Phantoms Weekly
Three-Game Win Streak Entering Weekend Homestand
October 21, 2026
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-2-1)return to PPL Center riding a three-game win streak following the team’s successful New England road trip.
Alex Bump capped the successful trip with an overtime winner at Springfield en route to winning AHL Player of the Week honors.
Next up is a Saturday night showdown with the Syracuse Crunch featuring a retro feel including Philadelphia Phantoms throwback jerseys. Sunday afternoon’s clash against the Belleville Senators also sees the return of our award-winning PhanCon promotion plus a postgame skate with the Phantoms players presetned by NJM Insurance.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST WEEK
Wednesday, October 14 – Phantoms 4 at Hartford Wolf Pack 1
Friday, October 16 – Phantoms 6 at Springfield Thunderbirds 3
Saturday, October 17 – Phantoms 3 at Springfield Thunderbirds 2 (OT)
THE WEEK AHEAD
Saturday, October 24 (7:05) – Phantoms vs. Syracuse Crunch (TB)
Sunday, October 25 (3:05) – Phantoms vs. Belleville Senators (OTT)
WEEKLY RECAP
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 at Hartford Wolf Pack 1
Carson Bjarnason (24/25) was magnificent and Noah Powell (1st) broke a 1-1 tie in the third period as the Phantoms won their first game of the season on the road in Hartford. Carl Grundstrom (1st) scored in his first game back with Lehigh Valley. Alex Bump and Cam Dineen (2nd) also lit the lamp for the Phantoms with back-to-back late empty-netters.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6 at Springfield Thunderbirds 3
Jett Luchanko (1st) scored his first career pro goal as part of a three-point performance, also a pro first for the 20-year-old center. Alex Bump knocked home two goals including a late empty-netter, while extending his goal streak to four games. Cole Knuble scored his first of the year and Hunter McDonald jump-started the attack with the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season while Jacob Gaucher (4th) help the team on its way to an initial 4-0 lead.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 at Springfield Thunderbirds 2 (F / OT)
Alex Bump (6th, 7th) scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal to tie the game and then won it in overtime with his fifth goal of the three-game road trip and his seventh goal in just five games since joining the club. Bump took the league lead in goals and the Phantoms overcame an initial 2-0 deficit to post their first come-from-behind win of the season. David Goyette opened the scoring with his first goal as a Phantom.Aleksei Kolosov (29/32) picked up his first win of the season.
BUMP ACCOLADES – Alex Bump was recognized for his torrid goal-scoring stretch as he was named AHL Player of the Week. It is the 10th time a Lehigh Valley player has received the honor. Bump had five goals on the team’s three-game road trip while extending his goal-scoring streak to five games. Bump moved into the AHL lead for most goals and has scored a goal in every game he has played with Lehigh Valley this season. The Round 5 selection from 2022 won a National Championship at Western Michigan University before joining the Phantoms. The 22-year-old from Prior Lake, Minn. has registered 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 43 games for the Phantoms over the last two seasons, along with five goals and four assists in 20 NHL contests (including four this season) with the Flyers. Other Lehigh Valley Phantoms to win AHL Player of the Week honors include Aleksei Kolosov, Olle Lycksell (twice), Cooper Marody, Tanner Laczynski, Max Willman, Colin McDonald, Nick Cousins, and Scott Laughton.
TRANSACTIONS –
Oct 18, 2026 – Del Hunter McDonald (D) – Recalled to PHI
Oct 18, 2026 – Add Jack Studnicka (F) – Loaned to Phantoms by PHI
Oct 18, 2026 – Add Helge Grans (D) – Loaned to Phantoms by PHI
Oct 19, 2026 – Del Alex Bump (F) – Recalled to PHI
Oct 19, 2026 – Del Cole Knuble (F) – Recalled to PHI
Oct 19, 2026 – Del Jacob Gaucher (F) – Recalled to PHI
MOVING UP – The Philadelphia Flyers brought up four young prospects who helped the team pick up a big 3-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Cole Knuble made his NHL debut and became part of the first-ever father-son combo in Philadelphia Flyers’ history and then followed that up with his first career goal on Wednesday night at the Buffalo Sabres on a rebound at the net front. The fourth-round selection joined the Phantoms late last season from Notre Dame and has scored 2-5-7 in 13 career games with Lehigh Valley.
Hunter McDonald played in just his second career NHL game and his first since the season finale of the 2025-26 season. The hard-nosed 24-year-old prospect from Northeastern University is in his third full season of professional hockey has played in 153 career games with Lehigh Valley scoring 5-25-30.
Jacob Gaucher played at wing in the NHL for the first in his career after beginning the season on left wing with the Lehigh Valey Phantoms providing him additional versatility on such recalls. It was Gaucher’s ninth career NHL game including four last season and four games in 2024-25. The 25-year-old right-shot has played in 204 career games with the Phantoms scoring 52-46-98 and is tied for seventh all-time in Lehigh Valley history in goals scored.
Bump, 21, was outstanding in his week-long stint with the Phantoms racking up seven goals in five games and racing up to the league lead while compiling a five-game goal streak. Bump has now played in 21 career games with the Flyers scoring 5-4-9 while also tallying twice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year.
RETURNING – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have received center Jack Studnicka and defenseman Helge Grans from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Grans, 24, has played in one game with the Flyers this season. He played in 61 games with the Phantoms last year scoring 3-11-14 and has seven career games with the Flyers.Grans has played in 298 career AHL games with Ontario and Lehigh Valley scoring 21-57-78 including 183 games with Lehigh Valley producing 12-33-45 across three seasons with the team.
Studnicka, 27, has played in three games with the Flyers and has played in three games with the Phantoms this season scoring one goal with one assist. He has played in 129 career NHL games with Boston, Vancouver, San Jose, Florida, and Philadelphia 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.
UPCOMING –
Saturday, October 24 (7:05)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. Syracuse Crunch
Syracuse (3-3-0) has won back-to-back including a 4-2 win over Rochester on Saturday and then a 4-3 win at Hamilton on Sunday. The Crunch were playing on Wednesday night at the first-place Laval Rocket.
Fourth-year head coach Joel Bouchard has a solid base of players from last year’s squad including former University of Michigan sniper Dylan Duke (1-3-4) who racked up 32 goals in 2025-26 and last year’s AHL scoring champ Jacob Pelletier (1-3-4) who had 28-49-77 in 2025-26 after playing for the Flyers two seasons ago.
Former Winnipeg second-rounder Jansen Harkins (1-0-1) has 306 career NHL games and spent the last two seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. Former Phantoms Brendan Furry (1-1-2) and Elliot Desnoyers (0-0-0) have found a new home in central New York. Former Belleville Senators goaltender Mads Sogaaard (2-1-0, 1.82, .925) has put up strong numbers so far.
Sunday, October 25 (3:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. Belleville Senators
Belleville (3-2-2) bounced back from back-to-back 5-4 overtime losses to Laval and Toronto to post a 4-2 win at Toronto on Sunday wrapping up a three-point weekend (1-0-2). It was a nice recovery for the Senators who blew a 4-1 lead in the third period on a Laval Rocket rally to open the stretch on Friday. San Jose second-rounder 21-year-old Kasper Halttunen (5-3-8) had a hat trick in Saturday’s loss. He came over as part of the William Eklund trade. Former Phantoms from last year, Phil Tomasino (2-3-5) and All-Star Classic representative Christian Kyrou (0-4-4), are putting up the points with their new team. Tomasino has 218 career NHL games and played in 38 games with the Phantoms scoring 7-19-26 last season after coming over from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Egor Zamula trade. Kyrou joined the Phantoms from the Texas Stars in exchange for Samu Tuomaala and scored 10-24-34 in 55 games with the Orange and Black. Ottawa first-rounder Tyler Boucher (1-2-3) is the son of Brian Boucher who is a former Phantoms (Philadelphia and Adirondack) and Flyers goaltender and current Flyers television commentator. 23-year-old Tyler Boucher is in his fourth season with Belleville but his development has been hampered by injuries playing in only 115 games over the past three seasons while scoring 19-22-41.
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
x – Alex Bump 7-1-8
x – Jacob Gaucher 4-4-8
Jett Luchanko 1-5-6
Cam Dineen 2-3-5
x – Cole Knuble 1-3-4
Jack Studnicka 1-2-3
Hunter McDonald 1-2-3
Atlantic Division Standings:
1. Hershey 4-2-0 = 6
1. Charlotte 4-2-0 = 6
3. Lehigh Valley 3-2-1 = 7
3. W-B/Scranton 3-2-1 = 7
5. Hartford 3-5-0 = 6
5. Springfield 2-2-2 = 6
7. Providence 2-5-0 = 4
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.
The Phantoms travel to western New York for an away game with the Rochester Americans on Friday, October 30. Lehigh Valley is back at PPL Center on Sunday, November 1 against the Providence Bruins including a popcorn bucket giveaway from Gruber.
Rochester Americans
Laval Rocket
