Phantoms Weekly
Bringing a 6-Game Point Streak to New England
January 7, 2025
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-11-4) are on the rise and carry a three-game win streak and six-game point streak (5-0-1) into the weekend as they continue their road swing with trips to Springfield and Providence. The Phantoms are coming off back-to-back wins north of the border at the Belleville Senators and Toronto Marlies with nine different players combining to score nine goals in the big weekend. After that, the team received a well-deserved break before the next contest following a busy and eminently successful stretch of five games in eight days.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST WEEK
Wednesday, December 31 – Hershey Bears 0 at Phantoms 3
Saturday, January 3 – Phantoms 3 at Belleville Senators 1
Sunday, January 4 – Phantoms 6 at Toronto Marlies 1
THE WEEK AHEAD
Saturday, January 10 (6:00) – Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds (STL)
Sunday, January 11 (3:00) – Phantoms at Providence Bruins (BOS)
WEEKLY RECAP
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Hershey Bears 0 at Phantoms 3
Aleksei Kolosov was a brick wall and the Phantoms finished off 2025 with a 3-0 victory over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday afternoon to close out 2025. Kolosov’s 31-save performance was his second shutout of the year. Lane Pederson (10th, 11th) scored a pair of goals in the first period and Oliver Bonk picked up his pro point on an assist in the first and then contributed on the other side of the ice with a key block in front of a mostly-open net to preserve the shutout. Max Guenette (1st) sealed the victory with a long empty-netter.
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Phantoms 3 at Belleville Senators 1
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms enjoyed a bolstered lineup to open 2026 and responded with a hot start and a pair of goals early en route to a 3-1 victory at the Belleville Senators in the first game of 2026. Ty Murchison (2nd), Helge Grans (3rd) and Jacob Gaucher (7th) lit the lamp for the Phantoms. Carson Bjarnason notched 25 saves in his eighth win. Alex Bump returned from injury for his first game since December 19 and Anthony Richard returned from a European trip where he represented Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. The Phantoms also welcomed recent addition Phil Tomasino who made his Phantoms’ debut after being acquired from Pittsburgh in a trade on Wednesday. In the meantime, old friends reunited as well as Olle Lycksell and Hayden Hodgson as well as Dennis Gilbert dressed for the Red and Black of Belleville against their former team.
Sunday, January 4, 2026
Phantoms 6 at Toronto Marlies 1
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms pulled away with a four-goal outburst in the third period as they routed the Toronto Marlies 6-1 on Sunday evening to wrap up their Canadian weekend. Oliver Bonk was one of nine different goal scorers on the weekend as the rookie defenseman’s shorthanded strike was the first goal of his pro career. Aleksei Kolosov stole the show with 29 saves in one of his best performances with several big stops when the game was still close. The Phantoms extended their point streak to six while also snapping Toronto’s five-game win streak. Lane Pederson (12th) paced the attack with a goal and two assists. Cooper Marody (4th), Karsen Dorwart (5th), Alexis Gendron (6th), and Garrett Wilson (3rd) all found the back of the net for the Orange and Black as well.
KOLOSOV HONORED – The American Hockey League has announced that Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Aleksei Kolosov has been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending January 4, 2026. Kolosov stopped 60 of the 61 shots he faced in two starts for the Phantoms last week, good for a 0.50 goals-against average and a .984 save percentage. On Wednesday evening, Kolosov made 31 saves as Lehigh Valley posted a 3-0 shutout of Hershey. And on Sunday, he celebrated his 24th birthday by turning aside 29 shots as the Phantoms earned a 6-1 victory at Toronto. Kolosov was selected as the game’s first star in both contests.
This is the ninth time a Lehigh Valley Phantoms player has won AHL Player of the Week honors and it is the first time for a Lehigh Valley goaltender to snag the award.
Phantoms AHL Player of the Week Winners
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9)
Aleksei Kolosov – Jan 5, 2026
Olle Lycksell – Dec 22, 2024
Tanner Laczynski – Nov 20, 2023
Olle Lycksell – Oct 22, 2023
Cooper Marody – Mar 13, 2023
Max Willman – Feb 28, 2021
Colin McDonald – Jan 31, 2016
Nick Cousins – Mar 15, 2015
Scott Laughton – Oct 19, 2014 (Scored First Goal at PPL Center)
STREAKING AND PEAKING – Lehigh Valley’s six-game point streak (5-0-1) since December 20 is the team’s longest since a six-game streak early last season from October 30 through November 13, 2024. Lehigh Valley’s record is a nine-game point streak (going 7-0-2) in the 2021-22 season from December 11, 2021 through January 14, 2022.
TOMASINO ARRIVES – Newly acquired forward Phil Tomasino made his Lehigh Valley Phantoms debut last Saturday at the Belleville Senators. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Egor Zamula.
Tomasino, 24, was selected by the Nashville Predators in the first round (24th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He has appeared in 218 career NHL games across five seasons with Nashville (2021–24) and Pittsburgh (2024–25), scoring 34-61-95. Last season with Pittsburgh, he scored 11-12-23. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Tomasino spent the majority of this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton recording 5-10-15 in 14 games.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER – The Phantoms have gone 16-1-2 when scoring three or more goals in a game. Lehigh Valley is 13-0-1 when holding opponents to fewer than three goals in a game.
HOT STARTS – Lehigh Valley is 12-0-2 when scoring the first goal of the game. The Phantoms and the Grand Rapids Griffins are the only two teams undefeated in regulation when scoring the first goal. Lehigh Valley is also a perfect 9-0-0 when leading at the first intermission. Only three other teams have perfect marks in that department (Chicago, Grand Rapids, Providence).
TRANSACTIONS –
12/30/25 Del Hunter Johannes (F) – Loaned to Reading by LV
12/31/25 Del Egor Zamula (D) – Traded PHI to PIT
12/31/25 Add Philip Tomasino (F) – Acquired trade from PIT, loaned to LV
12/31/25 Add Anthony Richard – Assigned to LV (from CAN Spengler Cup)
1/3/26 Del Carson Golder (F) – Loaned to Reading by LV
1/7/26 Add Yaniv Perets (G) – Recalled by LV from Reading
WOOF WOOF! – Rookie forward Denver Barkey has thrived in his recall to the Philadelphia Flyers and scored his first career NHL goal on January 3 in a win at the Edmonton Oilers rushing all the way down ice to do it. Barkey has now played in eight games with the Flyers since making his NHL debut on December 20 at the New York Rangers. The tenacious and undersized winger scored 7-9-16 in 26 games with the Phantoms this season prior to his recall. The 20-year-old joined the pro ranks after captaining the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League to a Memorial Cup title. Barkey was a round 3 selection of the Flyers in 2023.
UPCOMING –
Saturday, January 6, 2025 (6:00 p.m.)
MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA
Phantoms at Springfield Thunderbirds
Springfield (12-13-6) had a dismal start with just two wins in its first 15 games but the T-Birds have certainly found their way since then having gone 10-4-3 in the last seven weeks while also snagging points in nine of their last 12 going 7-3-2. They took a step backwards Wednesday night, however, getting trounced by Utica 5-1. But Springfield has risen from the cellar to take hold of sixth place in the division, above the playoff cutline. Matt Luff (11-13-24) is an AHL veteran also with 111 career NHL games. Matthew Peca (4-11-15) is in his fifth season as captain of the T-Birds and finished 6th in the AHL in scoring last year setting career highs with 31 goals and 63 points. 20-year-old Juraj Pekarcik (5-10-15) of Slovakia was a St. Louis Blues third-rounder in 2023. Defenseman Theo Lindstein (2-5-7) of Sweden was a first-rounder. This is Game 3 out of 6 in the season series and is also the Phantoms’ first vist to Springfield this year. The Phantoms romped to a 7-3 win on November 14 but Springfield evened the series with a 3-1 decision at PPL Center on December 17.
Sunday, January 11, 2026 (3:00 p.m.)
Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, RI
Phantoms at Providence Bruins
Providence (23-6-1) has the second-best points percentage in the AHL (.783) and is allowing a paltry 2.03 goals per game to rate second in league defense behind only Grand Rapids. Michael DiPietro (12-4-0, 1.86, .935) and free-agent rookie acquisition Simon Zajicek (10-2-1, 2.02, .930) have been as stingy as they come and rate second and third in the AHL in GAA and save percentage trailing only Sebastian Cossa of Grand Rapids. The offense ain’t too shabby either averaging 3.33 goals per game to rank 6th in the AHL. The Bruins are led by captain Patrick Brown (12-22-34) who is fifth in the AHL in scoring and in his third season with the P-Bruins following two years with the Flyers from 2021-23. Georgii Merkulov (13-14-27) is in his fourth year with Providence and cranked out 30 goals two seasons ago. Rookie Dans Locmelis (12-9-21) has four goals in the last four games and is a fourth-rounder from Latvia who will be joining Phantoms alum Rodrigo Abols at the Olympics next month. The Phantoms dropped a 3-2 nailbiter at Providence on November 21 and this is their last visit to the Ocean State this season.
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Lane Pederson 12-13-25
Alex Bump 7-13-20
Anthony Richard 8-10-18
x – Denver Barkey 7-9-16
x – Carl Grundstrom 6-9-15
Alexis Gendron 6-9-15
Christian Kyrou 4-10-14
Atlantic Division Standings:
1. Providence 23-6-1 = 47
1. W-B/Scranton 22-9-3 = 47
3. Lehigh Valley 18-11-4 = 40
4. Charlotte 18-11-2 = 38
5. Hershey 16-14-1 = 33
6. Springfield 12-14-16 = 30
7. Bridgeport 12-16-3 = 27
7. Hartford 11-15-5 = 27
LOOKING AHEAD – The Phantoms are back for their first home games of 2026 when they host the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday, January 16 and the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, January 17. Friday’s game is a Berks Dollar Dog Night. Saturday is Air Products Night with fans encouraged to bring packages of ramen to benefit local food banks.
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