Phantoms First Playoff Game

Dave Issac

Baltimore Bandits v Philadelphia Phantoms, April 19, 1997


Core States Center, Sec 123 Row 15

The regular season excitement for the new Phantoms surely surpassed any expectation I had from bringing a minor league team to Philadelphia.  I only expected the playoff excitement to be that much greater.  They even moved the first game across the parking lot to the new Core States Center, where the Flyers now played.

And that was the furst mistake.  Any intimacy the Phantoms had at the Spectrum was lost in the cavernous Big House.  The atmosphere was too big and too cold for a minor league hockey game.

That said, the Phantoms did pull out a victory in the first ever playoff game with a 4-2 win over Baltimore.  They eventually won the series 3 games to 0.

They lost the 2nd round in a rough 7 game series against new rival Hershey.