Things are heating up for the Phantoms. After going 1-3-1-1 through their first six games of the season, the Phantoms have managed to flip the switch as the month of November began, putting up wins in five of their next six games.
And this turnaround has been nothing short of a complete team effort, as everyone has managed to bear down, clean up their underlying process where needed, and not get frustrated and overcomplicate the areas that were working from the get-go. It’s a host of players who are contributing well right now, and the skill players in particular are really driving the bus, but there’s perhaps no player hotter in this lineup than Alexis Gendron.
It’s been a strange up and down last year and change for him, as he made his AHL debut last season as a 19-year old (thanks to his early birthday), and while he showed some scoring pop in his initial run with the Phantoms, struggled to adjust to playing in the league physically, and away from the puck, found himself shuffled out of the regular playing rotation, and ultimately sent back to the QMJHL to close out the season and get some more meaningful minutes. It was a long journey with some tough lessons learned, but in his return to the league this season, he looks much more ready to compete.
Gendron’s off to a flying start to the season, impressing first with a two-goal game in Friday’s win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and he put a further exclamation point on this hot start with… another two-goal game in tonight’s win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Gendron picked up his first of the night late in the second period, using a burst of speed down the wing to get inside on the Penguins defender and drive towards the net for the shot, and managed to pull the Phantoms to even again, heading into the second intermission.
And with the final minutes of regulation dwindling and the Phantoms running out of time to pull the goaltender, it was Gendron again who came up big for them — taking the puck all the way into the offensive zone with another burst of speed on the entry, and scoring to tie the game again with an emphatic shot from the left circle. This was Gendron’s seventh shot on goal of the night, a team high, and a huge moment to force overtime (where the Phantoms would ultimately complete the comeback and come away with the win).
Now, Gendron is still very much a work in progress, as far as the overall development of his game goes, there’s no question about this. But, as head coach Ian Laperriere alluded to after Saturday’s game — Gendron’s first two-goal outing of the season — he’s a guy that’s going to find ways to score, that much is clear. This season is going to see him putting in a lot of work to round out the other areas of his game, but the potential to break games open with his speed, and to put up some thrillers of goals couldn’t be more apparent.
