PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Charlotte, Game 15
Tangle with First-Place Checkers
TONIGHT – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (6-7-1) conclude their quick two-game weekend homestand hosting the Charlotte Checkers (9-6-1), AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers.
The Phantoms are looking to keep it up following Friday’s stingy and stalwart defensive effort in a 3-0 shutout win over the Hamilton Hammers. Lehigh Valley tied a team record allowing just 15 shots on goal in the game.
Charlotte (9-6-1) is still tops in the Atlantic Division following a split of their Tuesday-Wednesday series with the Providence Bruins. The Checkers are beginning a five-game road trip.
Lehigh Valley and Charlotte are meeting for the first of eight in the season series.
Tonight’s game is Hockey is for Everyone Night, celebrating diversity in hockey. It is also a celebration of hockey romance literature. Lehigh Valley plays on Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but will return for four straight home games beginning next weekend and is currently in a stretch of six out of seven games at home.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for tonight’s game at www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST TIME – Aleksei Kolosov recorded his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career in a 15-save performance while Riley Thompson scored his first career pro goal to propel the Lehigh Valley Phantoms past the Hamilton Hammers, 3-0, on Friday night in the first of a two-game weekend homestand. Zayde Wisdom (4th) and Zach Aston-Reese (3rd) also scored for the Phantoms while Andrew Perrott recorded an assist in his season debut and first-ever game for Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley equalled a team-record for fewest shots allowed in a game and limited its opponent to just 15 shots for the fifth time ever and first time since April 5, 2024 vs. Providence. The Phantoms fell one shy of the franchise record for fewest shots allowed of 14 which was accomplished twice by the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2003 and 1997.
Lehigh Valley Record Book
Career Shutouts
Alex Lyon 6
Dustin Tokarski 5
Aleksei Kolosov 4
Lehigh Valley Record Book
Fewest Shots Allowed
15 – November 13, 2026 vs. Hamilton Kolosov Shutout)
15 – April 5, 2024 vs. Providence
15 – November 25, 2023 vs. Rochester
15 – February 11, 2023 vs. Bridgeport (Ersson Shutout)
15 – November 26, 2022 vs. Rochester
TRANSACTIONS –
Nov 13, 2026 – Del Own McLaughlin (F) – Loaned to Reading Royals (ECHL)
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Jacob Gaucher – 100 Points with Phantoms! (Nov 6, 2026 at Belleville)
Zack Aston-Reese – 199 Pro Points
Zayde Wisdom – 99 Pro Points
John Snowden – 99 Pro Coaching Wins
Lehigh Valley Records Book – Career Assists
1. Chris Conner 128
2. T.J. Brennan 112
3. Greg Carey 92
4. Cal O’Reilly 87
4. GARRETT WILSON 8
THOMPSON STRIKES – Riley Thompson earned it. The big, rookie center out of Ohio State has shown consistently improved play and was rewarded in Friday’s game with his first career pro goal deflecting a Hunter McDonald shot. The 6’4″ pivot out of Ohio State signed as a free agent with the Flyers late last season and played in nine games with the Phantoms to conclude the season. In his 22nd career pro game, Thompson landed his big moment and puck memento when his tip from the left circle made it 3-0 in a win over the Hamilton Hammers. The former alternate captain with the Buckeyes racked up 13 goals and 14 assists last year to earn the attention of the Flyers who signed the 24-year-old native of Orleans, ONT on March 26, 2026
PERROTT DEBUTS – It’s been a long road back for defenseman Andrew Perrott who missed the first six weeks of the 2026-27 campaign due to an upper-body injury sustained in a preseason game. The fifth-year pro made his Phantoms debut on Friday and received an assist in his first game on a right-point shot off Hamilton goaltender Josh Kotai that was buried by Zach Aston-Reese. Perrott has played the majority of his career with the Rockford IceHogs but also played 19 games with the Hershey Bears two seasons ago. Known for his toughness, Perrott racked up a career-high 117 penalty minutes with Rockford last season and has 416 career penalty minutes in 208 games played in the AHL and ECHL combined. The native of Columbia Station, Ohio near Cleveland is a bit of a chip of the old block. His Dad, Nathan Perrott, had 985 penalty minutes in 266 games played in the AHL mostly with the St. John’s Maple Leafs and Milwaukee Admirals. Nathan Perrott had 251 penalty minutes in the NHL in 89 games. with Dallas, Toronto and Nashville.
CHECK IT OUT! – Charlotte (9-6-1) is still in first place despite dropping three of its last four. The Checkers were swept by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but then picked it up with a split against the Providence Bruins on Tuesday and Wednesday. Long-time Penguin Sam Lafferty had a hat trick in Tuesday’s win and has played in 384 career NHL games. His recent return from Florida marks his first AHL action since the 2019-20 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.21-year-old second-rounder Gracyn Sawchyn (4-8-12) from the Edmontol Oil Kings is among active scoring leaders on the Checker salong with University of Denver seventh-rounder Jack Devine (9-3-12) who just returned to Charlotte from the Florida Panthers. NHL veteran defenseman Alex Petrovic (2-7-9) has played 323 career NHL games primarily with Florida and Dallas and was longtime teammates with Garrett Wilson when both players were coming with the AHL’s San Anotnio Rampage and Florida Panthers. 27-year-old addition Angus Crookshank (1-7-8) has scored 20 or more goals in four straight seasons with Utica and Belleville. Geordie Kinnear is the longest-tenured coach in the AHL in his 10th season with the Panthers’ affiliate in Charlotte and previously Springfield.
SCORING LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
20 Alex Bump 9-1-10
56 Jacob Gaucher 5-5-10
23 Jack Studnicka 3-5-8
42 Spencer Gill 1-6-7
44 Cam Dineen 2-4-6
77 Jett Luchanko 1-5-6
Charlotte
Jack Devine 9-3-12
Gracyn Sawchyn 4-8-12
Nate Smith 7-2-9
Robert Mastrisimone 3-6-9
Alex Petrovic 2-7-9
SPECIAL TEAMS
LV PP 17.0% (17th) / 78.9% (24th)
CLT PP 19.7% (8th) / 87.1% (4th)
SEASON SERIES vs. Charlotte
11/14/26 Home 7:05
12/12/26 Home 7:05
1/8/27 Away 7:00
1/9/27 Away 6:00
2/12/27 Home 7:05
3/30/27 Away 7:00
3/31/27 Away 7:00
4/9/27 Home 7:05
ON THE AIR – Catch the Phantoms, home and away, on the Phantoms 365 app and on Real Oldies 1470-AM, WSAN and also on FloHockey.TV.
Also available via the Listen Live link at the Phantoms website and on your Smart Speaker system at “Play Phantoms Radio 24-7.”
Bob Rotruck has the play-by-play action all season long.
Service Electric Network is the exclusive home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, providing extensive coverage of all home games. Steve Degler and Steven Swavely call the action from the booth, while Kristi Fulkerson and Dan Fremuth host pregame, intermissions, and postgame coverage, beginning with “Front and Center” live from Chickie’s and Pete’s at PPL Center.
NEXT UP –
Sunday at 6:05 is a trek up the northeast extension to face the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the first time this year.
Friday, November 20 through Saturday, November 28 is an action-packed stretch at PPL Center with four big home games against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
