PREVIEW: Phantoms at Springfield, Game 70

Massive Massachusetts Midweek Matchup!

TODAY – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (30-33-6) have three away games left in the regular season and are looking to catch sixth-place Springfield (30-31-8) for the last playoff spot in tonight’s matchup in Western Mass. It’s truly a do-or-die scenario for the Phantoms who could either be knocking on the door for a postseason position or could potentially face elimination if the results go against them.

The Phantoms have closed the gap via terrifically exciting back-to-back wins at PPL Center in the final home games of the season capped by Jack Berglund’s shootout winner on Sunday. Meanwhile, Springfield lost a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday thus opening the door for tonight’s important clash. Media materials for tonight’s game available here: www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/

LAST TIME – An infusion of young talent came through when it mattered most to propel a thrilling Phantoms comeback win against the Cleveland Monsters in Lehigh Valley’s home finale on Sunday afternoon at PPL Center. Noah Powell gave the Phantoms the lead in the third period with his first career pro goal followed by fellow newcomers Cole Knuble and Jack Berglund who scored in the second and third rounds of the shootout to finish off an incredible 4-3 victory. What a sendoff for our fans with tremendous victories in the last two home games of the season!
Trailing 2-0, Jacob Gaucher (20th) got the Phantoms on the board with a power-play goal in the second period. He almost evened the score a few minutes later when he was awarded a penalty shot at the end of the second period but former Flyers’ goaltender Ivan Fedotov denied Gaucher’s backhand attempt. Boris Katchouk (6th with LV) tied the game in the third and, a few minutes later, it was Noah Powell burying the go-ahead goal on an incredible pass from defenseman Jackson Edward.

THEY’RE BACK! – Six Phantoms players were recalled on Sunday and Monday with all suiting up in Tuesday’s season finale for the Philadelphia Flyers. All six have since been returned to Lehigh Valley ahead of tonight’s Showdown in Springfield. Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald both made their NHL debuts and recorded their first NHL points. Bonk recorded a goal and an assist in Philadelphia’s 4-2 win over Montreal while McDonald had an assist as well. Also returning to the Phantoms today are David Jiricek, Jacob Gaucher, Anthony Richard, and Aleksei Kolosov.

Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald became the fourth and fifth Lehigh Valley players to make their NHL debuts with the Flyers this season joining Ty Murchison, Denver Barkey and Alex Bump. 53 Phantoms players have made their debuts with the Flyers since the Phantoms arrived to the Lehigh Valley in 2014.

PLAYOFF PUSH – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are still pushing for a playoff spot. And a 3-0 record in the final away games of the season is likely to get them there but is not a guarantee.
First up is a massive head-to-head showdown at the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday night. Lehigh Valley trails Springfield by two points for the final spot. A regulation win on Wednesday would move the Phantoms into a tie with the T-Birds in the standings. However, Springfield has clinched the tiebreaker advantage based on regulation wins, so Lehigh Valley would still need to pass the Thunderbirds in order to make it in. A tie isn’t enough. So if the Phantoms go 3-0 this week then they would need Springfield to go 1-1-1 or 1-2-0 or worse…preferably including a regulation loss against the Phantoms tonight.
Lehigh Valley can also potentially catch Hershey for one of the coveted spots. The Bears have a Magic Number of 3 points to clinch. If the Phantoms go 3-0 then they would need for Hershey to go 1-2 or worse in order to catch the Bears.

AWARDS – Lane Pederson was honored with the annual Tony Voce Memorial Award as the team’s most valuable player as voted on by his teammates. Carson Bjarnason was recognized as Lehigh Valley’s Community Achievement Leader for his role as a Phantoms’ ambassador making several local appearances to schools and charitable groups.

KIDS TAKING OVER! – Jack Berglund became the fourth player from Philadelphia’s 2024 draft class to ink an entry-level deal and is the sixth prospect to sign with the Flyers in the last month, joining Porter Martone, Noah Powell, Cole Knuble, Alex Ciernik, and Riley Thompson.

JUMPIN’ JACK BERGLUND – Center Jack Berglund made his North American pro debut on Saturday and the 20-year-old immediately impressed in his first reps with the Phantoms. The new arrival continued his debut weekend with a slick backhand move in Round 3 of the shootout to beat former Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov in a shootout win against Cleveland in the home finale.
The Philadelphia Flyers signed center Jack Berglund to a three-year entry-level contract earlier last week and he joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a PTO (professional tryout) for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Berglund was selected by the Flyers in the second round (51st overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. The new arrival also celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday. He captained Sweden to its first World Juniors gold medal since 2012, finishing tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 points (3g-7a) in seven games while also leading the tournament with a +9 rating. The Karlstad, Sweden native recently completed his first full season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Färjestad BK, scoring 7-5-12 in 40 games.

SHOWDOWN IN SPRINGY – It’s a massive Massachusetts midweek showdown this Wednesday night as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms aim to catch the T-Birds in the standings. Springfield (30-31-8) has left the door open for the Orange and Black via back-to-back losses on Saturday and Sunday to Hartford and Providence while the Phantoms picked up consecutive home wins. Springfield still holds the tiebreaker advantage though, so even a Phantoms regulation win to even it up in the standings will still leave the Thunderbirds in the driver’s seat. Chris Wagner (24-21-5) has taken over as captain after Matthew Peca was traded to Syracuse and helped spark a resurgence for the T-Birds who initially had only two wins in their first 15 games. Wagner has scored 4-3-7 against the Phantoms in five games. Former Calgary Flames veteran Dillon Dube (16-15-31) has been a big contributor since arriving in January. Alek Kaskimaki (18-21-39) is a young prospect who has scored 2-4-6 against Lehigh Valley and rates second in team scoring overall. Second-rounder Colin Ralph made his pro debut last week after signing out of Michigan State where he had been teammates with Flyers first-rounder Porter Martone. Felix Trudeau has also arrived after signing as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues following a 48-point campaign at Sacred Heart University. Credit new head coach Steve Ott for the massive turnaround for the Thunderbirds this season who pushed up the standings since his arrival in January. The Phantoms are 2-3-0 against Springfield this season including 1-1-0 at MassMutual Center. Anthony Richard has scored 3-2-5 against Springfield including a winning goal with just 11 seconds left on January 10.

SCORING LEADERS
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Lane Pederson 23-25-48
Anthony Richard 18-26-44
Jacob Gaucher 20-16-36
Christian Kyrou 9-24-33
Tucker Robertson 13-15-28
Zayde Wisdom 14-12-26
Phil Tomasino 7-19-26

Springfield Scoring Leaders
Chris Wagner 24-21-45
Aleksanteri Kaskimäki 18-21-39
x – Matt Luff 14-25-39
x – Matthew Peca 8-26-34
Juraj Pekarcik 10-23-33
Dillon Dube 16-15-31

Special Teams PP / PK
LV 18.9%, 17th / 77.3%, 29th / PP vs. SPR 2-19, 10.5%
SPR 19.0%, 14th / 84.0%, 7th / PP vs. LV 6-16, 37.5%

Season Series vs Springfield Thunderbirds: (2-3-0)
11/14/25 Home W 7-3
12/17/25 Home L 1-3
1/10/26 Away W 3-2
1/30/26 Away L 1-2
3/27/26 Home L 3-5
4/15/26 Away

SERIES LEADERS
Lehigh Valley
Lane Pederson 1-5-6
Anthony Richard 3-2-5
x – Alex Bump 2-2-4
Aleksei Kolosov 1-3-0, 3.06, .871

Springfield
Chris Wagner 4-3-7
Alek Kaskimaki 2-4-6
Juraj Pekarcik 2-3-5
Vadim Zherenko 3-1-0, 3.01, .875

LOOKING AHEAD – The Phantoms conclude the season with three straight away games beginning Wednesday, April 15 at the Springfield Thunderbirds followed by a two-game set at the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

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