Kyrou and Wisdom Drive Win

Phantoms Take Down B-Isles 5-3

January 31, 2026

Allentown, PA – Zayde Wisdom and Christian Kyrou delivered statement, three-point performances on Saturday night at PPL Center as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms built, protected, and ultimately finished off a 5–3 victory over the Bridgeport Islanders in a lively home finale for January.

The Phantoms answered early adversity, dictated long stretches of play, and showed composure under late pressure to secure two important points in front of the home crowd. Wisdom (7th, 8th) racked up two goals for the second time this season, including the empty-netter to seal it, as well as a strong assist. Kyrou (7th) racked up three points with a goal and two helpers. Jacob Gaucher (9th) opened the scoring and Anthony Richard (12th) tallied as well while Tucker Robertson had a pair of helpers. And rookie netminder Carson Bjarnason picked up his 11th win of the season with an impressive 28-save performance.

“I thought as a whole that was probably one of our most complete games that we’ve played in a long time,” head coach John Snowden said. “Guys that we needed to step up in big moments did, and our response after mistakes was exactly what we wanted to see.”

Lehigh Valley (21-17-4) fell behind at 5:52 of the opening period when a defensive-zone miscue led to a breakaway for Joey Larson, who pulled Carson Bjarnason out of position before scoring on the backhand.

The response was immediate. Just 37 seconds later, Christian Kyrou fired a shot wide that took a fortunate bounce to the net front, where Jacob Gaucher was waiting to jam home the equalizer from in tight.

Momentum continued to build for the Phantoms. At 11:38 of the first, Kyrou struck again, this time finishing a gorgeous cross-ice seam pass from Wisdom. As Bridgeport goaltender Marcus Högberg dropped into the butterfly, Kyrou went upstairs to give Lehigh Valley a 2–1 lead.

“I just tried to get my head up and pick a spot,” Kyrou said. “Wiz [Wisdom] found me in the soft area, Robo [Robertson] was cutting back, and I wanted to bear down on the chance. When you get time like that, you try to make it count.”

Bjarnason followed with a key stop on a 2-on-1 against Pierrick Dubé later in the period to preserve the advantage.

Bridgeport briefly quieted the building just 45 seconds into the second period when Ethan Bear snapped home a quick strike off a neutral-zone turnover. But once again, Lehigh Valley had the answer.

Anthony Richard helped engineer the response, first connecting with Cooper Marody near the crease before circling behind the net and bursting to the back door, where he buried a pass from Karsen Dorwart at 5:12 to restore the lead. After trading successful penalty kills, the Phantoms began to tilt the ice decisively.

Sustained offensive-zone pressure paid off with 7:44 remaining in the second when Wisdom finished a crisp cross-ice feed from Kyrou, capping a relentless cycle that wore down Bridgeport’s defense. The goal chased Högberg from the game after four goals on 13 shots, forcing the Islanders to turn to Henrik Tikkanen as Lehigh Valley carried a 4–2 lead into the third.

The final frame was all about the discipline and details. The Phantoms turned aside Bridgeport’s lone power play of the period, with Bjarnason coming up with two strong saves, including a massive stop rotating to his right to deny a C.J. Smith one-timer.

“They made it easy for me tonight,” Bjarnason said. “There were a lot of point shots and not too many dangerous looks. The guys in front of me did their job, especially on the penalty kill.”

As the Islanders pressed late with the net empty, Dubé poked home a loose puck with 1:44 remaining, trimming the deficit to one and injecting late drama.

Lehigh Valley held firm. With Bridgeport again skating 6-on-5, Wisdom put the finishing touch on the night, sliding the puck into the empty net with 1:08 remaining to seal the victory and complete a three-point performance.

Bjarnason made timely saves when needed, the penalty kill finished a perfect 3-for-3, and the Phantoms rewarded the Saturday-night crowd with another energetic home performance.

Lehigh Valley returns to action Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. when it continues the homestand against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on meLVin Youth Jersey Day at PPL Center.

Final HOME