there, so the puck bounced off him and into the goal. The dirty-area goals are the types that teams need in the playoffs. The game slows down and becomes a heavier brand of hockey. Katchouk is a player who is built for that type of game, and it’s helping the Phantoms in their push for a playoff spot. LEHIGH VALLEY’S HEAVY LINE Riley Thompson made his AHL debut on Saturday night, and the center, fresh out of college, was thrown into the fire. The Phantoms had him centering the Katchouk and Phil Tomasino line, which was one that Snowden relied on. Related: How Steve Ott’s Move to the AHL Turned Springfield Around & Made Him an NHL Head Coach Candidate [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl/latest-news/how-steve-ott-s-move-the-ahl-turned-springfield-around-made-him-an-nhl-head-coach-candidate] Thompson was unfazed by the pressure, stepping up in the center role and winning faceoffs, including the one that got the scoring started for the Phantoms. “Not only is he responsible, reliable, and can play the 200-foot game, but he’s big, he’s strong, and he’s good in the dot,” Snowden noted. With Katchouk skating to the net and Tomasino creating plays on the wing, the Phantoms had the forwards to take Thompson’s game to another level in his debut. “Both guys are veteran guys who can help him through the process of his first game,” Snowden added, and the veteran wingers helped Thompson navigate his first game in the AHL. “They love to skate, they love to put pucks forward,” Thompson mentioned after the game. The three forwards scored all four goals for the Phantoms but also stepped up defensively and shut the door late in the game. Snowden had the last change and made sure they were on the ice to close out the game against the Bears. WILL THEIR NEW IDENTITY BE ENOUGH? The win against the Bears was impressive but the reality is that the Phantoms are still in a fight. They lead the Springfield Thunderbirds by two points in the standings but the Thunderbirds have a game in hand. Plus, the way the Phantoms played against them showed that they still have room to improve. The 5-3 loss to the Thunderbirds showed that the Phantoms have trouble staying out of the box, and the bad habits keep costing them. Beating the Bears was a step in the right direction, and now, it’s about stacking up those wins to close out the season. “I think the big thing is consistency with our work ethic,” Katchouk added after the latest game. The Phantoms need more from the rest of their lineup. The offense otherwise has been nonexistent lately, and the play from the point is particularly underwhelming. Christian Kyrou has 33 points yet only two in his last nine games while Oliver Bonk has failed to record a point in each of his last five games. It’s why the finish to the season will be tight. The win against the Bears was a sigh of relief, yet only one win in the three-in-three weekend, one that features the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Sunday afternoon.
