Phantoms Weekly

Division Rivalries to Heat Up Your Weekend

January 21, 2025

Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-15-4) look to bounce back in a pair of key intra-divisional rivalry games at PPL Center this weekend. Lehigh Valley is in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and has upcoming matchups with the teams directly above them and directly behind them in the standings when they take on the Charlotte Checkers and Hershey Bears back to back. The Phantoms are looking to snap out of a four-game losing slide that has followed a four-game winning streak and seven-game point streak.

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

LAST WEEK
Friday, January 16 (7:05) – Bridgeport Islanders 3 at Phantoms 1
Saturday, January 17 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch 4 at Phantoms 1
Monday, January 19 (1:05) – Phantoms 2 at Bridgeport Islanders 6

THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, January 23 (7:05) – Charlotte Checkers at Phantoms
Saturday, January 24 (7:05) – Hershey Bears at Phantoms

WEEKLY RECAP
Friday, January 16, 2026
Bridgeport Islanders 3 at Phantoms 1
Oliver Bonk (2nd) scored late in the third period to end Marcus Hogberg’s chance at a shutout. Even with a late six-on-four rally, the Phantoms fell to the Islanders 3-1. Phantoms Goalie Carson Bjarnason made 35 saves while facing a season-high 38 shots. He only let in one goal during five-on-five. Lehigh Valley was mired by penalty trouble throughout the game as Bridgeport went 2-for-7 on the power play including a goal for Adam Beckman and a 2-point performance for Liam Foudy.

Saturday, January 17, 2026
Syracuse Crunch 4 at Phantoms 1
Lehigh Valley’s pressure came in waves and the Phantoms’ power play was buzzing and creating several strong chances. But Jon Gillies held off the Orange and Black long enough for the Syracuse Crunch to eventually emerge with a 4-1 win on Saturday night at PPL Center. Anthony Richard (10th) registered the lone goal for Lehigh Valley to get the Phantoms on the board late in the second period. But it wasn’t enough. And the Crunch picked up a fluky and momentum-changing goal with less than eight minutes left to make it 3-1 and then an empty-netter at the end of a feisty night. Lehigh Valley racked up 28 shots, including several close-range and Grade-A chances on 31-year-old veteran goaltender Gillies. Nick Abruzzese led the Crunch with a goal and an assist.

Monday, January 19, 2026
Phantoms 2 at Bridgeport Islanders 6
Early power-play chances aided the Bridgeport Islanders in establishing a 4-0 lead and the Phantoms weren’t able to dent into the deficit enough in a 6-2 defeat on Monday afternoon. Garrett Wilson (4th) and Jacob Gaucher (8th) got on the board for the Phantoms. Adam Beckman (13th, 14th, 15th) led the Isles attack with a hat trick in the first period as part of a four-point effort. Bridgeport racked up a 4-for-6 performance on the power play as early penalty issues impeded the Phantoms for a second matchup of the holiday weekend against their Atlantic Division foes. The Islanders were 3-for-3 in the first period en route to a four-goal opening frame, the most goals allowed in a period by the Phantoms this season.

GETTING THE CALL – The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled defenseman Hunter McDonald and center Lane Pederson from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
McDonald, 23, is in his second full season of professional hockey and can potentially make his NHL debut with Philadelphia. He has played in 33 games with the Phantoms this season recording five assists. He has played in 115 career games with the Phantoms scoring 4-22-26. A 6’4″ product of Fairport, NY, McDonald was a Round 6 selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022. He can become the third Lehigh Valley Phantoms player to make his NHL debut with the Flyers this season joining Ty Murchison and Denver Barkey. Other Phantoms to receive recalls to the Flyers this season include Emil Andrae, Jacob Gaucher, Carl Grundstrom, Aleksei Kolosov and Adam Ginning.

Pederson, 28, is the leading scorer on the Phantoms this season with 13-15-28 in 37 games played. The 6’0″ right-handed shooting center from Saskatoon, SK has been centering Lehigh Valley’s top line this year. Pederson made his Flyers debut on Monday at Vegas, his NHL game in three season. He has played in 72 career NHL games scoring 4-7-11 with Arizona, San Jose, Vancouver, Columbus and Philadelphia. He also has played in 348 career AHL games scoring 124-134-258 Tucson, San Jose, Chicago, Abbotsford, Bakersfield and Lehigh Valley. He had not appeared in the NHL since the 2022-23 season when he played 11 games with Vancouver and 16 games with Columbus.

JOINING THE PHANTOMS – Lehigh Valley has received forward Hunter Johannes and defenseman Artem Guryev who had been with the Reading Royals of the ECHL.
Johannes, 27, was acquired by the Phantoms from the Charlotte Checkers in a trade for future considerations on December 12, 2025 and he was immediately loaned to Reading after beginning the season with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. He made his Lehigh Valley debut on Monday at Bridgeport centering the fourth line. Johannes recorded his first career hat trick in his Reading debut on December 13 in a win against Norfolk and has now played in 14 games with Reading scoring 7-7-14. He also played in 17 games with Savannah scoring 1-7-8. Last year, as a professional rookie, he played in 51 games in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins scoring 2-2-4.
Guryev, 22, is a 6’4″ left-handed shooting defenseman who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks along with Carl Grundstrom in a trade for Ryan Ellis on October 5, 2025. He played in four games with the Phantoms in October and has also played in 27 games with the Reading scoring one goal. He has played in 35 career games in the AHL with San Jose and Lehigh Valley with zero goals and four assists. He was a Round 5 selection of San Jose in 2021 out of the Peterborough Petes and Flint Firebirds of the OHL.

ANTHONY ACHIEVEMENT – This weekend will mark Anthony Richard’s milestone 600th career pro game. The veteran winger is in his second season with the Phantoms and rates second on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points. Richard has played in 555 AHL games scoring 171-185-356 in various stints with Milwaukee, Chicago, Syracuse, Laval, Providence and Lehigh Valley. He has also played in 39 career NHL games scoring 6-8-14 including stints with Nashville, Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia and he set a career high last year when he played in 15 games with the Flyers. The speedy sniper also played in five games in the ECHL early in his career.

TRANSACTIONS –
1/15/26 Add Yaniv Perets (G) – Recalled by LV from Reading
1/15/26 Del Aleksei Kolosov (G) – Recalled to PHI
1/17/26 Add Artem Guryev (D) – Reassigned to LV from Reading by PHI
1/17/26 Del Hunter McDonald (D) – Recalled to PHI
1/18/26 Add Hunter Johannes (F) – Reassigned to LV from Reading by PHI
1/18/26 Del Lane Pederson (F) – Recalled to PHI

PHANTASTIC –
Phantoms record when…
Score First: 12-0-2
Lead After 1: 9-0-0
Score 3+ Goals: 16-1-2
Allow 2 goals or fewer: 14-0-1

UPCOMING –
Friday, January 23, 2026 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Charlotte Checkers at Phantoms
Third-place Charlotte (22-12-3) is dangerous and the Checkers are also on a five-game point streak (4-0-1). The high-flying Checkers cranked out back-to-back 8-2 routs over Springfield last week and also took three of four points from Hershey last weekend. This is Game 2 out of 8 in the season series with Charlotte squeaking past the Phantoms in a 3-2 overtime verdict on December 29 at PPL Center on Nolan Foote’s overtime strike. Charlotte is blasting out 30.7 shots per game, most in the conference, while limiting opponents to just 24.8 shots per game, 2nd best in the AHL. Rookie Jack Devine (11-15-26) out of the University of Denver leads the team in scoring and will represent Charlotte at the AHL All-Star Classic. 20-year-old Gracyn Sawchyn (6-13-19) is a second-rounder who had 78 points last year with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL and also scored a goal in Allentown in the previous matchup. Brian Pinho (6-12-18) is a former Hershey Bear who scored a shootout winner against his ex-team last Sunday. 6’8″ netminder Cooper Black (15-6-2, 2.57, .900) is thriving in his second pro season.

Saturday, January 24, 2026 (7:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Hershey Bears at Phantoms
Overtime has been following the Bears who have played a franchise record five consecutive games past regulation. Hershey (18-14-5) is on an eight-game point streak (4-0-4) but also has only one win in its last five (1-0-4). 19-year-old Ilya Protas (15-15-30), brother of NHL’er Aleksei Protas, is second in rookie goals and third in rookie points and will represent the Bears at the AHL All-Star Classic. Andrew Cristal (7-24-31) is second among AHL rookies in scoring and has scored 1-5-6 against the Phantoms. In the WHL, Cristall racked up an incredible 132 points with the Spokane Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets to beat out Gavin McKenna for the league scoring crown. Former Phantom Louie Belpedio (6-15-21) is third on the team in scoring along with 35-year-old captain Aaron Ness also anchoring the blueline. The Bears have taken four out of five in the season series with all five games going down to the wire and being decided by a single goal. Aleksei Kolosov slammed the door on the Bears in a 3-0 shutout in the most recent encounter on New Year’s Eve with Lane Pederson snagging a pair of goals in the first. Lehigh Vallley is 2-2-2 against the Bears entering Game 7 out of 10 in the season series.

Phantoms Scoring Leaders
x – Lane Pederson 13-14-27
Alex Bump 7-13-20
Anthony Richard 10-10-20
Alexis Gendron 7-10-17
Christian Kyrou 5-11-16
x – Denver Barkey 7-9-16

Atlantic Division Standings:
1. Providence 27-8-1 = 55
2. W-B/Scranton 26-11-3 = 55
3. Charlotte 22-12-3 = 45
3. Lehigh Valley 19-15-4 = 42
5. Hershey 18-14-5 = 41
6. Bridgeport 17-17-3 = 37
7. Hartford 15-18-5 = 35
8. Springfield 13-19-6 = 32

LOOKING AHEAD – The Phantoms are at home this weekend taking on Charlotte and Hershey on Friday and Saturday. Next weekend, the Phantoms begin with a road game at Springfield on Friday, January 30 but return to PPL Center hosting the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday, January 31 and then taking on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday, Feburary 1 in a 3:05 p.m. start in Allentown.

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