Minor League Report: Phantoms Season Ends, Lindblom, Sandstrom

4-22-2017_PhantomsvsBears_3rd_credKateFrese-9

(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The action on the ice for the Philadelphia Flyers is over across the board. Between injuries and playoff exits, the start of May officially marks the beginning of the offseason for the entire organization with the Phantoms and Royals eliminated from the playoffs, all junior prospects finished with their playoff runs as well and European leagues wrapping up play.

Here then is our final Minor League Report for this season, wrapping everything up from the end of the season.

AHL

The Phantoms saw their playoff push come to a halt on Sunday with a 3-2 loss in Game 5 against Hershey, ending their season.

It was an admirable run. After falling behind 2-0 in the series last weekend, the Phantoms got two wins on the road on Wednesday and Saturday to force Sunday's deciding Game 5. Unfortunately, the trend of the road team prevailing continued, and the Phantoms were on the wrong end of the result.

The turning point in the series was probably Game 2. Not only did the Phantoms take a 4-2 lead into the third period, but goalie Alex Lyon suffered an injury that kept him out for what would be the remainder of the playoffs. Anthony Stolarz had suffered a similar injury just 10 days earlier, so the Phantoms were on to their third goalie in line to start in Martin Ouellette.

Given the circumstances, Ouellette was excellent and really stepped up in the series. Unfortunately, the lack of having one of their usual starters may have hurt down the stretch, but certainly wasn't the main reason for their defeat.

The goalie at the other end, Pheonix Copley, stole a couple of games for Hershey. You could argue that Game 5 went to the Bears because of the netminder and that was certainly the case in Hershey's 1-0 overtime win in Game 1. Ultimately, the bounces didn't go the Phantoms way enough to make a difference.

The good news for the Phantoms is that they have certainly established themselves as a rejuvenated team in the AHL. The additions of prospects like Sam Morin, Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim, Stolarz, Lyon and more helped put the team back into the playoffs, and many of them will be returning to the AHL next season. There could also be some fresh faces in Allentown next season with Mike Vecchione, Connor Bunnaman, Mark Friedman, Mikhail Vorobyov and Philippe Myers all getting practice time with the Phantoms and being eligible to join the AHL full-time next season.

Swedish League

When we last looked in on the SHL Final, Oskar Lindblom, Felix Sandstrom and Byrnas IF were one win away from claiming the title. Unfortunately, their season met a bitter end as well.

Brynas fell behind 3-0 in the first and allowed another goal in the second to be trailing 4-0 after two periods. Despite Lindblom being held without a point again, Brynas rallied for three goals in the third to cut the lead down to one with 1:23 to play. HV71 scored an empty-net goal to ice the 5-3 result.

Lindblom's lack of points wasn't for lack of trying. He played 20 minutes in Game 6 and had five shots on goal while nearly setting up his teammates on numerous occasions. Sandstrom only lasted 9:10 and was pulled after the second HV71 goal, allowing two goals on five shots.

Game 7 took place on Saturday and Brynas had a 1-0 lead going to the third. HV71 tied the game in the third, forcing overtime, where HV71 would claim the championship with a goal 11 minutes into the overtime.

Lindblom was held without a point again, going without a point in the entire seven-game series. In Game 7, he again played over 19 minutes and had four shots on goal. Sandstrom did not play in Game 7.

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