Gaucher Scores Twice but B-Isles Hang On

Katchouk Scores First with LV in Late Rally

March 8, 2026

Bridgeport, CT – Jacob Gaucher (14th, 15th) knocked home two more to extend his goal streak to three games but Liam Foudy (20th, 21st) paced the Bridgeport Islanders’ attack and held off a late rally for a 5-4 decision on Sunday afternoon.

Lehigh Valley (24-26-6) trailed 5-3 when the Phantoms pulled Carson Bjarnason with 4:10 remaining. After that it was chance after glorious chance for the Orange and Black but somehow Henrik Tikkanen hung in there to make his best stops of the day and preserve the win. Boris Katchouk scored his first with Lehigh Valley with just 1:06 left to make it a one-goal game as he tipped in a pass by Phil Tomasino in the corner while he was cross-checked hard at the net-front. But the potential equalizer alluded them and the Phantoms ran out of time.

Bridgeport (24-25-8) broke out of a tie with Lehigh Valley in the standings to take sole possession of fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 16 games remaining in the regular season.

The Phantoms struck first on Zayde Wisdom’s (10th) snipe on the rush up the right wing cranking it off the far iron at 10:11.

Bjarnason made a show-stopping save diving to his left to get a glove on a shot from the right dot. And he made a stellar breakaway save at the very end of the first period while also stuffing the follow-up rebound effort in a 10-save performance in the opening frame for a 1-0 lead.

But the Islanders found their offense in the second period with a trio of markers including Matthew Highmore (10th) with a top-shelf backhand chip from the right of the crease off a pass from the point by Travis Mitchell to even the score at 1-1 at 1:08 into the second.

Gleb Veremyev (3rd) converted from the left dot at 9:03 to put the B-Isles in front for the first time at 2-1.

But the Phantoms quickly equalized with Oliver Bonk’s pass up the right boards sending Gaucher zooming in and allowing him to power a shot through the big-bodied goaltender, Tikkanen, for a 2-2 tie at 11:17 into the second period.

The Phantoms received a golden opportunity to break the tie with a power play just minutes later but a bad pass from the Lehigh Valley zone was picked off by Foudy for a shorthanded breakaway goal at 14:10 to put the Islanders in front instead.

Lehigh Valley got it back right after the power play had expired when Gaucher deflected a point shot over the shoulder of Tikkanen and into the net to even the count again at 3-3.

Newly acquired Matt Luff scored on the power play for the Islanders at 3:48 into the third period when Foudy drew a crowd in the right circle leaving the seam-pass open for the backdoor conversion past the diving efforts of Bjarnason.

Foudy picked off a puck and wheeled around a Phantoms defenseman with a pretty backhand dangle to drive straight at Bjarnason for a five-hole lamplighter at 13:43 to extend the advantage to 5-3.

The Phantoms pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker with 4:10 left and had a ton of chances of Tikannen was especially impressive when it mattered most. Katchouk got his first with his new team, in his 451st pro game, while taking some punishment in the creaser in the process. But the Phantoms were unable to snag another tying goal as Bridgeport barely escaped with the regulation win.

It was the first time for Lehigh Valley to lose in regulation when the Phantoms scored the first goal.

The Phantoms are back on the road next Friday and Saturday at the Syracuse Crunch and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The Phantoms have a pair of home games on Sunday, March 15 at 3:05 p.m. against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wednesday, March 18 against the Providence Bruins.

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