We wrote a lengthy piece yesterday about the impact the move of the Albany River Rats from upstate New York to North Carolina will have on the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms.

There was a lot of discussion about the impact this all has on the Flyers in the comments of that article. Tim McManus, Phantoms beat writer at the Glens Falls Post-Star, intended on posting a response to some of the comments with a comment of his own, but our site has a 24 hour validation period where newly registered members can't jump in.

He passed along his comments to me via email, however. I've included them here:

As a reporter who has covered this issue for more than a year, I can assure you hockey in Albany is not fine and has not been fine for quite some time. The River Rats lasted for 15 years only because of the generosity of a local owner, Walter Robb, who was willing to lose a considerable amount of money because he considered it a civic point of pride to have a team there. The River Rats aren’t leaving just because Carolina wanted a closer affiliation. The franchise was sold because it’s a financial black hole. Any new owner will need to come in with a completely new business plan.

If you’re a Flyers fan concerned about the viability of the Phantoms until Allentown is viable, Glens Falls is a far safer bet. The owners are on track to break even this season, something that hasn’t happened in Albany in at least 12 years. According to a story in today’s Times Union, the Rats have been in the bottom 25 percent of the league in attendance for the last 10 seasons. Twelve pro sports franchises have left Albany in the last 20 years. The headline of that TU story, by the way is, "Rats show the risk of hockey in Albany."

I make the commute between this area and Philadelphia several times a year. The 40 or so miles of highway between Glens Falls and Albany is the easiest part of the drive. It’s empty highway. You’d have to be insane to take on the considerable financial risks in Albany just to move 35 minutes closer to Philadelphia. Also, many players live where I do, in the Saratoga area. That’s about 15-20 miles south of Glens Falls, so the time element is even less. Why would you uproot a financially stable situation for a far riskier one with only a negligible time benefit?

Glens Falls needs facility upgrades before it can be an ideal long-term market, but for the next 2-3 years it suits the needs of the Brooks Brothers and the Flyers much better than Albany.

For reference, check out the article from yesterday and the lengthy debate in the comments section that follow. For more on Tim, check out his work at the Post-Star, as well as an interview we did with him back in October. I'm sure he'll be happy to answer any more concerns in the comments section here as well.

Adirondack and Albany face off at the Glens Falls Civic Center in October. Photo via Glens Falls Post-Star

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The Albany River Rats have officially announced that they will be moving to Charlotte, North Carolina next season. The new team will take the name of the current ECHL team located in Charlotte, the Checkers. The move locates them closer to their NHL affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes.

There are a few things to know here from our perspective. First, since the River Rats were and are the biggest rival to the Adirondack Phantoms, the move will seriously effect the Flyers farm club. At the same time, the Albany area might not be without AHL hockey for too long.

Here's what Rats' ownership said in a letter to season ticket holders today:

What [the sale of the team] doesn't mean is that AHL hockey in Albany is history. [Rats owner] Mr. Robb retains the Albany River Rats name, infrastructure and staff in this deal.

Bob Belger, General Manager of the Times Union Center and [River Rats President Garen Szablewski] have been working on a number of different opportunities to bring an AHL team to Albany for next season. We continue to be optimistic that one of these opportunites will come to fruition and that we will soon be able to announce the details of a new team for the 2010-11 season. It is even possible that a new team could continue to use the Albany River Rats name.

This could simply be ownership trying to make sure that people turn out for the remainder of the season, but it also could be the truth. Are there options out there?

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via bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com

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After 48 games of their inaugural season in Glens Falls, the Adirondack Phantoms are 22-22-2-2 for 48 points.  Those 48 points are good for a tie for fourth in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. 

As of today the Phantoms sit only two points out of the final guaranteed playoff spot.  To offset unbalanced divisions the AHL will allow the 5th place team in the Atlantic Division to replace the 4th place team in East Division if they have more points at the end of the regular season. 

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via Luber's Lounge

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Since interviewing Flyers prospect Jacob De Serres in November, we admittedly haven't been keeping up on his progress as much as we should have been.

Recently, Ben received an e-mail pointing us toward a blog devoted to the Brandon Wheat Kings that I have recently subscribed to.  Hopefully this will lead to more information on De Serres in the future.

With this new resource and two posts specifically focusing on De Serres, it seems fitting to give an update on his progress.  It doesn't hurt that he's been on quite a tear lately.

So, with a sticktap to Carol Flood for the tip and Bruce Luebke for his web site - Luber's Lounge - jump to see the updates on De Serres.

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More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

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Just a few quotes to think about while waiting for Travis to give a full recap - if one is even necessary.

As is typical after a demoralizing loss, players get asked a variety of questions.  Here are just a few of them with one players' answers:

On where the team is a quarter of the way through the season: "A lot of the negative on our team right now is self-inflicted, it’s not because we’re going up against teams a lot better than us. We’re going against ourselves a lot of games."

On the meeting: "It was more along the line of we have to figure our (stuff) out."

On the frustration: "We’re still working on stuff we’ve been trying to work on since day one."

On whether the team is repeating it’s pattern from last season, when they dug a hole and had to rally to make the playoffs: "We’ve got to start playing better if we want to even see the playoffs this year."

On whether new coach, new systems had changed anything: "A little different… We’re pro athletes we should be able to adjust and do the things that make us successful."

Standard answers, but self-reflective ("we're going against ourselves a lot of games"), showing some anger ("we have to figure our shit out"), showing maturity ("We're pro athletes, we should be able to adjust"), and showing some honesty ("if we want to even see the playoffs this year.")

Now, would it surprise you at all that the player giving those answers didn't play in Philadelphia tonight?  Probably not -- that guy is too mature to be on this team.  Well, surprise!  That's Jonathan Matsumoto.  The center constantly overlooked by the Flyers organization in favor of Jared Ross, Andreas Nodl, and Jonathon Kalinski.  He's not even the Captain of the Phantoms. 

Since I blatantly ripped this from Tim McManus' post over at the Post-Star, I might as well post his intro:

I feel like a broken record. There isn’t much new I can add to the record after the Phantoms latest defeat, their sixth in their last seven. They can’t score, the intensity isn’t there, blah blah blah. You can read more of the bitter details in my game story.

Coach Greg Gilbert held a long meeting with the players after the game. The doors didn’t open for about 20 minutes.  I didn’t have much to ask him: it’s been the same questions/answers for a month.

I turned to Jon Matsumoto, now in his third full season with the team, and the best player so far this year.

Any of this sound familiar?

Matt Clackson celebrates a goal against Toronto. Photo by T.J. Hooker, Glens Falls Post-Star

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Ed. Note: Dan Morency is an Adirondack Phantoms season ticket holder. He periodically checks in with us throughout the season, providing us with an up-close look at his hometown team. We thank him.

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is hard to believe that there have been almost 50 days of AHL hockey already.  What do the Phantom fans get in this first 50 days?  Only 16 games. The Phantoms have played a league low going into this holiday weekend.  This little game time may also explain the up and down play of the team as of late.  There have been some hints of a very solid team as of late.  We've gotten six games in the last 24 days and now will get 12 games in the next 24.

The perfect example of these growing pains was evident last week.   I am happy to report that I actually got to three games last week.  It is amazing the free time a coach has once their season ends.  The Phantoms opened last weekend on Friday versus Binghamton. The Phantoms came out flying and dominated the opening minutes of the game, but then a costly turn over led to a Senators goal, followed by another less than two minutes later.  The Sens added another before the period was over, taking a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.  From that point on the game lacked all intensity and the Phantoms wereflat and lost 5-0.  This might have been one of the worst games I've seen in the past ten years and this includes some bad UHL games. 

The next evening Bridgeport came into the Glens Falls Civic Center and an entirely different Phantom team showed up. The Phantoms peppered former Phantom goalie Scott Munroe with 52 shots! Although many were from the point and bad angles, 52 shots is 52 shots. The Phantoms played a physical game but still needed a shootout to defeat the Sound Tigers 3-2.  Nic Riopel got his first professional win and Stefan Legein had a great short-handed goal to force overtime. Legein intercepted a pass went the distance and scored on his own rebound. Once again showing just how hard he works on every shift.  He really is a pleasure to watch play this game.

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Jacob De Serres is in his final season in the WHL and hopes to be playing in Orange and Purple next year.

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Not since the days of Ron Hextall have Flyers fans felt confident in their netminder for more than a few months.  Martin Biron had a great playoff run in the spring of '08, Robert Esche seemed capable enough in '04, Roman Cechmanek was calming for a few games (and able for a little while), and everyone remembers Brian Boucher in 2000.  But it's been a long time since the team has found one guy who can patrol the Flyers crease for more than a passing phase.  Maybe that's Ray Emery, maybe it's Johan Backlund, Nic Riopel, Adam Morrison, or maybe it's Jacob De Serres.

The Flyers drafted De Serres in the third round, 84th overall, in 2008.  He was coming off his best season, posting a 20-11-1 record for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, with a 2.28 GAA and .922 S%.  Since then, he had his worst season to date last year, and started this season off 0-3-0 with a 5.00 GAA and .851 S% before being traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings. 

Since De Serres was drafted, the Flyers have picked three more goalies - Joacim Eriksson (2008, 7th round), Adam Morrison (2009, 3rd round), and Nicola Riopel (2009, 5th round) - in an attempt to find a starting NHL goalie from within.

Yesterday, Broad Street Hockey got an exclusive interview (seriously, I just wanted to say that and feel special) with Flyers goaltending prospect Jacob De Serres.  Much appreciation is due to Derek Zona of The Copper & Blue for putting us in touch with Matt McNish of the Brandon Wheat Kings, and allowing us to interview De Serres.  Thank you.

Follow after the jump for the complete transcript.

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The Flyers have called up David Laliberte from Adirondack.  He is available to play tomorrow afternoon against Carolina.

Laliberte is a 6-1 right wing that as of last week had been on the Phantoms top line.  Paired with Pat Maroon and Jon Matsumoto, Laliberte has one goal to go with five helpers.  This line had seemed to be clicking as of late, with a solid forecheck leading to many opportunities.  Laliberte plays both ends well, and is one of the guys the Phantoms were counting on for scoring.  His five helpers make up for a lack of scoring as of late.

Briere, as discussed earlier, is out of the lineup tomorrow after leaving Friday's practice with one of those pesky "lower body injuries."