Phantoms Weekly

First Road Trip

October 13, 2026

Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-2-1) seek their first win of the season as they embark on an Autumn in New England road swing for their first away games of the season.

The Phantoms open the three-game slate with an Opening Night rematch clash against the Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.

Next up is a pair of games on Friday and Saturday at the Springfield Thunderbirds, affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

Lehigh Valley has struck first in all three games they have played this season but have been unable to hold late leads.

Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/

LAST WEEK
Saturday, October 10 – Cleveland 5 at Phantoms 4 (OT)
Sunday, October 11 – Cleveland 5 at Phantoms 2

THE WEEK AHEAD
Wednesday, October 104 (6:30) – Phantoms at Hartford Wolf Pack
Friday, October 16 (7:00) – Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds
Saturday, October 17 (6:00) – Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds

WEEKLY RECAP
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Cleveland Monsters 5 at Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 (OT)
Alex Bump returned to the Phantoms and rockeed home a power-play goal in the second period as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms built a 4-2 lead. But the visiting Cleveland Monsters rallied behind a hat trich from NHL veteran Steven Lorentz including a late tying goal with just 6:32 left. The Phantoms had a late 5-on-3 for 1:16 with a chance to retake the lead and win the game but the Cleveland penalty kill came through. Nolan Foote opened the scoring from a sharp-angle in the corner while Jacob Gaucher scored for a second game in as row while he also celebrated his 200th career game with the Phantoms and defenseman Cam Dineen scored his first with his new team.

Sunday, October 11, 2026
Cleveland Monsters 5 at Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2
Jack Studnicka lit the lamp just 1:15 into the game as the Phantoms once again took control early. And Alex Bump’s long-range missile early in the second period to the upper-right corner made it 2-1. But the Monsters scored goals back to back in the final four minutes of the period including a go-ahead goal in transition on the power play by Lorentz for his fourth of the weekend with just 2.2 seconds left in the period. The Phantoms had three pucks go off of goaltender Evan Gardner and almost dribble in but the rookie netminder remarkably came up with all three practically on the line each time.

BONKERS FOR BONK – Defenseman Oliver Bonk was recalled from the Phantoms prior to Lehigh Valley’s Sunday afternoon game. By that evening, Bonk was in the lineup for the Flyers playing in just his second career NHL game. Bonk, 21, has two assists in two games with the Phantoms this season and scored six goals with 13 assists for 19 points in 46 games with the Phantoms last year after making his belated pro debut on December 6, 2025 after missing the first two months of the season due to injury.

He made his NHL debut a successful one on April 14, 2026 against Montreal scoring a goal in Philadelphia’s regular-season finale. The right-handed rookie blueliner won a Memorial Cup with the London Knights of the OHL but was then sidelined at the beginning of the season due to injury. Bonk was the #22 overall selection in the NHL draft in 2022. He is the son of NHL veteran Radek Bonk who played in 969 NHL games with Ottawa, Montreal and Nashville scoring 194-303-497.

BUMP IT UP – Alex Bump is off to a hot start in his return to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with goals in consecutive games. Bump, 22, has played in three games with the Flyers this season and also played in 17 games with Philadelphia last year scoring 5-4-9 while also registering two goals in six postseason games. He made his NHL debut on March 7, 2026 and scored his first goal in that same game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bump thrived in his rookie season with Lehigh Valley scoring 11-15-26 in 36 games. He had joined the Phantoms at the end of the 2024-25 season immediately after winning the National Championship at the Frozen Four with Western Michigan. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native was a fifth-round selection of the Flyers in 2022.

STUDLY STUDNICKA – Veteran center Jack Studnicka has gotten off to a strong start with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and now takes his talents to the Philadelphia Flyers. Studnicka, 27, has played in three games with the Phantoms this season scoring one goal with one assist. He has played in 126 career NHL games with Boston, Vancouver, San Jose and Florida recording 6-10-16 as well as 269 AHL games with Providence, Abbotsford, San Jose, Ontario, Charlotte and Lehigh Valley, producing 70-124-194. The righty-shooting center from Windsor, ON was a Round 2 selection of the Boston Bruins in 2017.

SWEDISH SWAGGER – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have received veteran forward Carl Grundstrom from the Philadelphia Flyers who will join the team for the road trip. Grundstrom, 28, is a lefty-shooting winger from Umea, Sweden who played in five games with the Flyers this season and 47 games with Philadelphia last year scoring 9-4-13. He played in 19 games with the Phantoms at the beginning of last season scoring 6-9-15. Grundstrom has played in 344 NHL games with Los Angeles, San Jose and Philadelphia, scoring 52-37-89 and 118 games in the AHL with Toronto, Ontario and Lehigh Valley scoring 36-51-87.

TRANSACTIONS –
Oct 7, 2026 – Add Alex Bump (F) – Loaned to Phantoms by PHI
Oct 11, 2026 – Del Oliver Bonk (D) – Recalled to PHI
Oct 11, 2026 – Add Cooper Wylie (D) – Recalled by LV from Reading
Oct12, 2026 – Del Jack Studnicka (F) – Recalled to PHI
Oct 12, 2026 – Add Carl Grundstrom (F) – Loaned to Phantoms by PHI
Oct 12, 2026 – Add Carson Bantle (F) – Signed to PTO

UPCOMING –
Wednesday, October 14 (6:30)
Peoples Bank Arena, Hartford, CT
Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford (3-2-0) got off to a roaring start at 3-0 but came crashing down to earth in a 7-1 blowout loss in the Wolf Pack’s home opener against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Cole Beudoin had three points to lead Hartford to a 5-2 win on Opening Night in Allentown on October 3 but the former Utah first-rounder was recalled to the Rangers after that. L.A. Kings First-rounder Liam Greentree (2 goals) is another high-end prospect. Veteran Taylor Raddysh made it through waivers and brings over 500 games of experience to the blueline. Rookie goaltender Callum Tung recorded a 28-save shutout against Providence last week, the first of his AHL career. Former Providence Bruins head coach Jay Leach takes the reins in Hartford after serving as an assistant coach in the NHL with Seattle and Boston.

Friday, October 16 (7:00) and Saturday, October 17 (6:00)
MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA
Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds
Springfield (2-1-1) made a strong run out of the cellar and all the way into the playoffs under new head coach Steve Ott who took over midseason. Then the T-Birds pulled off the biggest upset in Calder Cup Playoffs history as 41-point underdogs to the Kilpatrick Trophy Champion Providence Bruins. Young prospects Otto Stenberg and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki have Blues’ fans drooling. The two have already teamed up for a pair of short-handed goals. Rookie goaltender Will Cranley (1-0-1, 0.48, .982) has been outstanding with one goal allowed in 125 minutes to lead the league. Georgii Romanov has fared decently as well including 43 saves in an opening night 3-2 overtime win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
35-year-old veteran captain Chris Wagner helped lead the comeback charge for the Birds last year and is expected to play his 500th career AHL game this weekend while also having played in 401 NHL games mostly with Boston, Anaheim and Colorado.

Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Jacob Gaucher 3-1-4
Alex Bump 2-1-3
x – Jack Studnicka 1-2-3
x – Oliver Bonk 0-2-2
Spencer Gill 0-2-2
Jett Luchanko 0-2-2

Atlantic Division Standings:
1. Hershey 3-1-0 = 6
2. Hartford 3-2-0 = 6
3. W-B/Scranton 2-1-1 = 5
4. Springfield 2-1-1 = 5
5. Charlotte 2-2-0 = 4
6. Providence 1-4-0 = 2
7. Lehigh Valley 0-2-1 = 1

NEXT UP –
The Phantoms will be back at PPL Center on Saturday, October 24 against the Syracuse Crunch and Sunday, October 25 against the Belleville Senators on PhanCon also featuring a Postgame Skate with the players presented by NJM Insurance.

Oct

Sun 1:05 PM