Gaucher Scores Twice but Hartford Takes Opener

Energetic Crowd Brings the Noise to Begin Season

October 3, 2026

Allentown, PA – Jacob Gaucher became the first Lehigh Valley Phantoms player to score a first goal of the season two different times. But his pair of goals that gave Lehigh Valley a 2-1 lead wasn’t enough in the end, as the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack rallied for a 5-2 decision in Game 1 of the season.

A boisterous and raucous contingent greeted the arrival of the 13th season of hockey in the Lehigh Valley. And Jacob Gaucher’s first tally at 5:28 into the game on the rebound of a power-play shot brought the crowd to a roar. Gaucher had also scored the first goal of the season two years ago, also against Hartford. His 49th and 50th career goals with Lehigh Valley is the most among any active player and is eighth all-time. But the Hartford Wolf Pack figured it out and countered with a three-point performance from first-rounder Cole Beaudoin in his pro debut who paced the comeback with a goal and two assists.

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Seven rookies jumped into the lineup for the Orange and Black. Two of them were making their pro debuts and they both made their mark. Young forward Ilya Pautov assisted on Gaucher’s initial power-play goal for his first career pro point in North America. And 20-year-defenseman, Spencer Gill also recorded his first helper, neatly sliding the puck across to Gaucher in transition in the second period to set up his sharp-angle snipe for a 2-1 lead.

All was going well for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who had their opponents on their heels at the onset of the contest.

“I thought through two periods, I thought we did a lot of we controlled a lot of the play, had a lot of chances,” head coach John Snowden said. “If we make good on them, we probably have a different story right now. That’s going to come. I just thought the third period, we got on the wrong side of the puck. A couple careless turnovers and dangerous ice. You know, those are things that early in the season, you’re going to see those types of things.”

Gaucher struck at 5:28 to stake the Phantoms to the initial lead. Jack Studnicka recorded his first point as a Phantom with an entry from the right boards connecting with newcomer Ilya Pautov at the side of the net whose initial attempt was repelled off the pads of Gabriel Carriere before Gaucher got there to bury the rebound for a 1-0 lead.

A Phantoms turnover on a failed exit allowed Beudoin to pick off the puck in the Lehigh Valley zone, setting up veteran Taylor Raddysh for the quick snipe from the high slot beating Aleksei Kolosov to the glove side for a 1-1 tie after one. The Phantoms outshot the Wolf Pack 11-7 in the opening frame. Noah Powell brought the crowd to its feet right after Hartford’s tying goal when he dropped the gloves with former notorious Hershey enforcer Justin Nachbaur in a hard tilt. But both players received game misconducts for dropping the gloves immediately on the ensuing center faceoff

The Orange and Black retook the lead in the second period. In quick transition up ice, a focus of John Snowden’s philosophy this season, Jett Luchanko found Spencer Gill joining the play in the slot and the rookie defenseman neatly distributed to Gaucher at the bottom of the left circle, who scored from the sharp angle for a 2-1 advantage at 1:39 of the second period.

Not a bad way to jump into a new position! The fourth-year Phantoms forward was playing left wing instead of center for the first time as a pro. And was also trying to keep up with his speedy linemates Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble.

“It’s been a while since I played wing,” Gaucher said. “Honestly, me and Knuble and Jett. Sometimes I took the draw. Sometimes it’s Jett. I think we can all play center. Even Cole played center in the past, so I think it’s a good complement for us.”

After his pair of goals got him off to a hot start, Gaucher had a couple chances for his third career hat trick. And potentially the first Opening Night hat trick for the Phantoms since Danick Martel in 2017 against Hershey.

“Yeah, I mean the first one felt good. After that, I mean I wasn’t really thinking about it, and then we try to win the game at the end. It would have been fun to maybe get another one at the end, win the game. But yeah, we’ll work on some stuff this week and get back in the win column next week.”

Hartford turned it on for new head coach Jay Leach after that. Back-to-back penalties hurt the Phantoms later in the second period allowing Marc Del Gaizo to find Jusso Parsinen on the backdoor for a one-timer from the right circle tying the game at 2-2 10:095 into the second.

Deadlocked after 40 minutes, the final frame belonged to the Pack. Lucas Vanroboys buried his one-timer following a Lehigh Valley misplay for Hartford’s first lead of the contest at 5:03 into the third. Then it was newcomer Cole Beudoin with his first pro goal on a rifle from the right circle off the far post on the stick side of Kolosov just barely more than three minutes later. Former Hershey defenseman Vincent Iorio finished the night with a long empty-netter for the 5-2 final.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms return to action next weekend with a pair of games at PPL Center hosting the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday, October 10 at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday, October 11 at 1:05 p.m. Saturday Night Hockey Live followed by Bluey Day are the featured promotions of the weekend.

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