Syracuse Withstands Phantoms

Crunch hang on 3-1

February 15, 2026

Allentown, PA – Stingy defense from the Syracuse Crunch, combined with timely goaltending by Ryan Fanti, proved too much for the Phantoms to overcome in a 3-1 decision on Sunday afternoon at PPL Center.

Tucker Robertson (10th) broke Fanti’s shutout bid in the third and gave the Phantoms a chance for a dramatic, late comeback. Brendan Furry (10th) scored against his former team for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Aleksei Kolosov (28/30) was especially strong between the pipes in keeping the Phantoms close as the Crunch outshot Lehigh Valley 31-19.

” I think they’re probably one of the best defensive teams in the league,” Phantoms head coach John Snowden said. “And they check. They’re probably one of the hardest teams to play against. They’re not giving a whole lot of space. We are knowing that no matter where we get in the o-zone, you’re going to have 1, 2, 3, 4, guys around you. So we need to get ourselves out of that when you’re on puck retrievals. You need to get the contact before the contact gets you and create some space for yourself and just be more abrasive on our retrievals. And then we just got to be a lot harder in the battle. And I don’t think we did it enough tonight.”

Fans got to stay around after the game to meet their favorite players at the conclusion of a promotion-packed homestand during our Winter Games Weekend. Tonight’s Postgame Photographs with the players event was presented by NJM Insurance.

Lehigh Valley (21-22-4) almost struck for the opening tally of the game with Anthony Richard speeding wide open up the left wing but his massive blast was cranked off the post in an unlucky break at the start.

Dylan Duke (23rd) was on the receiving end of a lucky break for Syracuse (28-16-4) with a shot by Ethan Gauthier on the power play clipping him on the pants leg on its way into the net as Syracuse took the initial 1-0 lead at 16:34 into the game. The Crunch enjoyed a 12-2 shots advantage in the first period but Kolosov was especially strong in holding them off.

Brendan Furry worked his way into an opening in the slot and benefitted from some snappy passing around the zone to score against his former team making it 2-0 at 10:47 into the second. The Phantoms buckled down on defense and limited the Crunch to just five shots on goal in the middle frame but still found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard entering the third.

Alex Bump almost broke through in just his second game since returning from injury. He got to the rebound of a Lane Pederson shot right on top of the net but was robbed on a sprawling and spectacular save by Fanti. Max Guenette had earlier pushed his way through for a strong chance on an odd-man rush when his blocked pass came back to him for a quick chance on net which Fanti somehow fought off again.

The Phantoms scored in the third period with Anthony Richard pressuring at the Syracuse blueline and forcing a hurried pass that led to a Tucker Robertson interception. Robertson’s shot cutting across was knocked down by Fanti but Robertson chased down the rebound and fired it home with Anthony Richard screening and attempting to deflect at the net-front. Robertson’s second goal of the weekend was also his second shorthanded goal of the season and got the Phantoms on the board at 2-1 with just 6:45 left.

Lehigh Valley’s desperation push was unable to break through for the equalizer as the Syracuse defense largely buckled down against the extra attacker. Mitchell Chaffee (16th) finished it off with an empty-netter with 1:15 remaining.

“It’s been a tough stretch, Snowden said. “And we haven’t had to deal with it. We just need to get out of our own way at times. You have to have a mindset where you wash it away. You can’t worry about what happened in the past. You have to move forward. The process isn’t going to change for what we’re doing.”

The Phantoms have a pair of rivalry road games next weekend in Chocoatetown with a back-to-back series at the Hershey Bears on Friday and Saturday.

The Phantoms are back at PPL Center to open a three-game homestand on Wednesday, February 25 against the first-place Providence Bruins.

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