Richard Scores Winner with 11.9 Secs Left

Rally for 3 in the 3rd to Win Fourth Straight

January 10, 2026

Springfield, MA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms again proved you can never count them out. Anthony Richard (9th) scored the winning goal from a near-impossible angle ACROSS the goalie to the upper-far corner with just 11.9 seconds left as the Phantoms rallied from a 2-0 deficit to steal a 3-2 win at the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night. The Phantoms won their fourth in a row and also extended their point streak to seven (6-0-1).

Lane Pederson (12th) and Christian Kyrou (5th) got the comeback going with very similar goals back-to-back early in the third period with both players driving and dangling through the defense setting up their top-shelf strikes to the upper-right corner past goaltender Georgi Romanov. Carson Bjarnason was solid with 14 saves on 16 shots in yet another win for the 20-year-old rookie netminder to improve to 9-3-3, 2.47, .910 this season. Since December 1, Bjanrason is 5-1-1, 2.09, .922

Lehigh Valley (19-11-4) did not appear to be in very good shape going into the second intermission. Springfield (13-15-6) had scored a pair of power-play goals in the middle frame to take a 2-0 lead in a contest besieged with defensive stops and passes that weren’t connecting or getting through. Shots after two periods were just 14-14. But the Phantoms successfully found their offense in the third and had the T-Birds on their heels for almost the entirety of the culminating 20 minutes.

The Phantoms tried to get it going in the first period and probably had their best chance with about four minutes to go when Phil Tomasino was robbed right on top of the goaltender on a 2-on-1 with Anthony Richard. Juraj Pekarcik pounced on a free puck in the neutral zone shortly after for his own breakaway try but was denied off the left pad of Bjarnason.

The T-Birds took advantage of Lehigh Valley penalty trouble in the second period to take the lead. In between power-play goals, Devin Kaplan had a breakaway try for the Phantoms off a handoff from Lane Pederson. But Kaplan was slashed from behind and wasn’t able to score as he crashed into the goaltender and the cage.

Calle Rosen scored off a faceoff win for the T-Birds when Matthew Peca’s pass from the right corner went through Chris Wagner in the slot and found Rosen at the top of the left circle who scored back across Bjarnason to the upper-right corner for a 1-0 lead in the opening minute of the second period.

Matt Luff made it 2-0 late in the period when Wagner would drag the puck backwards between his legs from the left of the cage to find a wide-open Luff at the obttom of the right circle who put it home before Bjarnason could desperately recover in time to the other side.

Trailing 2-0 into the third, it was Lehigh Valley’s time. Beginning at 4-on-4, Pederson dangled around a defender and roofed his team-leading 12th of the year to the upper-right corner to get the Phantoms on the board just 27 seconds into the final frame. Pederson has six goals and four assists during the team’s seven-game point streak and he recorded his second multi-point game in a row and third multi-point performance in his last four.

Kyrou’s goal on the power play was remarkably similar. Less than three minutes after Pederson showed his smooth moves, the Phantoms power-play quarterback apparently took inspiration when he picked off a puck and saw the opportunity to catch the T-Birds on their heels…again. Kyrou dangled around defenseman Theo Lindstein and then ripped it to the upper-right corner at 3:07 into the third and suddenly the game was tied.

The Phantoms kept skating downhill into the T-Birds zone and Springfield was in scramble-mode just trying to find exits on the aggressive pressure of the Orange and Black. An Alexis Gendron breakaway try and a Karsen Dorwart shot off the helmet of the goalie, among other chances, wouldn’t go. It appeared Springfield might barely hang on for the standings point.

But then came the dramatic conclusion to depress the sellout contingent in western Mass when Pederson battled for a win in the left-wing corner and Marody had a quick-tap handoff for Richard for his crazy almost-no-angle winner somehow firing it across the body of the goaltender with barely enough room to knock it in on the other side. Richard’s goal with just 11.9 seconds left through a frozen goaltender, Romanov, might have had him still wondering how the shot had even gone in.

The Phantoms look to keep it going on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. at the first-place Providence Bruins. Sunday’s game is also the final contest of four straight away games.

The Phantoms are back at PPL Center next weekend on Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17 hosting the Bridgeport Islanders and Syracuse Crunch. Friday is a Berks $1 Hot Dog Night and Saturday is Air Products Night with Ramen donations to benefit local food banks. Discount tickets for $26 for all January home games are available at phantomshockey.com

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