The American Hockey League (AHL) is one of the toughest leagues to win in. Players move up and down all the time, making it hard to find chemistry and have players buy into the team’s system. “This league’s hard because you lose guys for a few months, and all of a sudden they come back and we get three guys who weren’t on our radar,” noted Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere after a 3-2 victory against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. That win allowed the Phantoms to sweep the Penguins to advance in the Calder Cup Playoffs and reflect how, despite all the moving parts, they bought in to pull off an upset.
Related: Lehigh Valley Phantoms Have The Physicality to Upset WBS Penguins
The Phantoms were not a great team by any stretch. They had an average offense, below-average defense, and terrible goaltending (which Philadelphia Flyers fans can relate to). They started the season with only one win through six games and only six wins in their first 16 games, and they looked like a team with no direction or identity. Yet, they snuck into the playoffs with a strong finish to the season and then upset a Penguins team that, for most of the season, looked like the best team in the Atlantic Division.
It starts with how the team bought into a checking, physical, and North-South style that they played all season, and it’s translating in the playoffs. “I’m a big believer in checking,” Laperriere mentioned after the Game 2 win. “Look at Florida, look at Hershey,” he continued, referencing the NHL and AHL champions from the 2024 season and two model franchises. The Hershey Bears, the back-to-back Calder Cup champions, are the team the Phantoms are chasing, and they are the best team in the league because they do it all, but they make their plays off the forecheck and pressure. “It might be boring hockey, but when you get to the playoffs, you feel comfortable,” Laperriere noted.
The Phantoms hovered around the .500 mark all season, yet they played playoff hockey since opening night. Fast-forward to the playoffs, and they look like a team that has matured to play a complete game and make a deep playoff run. In a league built on development, this team matured and is playing its best hockey down the stretch. Their series against the Penguins was a short one, which they controlled for the most part, winning…
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