Phantoms Weekly
Final Regular Season Home Games!
April 8, 2026
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (28-33-6) are back at PPL Center two more times in the 2025-26 regular season with the home finales on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
The Phantoms remain in the hunt for a Calder Cup playoffs spot but trail sixth-place Springfield by four points and need a pair of key wins this weekend.
The Phantoms host the Bridgeport Islanders on Wrestling Night this Saturday. And then it’s the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. with total Kids Chaos on Kids’ Takeover Day in the regular-season home finale.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST WEEK
Friday, April 3 – Phantoms 1 at W-B/Scranton Penguins 3
Saturday, April 4 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 6 – Phantoms 2
THE WEEK AHEAD
Saturday, April 11 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms
Sunday, April 12 (3:05) – Cleveland Monsters at Phantoms
WEEKLY RECAP
Friday, March 27, 2026
Phantoms 1 at W-B/Scranton Penguins 3
Oliver Bonk (6th) tried to get another rally in Wilkes started again with his late 6-on-5 goal but this time the Phantoms were unable to complete the comeback as the Penguins hung on in a 3-1 decision on Good Friday in NEPA in the opener of a weekend home-and-home series. Bonk had scored a key goal here on March 14 late in the third period to similarly pull the Phantoms to within one at Wilkes-Barre en route to a thrilling overtime win. This time, the Phantoms couldn’t find the equalizer. Avery Hayes (23rd) rejoined the Baby Pens from Pittsburgh and racked up a three-point performance to lead the Black and Gold. The Phantoms were sluggish out of the gate but finished with a flourish in dominating the third period and almost pulling off another exciting comeback. Sergei Murashov (23/24) is rated second in the AHL in goals-against average and save percentage and was on top of his game in improving to 5-0-0 against Lehigh Valley this season. Aleksei Kolosov (27/29) was solid as well but surrendered first-period goals to Gabe Klassen and Avery Hayes as the Phantoms fell behind 2-0.
Saturday, April 4, 2026
W-B/Scranton Penguins 6 at Phantoms 2
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has been a menace to the Phantoms for most of the rivalry series this season and that trend continued into the final game of the Keystone State set as the Force was with the Penguins, and Aaron Huglen, on Saturday night in a 6-2 final at PPL Center. A point-shot off the backside of Huglen deflected in past Aleksei Kolosov as the rookie forward completed his first career hat trick to pace the Baby Pens with a four-point performance. A three-goal burst in the opening four minutes from Aiden McDonough and then Huglen back-to-back staked the visitors to an early 3-0 advantage. Cole Knuble scored his first career goal late in the game firing a laser to the upper corner. Scoring leader all season, Lane Pederson (23rd) converted on the power play as well.
WILSON NOMINATED FOR NHL’S MASTERTON TROPHY – Garrett Wilson has been nominated for the NHL’s 2025-26 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually under the trusteeship of the PHWA and is given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Wilson, 35, has spent the past six seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and is the longest-tenured player in team history with 341 games played. He signed a two-way NHL contract with Philadelphia on March 5, 2026 and made his NHL return on March 19 against the Los Angeles Kings, marking his first NHL appearance in almost seven years since the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Garrett’s commitment to the Flyers organization and journey in hockey is a true testament to his dedication and pure love of the game,” said Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere. “He helped establish a level of professionalism and has made a profound impact with the young players in our system for the last six years. His return to the NHL this season speaks volumes about his character and he has earned everything that’s come his way.”
The pro player of over 900 career games in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL was humbled by the recognition.
“It’s a huge honor to be nominated for the Masterton Trophy,” said Wilson. “My journey in professional hockey isn’t necessarily a common one and looking back, I’m grateful for the time I spent in the minors. It wasn’t always easy, but it’s played a huge role in shaping who I am today as both a player and person. I’m especially thankful to the Flyers organization for giving me another opportunity to play in the NHL. To get that chance again after so many years means everything to me, and it’s something I’ll never take for granted.”
BJARNASON IS BACK – The Philadelphia Flyers have reassigned goaltender Carson Bjarnason to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms from the Reading Royals of the ECHL. Additionally, the Phantoms have loaned goaltender Yaniv Perets to Reading.
Bjarnason, 20, is in his professional rookie season and is the youngest goaltender in the AHL. In 30 games this season, Bjarnason has gone 13-11-4, 3.45, .877. He played two games with Reading last week going 1-1-0, 3.57, .881. The 6’4″ left-catching goaltender was a second-round selection of the Flyers in the 2023 Draft. The Carberry, Manitoba native played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL going 75-61-3, 3.14, .903 in 156 games played and also represtned Canada at the 2025 World Junior tournament.
Perets, 26, is a Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec product who is a 6’1″ left-catching goaltender. He has played in three games this season with the Phantoms going 1-2-0, 3.21, .873. Perets has also played in 25 games with Reading going 13-8-3, 2.92, .906. Perets was just named ECHL Goaltender of the Week with a pair of shutouts against the Norfolk Admirals on March 25 and March 28 racking up 52 total saves.
TEAM LEADERS – With five games remaining, team statistical leaders still remain up for grabs.
Lane Pederson (23-25-48) has led the team in points for most of the season but Anthony Richard (18-26-44) is still within striking distance to catch his teammate.
Pederson also leads the team in goals with 23 and holds a five-goal margin ahead of Richard.
It’s neck-and-neck for most assists on the team with Pedewrson (26), Richard (25) and Christian Kyrou (24) all in contention.
Ty Murchison will take the plus-minus category with a +12 rating in 29 games but his injury in January knocked the rookie defenseman out of action for the rest of the season Tucker Robertson’s +7 rating is best among currently active players.
Garrett Wilson is up with the Flyers but still led the team in penalty minutes tacking on an additional 101 to his career total of over 1,500. Hunter McDonald is next with 82 penalty minutes.
MILESTONES –
Helge Grans – 299 pro games
Anthony Richard – 396 pro points
UPCOMING –
Saturday, April 11 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Bridgeport Islanders at Phantoms
Bridgeport (30-28-8) zipped up the standings into a playoff spot and all the way into fourth place for home-ice in the first round. A home-and-home sweep of Hershey a couple weeks ago served notice to the rest of the league that the B-Isles aren’t messing around. But Bridgeport is also one of the teams within striking distance of the Phantoms who aim to trim the margin via a head-to-head matchup on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Bridgeport is hoping for an exciting playoff run in its final season. The AHL and the New York Islanders have announced that the team’s tenure in Connecticut will conclude after 25 seasons with the New York Islanders moving the team to Canada to establish a new affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario. Sunday will be the last regular-season home game in team history. Adam Beckman (27-19-46) and Liam Foudy (24-20-44) are the team’s top scorers and both have hat tricks against the Phantoms this season. Foudy has scored 7-4-11 in the season series while Beckman has racked up 6-4-10. And now the team is bolstered with the arrival of a pair of exciting first-rounders: 2024 #20 overall selection Cole Eiserman has joined from Boston University at just 19 years old. Eiserman has also impressed in back-to-back World Juniors appearances for team USA. 2025 +16 overall selection Viktor Eklund is also 19 years old and joined two weeks ago from Sweden. Big 6’8″ Henrik Tikkanen (16-7-1, 2.38, .908) has had a spectacular season between the pipes and the 2020 seventh-rounder from Finland rates fourth among active goaltenders in GAA.
Former Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson has spearheaded the B-Isles resurgence this season. The Islanders have gone 5-2 against Lehigh Valley. Bridgeport’s Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot is 5 points entering a Thursday clash against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Sunday, April 12 (3:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Cleveland Monsters at Phantoms
Cleveland (35-25-8) has already punched its ticket for an appearance in the postseason but the third-place Monsters are in the running for a first-round playoff bye which goes to the top three teams in the North Division. Former Flyers’ goaltender Ivan Fedotov (22-16-5, 2.89, .885) has been a workhorse rating third in the AHL with 2618 minutes played. Luca Del Bel Belluz (22-33-55) is 14th in the AHL in scoring but is currently up with Columbus. Two more Luca’s keep the Luca trend alive in Cleveland. Luca Pinelli (13-30-43) is sixth among AHL rookies in points and fifth in assists. 20-year-old rookie Luca Marrelli (4-12-16) was a third-rounder out of the Oshawa Generals. 31-year-old Brendean Gaunce ((14-18-32) has 218 career NHL games with Vancouver, Columbis and Minnesota. Former New Jersey Devils blueliner Will Butcher, 30, has 275 career NHL games. The visiting team has won every game of the season series. Lehigh Valley swept a pair of games in northeast Ohio in October including a 35-save shutout performance for Aleksei Kolosov and a four-round shootout win for Carson Bjarnason. The Monsters snagged a 5-2 victory at PPL Center in February. Phantoms defenseman David Jiricek was teammates with several Cleveland players two seasons ago.
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Lane Pederson 23-25-48
Anthony Richard 18-26-44
Christian Kyrou 9-24-33
Jacob Gaucher 16-16-32
Tucker Robertson 13-15-28
Atlantic Division Standings:
x – 1. Providence 51-14-1 = 103
x – 2. W-B/Scranton 43-16-8 = 94
x – 3. Charlotte 42-21-5 = 85
4. Bridgeport 30-28-8 = 68
5. Hershey 29-29-9 = 67
6. Springfield 29-29-8 = 66
7. Lehigh Valley 28-33-6 = 62
8. Hartford 24-34-8 = 56
LOOKING AHEAD – This weekend is the home conclusion for the schedule including Wrestling Night on Saturday, April 11 against the Bridgeport Islanders and Kids Take Over Day on Sunday, April 12 against the Cleveland Monsters in the last home game of the regular season.
The Phantoms have three away games to conclude the 2025-26 campaign when they travel to Springfield on Wednesday, April 15 and then head to Charlotte for a pair of games on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.
Springfield Thunderbirds
Charlotte Checkers
Charlotte Checkers
