Kolosov Shines, Milestone for the Captain, Phantoms Win

Lehigh Valley Tops Penguins 3-1

March 14, 2025

Allentown, PA – Aleksei Kolosov (27/28) had perhaps his best game with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while Garrett Wilson recorded his 400th career point in a 3-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night at PPL Center.

Lehigh Valley (30-22-7) opened its five-game homestand in a rivalry battle as they clung to a 2-1 lead for almost the entire third period. The Phantoms’ defenders, as well as Kolosov, held off the highest-scoring team in the AHL in a spirited and competitive effort.

Wilson’s 10th goal of the season to open the night was also his 400th career point all while the 33-year-old captain was equaling a team-record via his 277th game in a Lehigh Valley jersey tying him for the top spot with Greg Carey. Wilson is set to break the Lehigh Valley record in Sunday’s rematch against the Penguins which also happens to be his 34th birthday. Ethan Samson (8th) on the power play and Zayde Wisdom (1oth) with a finishing empty-netter also scored for the Phantoms.

Kolosov made a number of dazzlers in this one but his glove save to thwart a 2-on-0 at the end of the second period was perhaps the most eye-popping of them all. Owen Pickering and Vasily Ponomorev weaved into the zone with zero defenders in the way maneuvering back and forth to try to outsmart the Lehigh Valley netminder but even after Kolosov had gone down to cover space he was ready for the shot from the bottom of the right circle and successfully snagged the potentially tying drive with his glove. And that chance came before the Penguins had an extended 5-on-3 opportunity early in the third period. Lehigh Valley was on its heels but was hanging on.

“They were coming hard,” Garrett Wilson said. “And they were throwing everything at us. We were bending but we weren’t breaking and we just found a way to get clears and get line changes and kill the time. Then ‘Koly’ made some huge saves for us to settle us down and help us seal the deal.”

Kolosov (4-4-1) has now won three consecutive starts for the Phantoms dating back to his previous stint with the team which ended on January 29. It was Kolosov’s first win at home since Opening Night, October 12, against Hartford.

The Phantoms’ win, combined with Hartford’s 4-0 loss at Rockford, means that Lehigh Valley’s Magic Number to clinch a third consecutive berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs is now trimmed to just 13 points. There are 13 games remaining in the regular season.

Lehigh Valley was off to a strong start with Garrett Wilson’s goal from the left slot to the upper-right corner past the glove of Filip Larsson. Anthony Richard flicked the puck back from the end boards for his 32nd point in 32 games while Adam Ginning also recorded a helper on the play that put the Phantoms ahead 1-0 just 70 ticks into the contest.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-17-8) evened the score in the second period with a steal behind the Phantoms’ goal setting up Rutger McGroarty (14th) out in front for a shorthanded goal. The Phantoms’ four-minute double-minor opportunity had fizzled out but the team’s man-advantage crew would get a chance for redemption just a few minutes later.

J.R. Avon and Zayde Wisdom won the puck in a battle on the end-boards and Samson was open to step up a stride to the top of the right circle to rock home his eighth of the season putting Lehigh Valley back ahead at 2-1. It almost didn’t stay at 2-1 after the Penguins caught Lehigh Valley on a change but Kolosov was right there to bail out his team on the fabulous 2-on-o denial and keep the Phantoms ahead.

The third period got even hairier for the Phantoms when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had 1:30 of 5-on-3 power play early in the frame. Recognizing the importance of the moment, the Penguins used their timeout to develop a plan. The highest-scoring team in the league at 3.54 goals per game also had the second-best power play in the AHL at 22.7%. But the Phantoms’ trio of killers held off the Penguins and received some more clutch denials from Kolosov along the way.

“They fought hard,” head coach Ian Laperriere said. “Was it perfect? No. It never is. But they battled for one another. That’s a great team there. I’ll be honest, Wilkes-Barre is probably the most talented team that we’ve seen. So they play us hard and we bend but we didn’t break and Koly was a huge part of why.”

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kept coming and had a late 6-on-5 to try to equalize but the Phantoms finished that off too. Wisdom won a race for the puck in the closing seconds and put the game away walking it into the empty net with just 1.4 seconds remaining to cap the exciting evening. With his goal and assist, Wisdom extended his point streak to three games scoring 2-2-4 in that stretch. The resurgent 22-year-old has scored 10-17-27 this season after scoring just 2-1-3 all of last year.

Newcomer Givani Smith made his Lehigh Valley Phantoms debut and the 27-year-old veteran of 168 career NHL games picked up a couple of scoring chances while also impressing with his strength and puck possession. The Toronto native was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization last week from the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles (AHL) in the Erik Johnson trade.

The Phantoms improved to 21-6-4 when scoring the first goal and also 16-3-1 when leading at the first intermission. The Phantoms are 16-9-3 at PPL Center. Lehigh Valley’s record since January 1 is 17-9-2. The Phantoms are 4-6-1 against the Penguins.

The Phantoms and Penguins rematch at PPL Center on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on Kids’ Takeover Day to conclude the 12-game rivalry season series between the Keystone State foes.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st 1:10 – LV, G. Wilson (10) (A. Richard, A. Ginning) (1-0)

2nd 9:11 – WBS, R. McGroarty (14) (S. Poulin (SH) (1-1)
2nd 14:22 – LV, E. Samson (8) (J. Avon, Z. Wisdom) (PP) (2-1)

3rd 19:58 – LV, Z. Wisdom (10) (Unassisted) (EN) (3-1)

Shots:
LV 26 – WBS 28

PP:
LV 1/5, WBS 0/4

Goaltenders:
LV – A. Kolosov (W) (4-4-1) (27/28)
WBS – F. Larsson (L) (10-7-3) (23/25)

Records:
Lehigh Valley (30-22-7)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-17-8)

UPCOMING

Sunday, March 16 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms – Kids Takeover

Wednesday, March 19 (7:05) – Milwaukee Admirals at Phantoms – Pregame Happy Hour, $2 Draft Beers. Cal O’Reilly of the Milwaukee Admirals returns to PPL Center.

Friday, March 21 (7:05) – Syracuse Crunch at Phantoms

Saturday, March 22 (7:05) – Providence Bruins at Phantoms – First ever PHAN-CON! Costumed Characters. Fans can come dressed up as well. Photo Stations and lots of fun!

Friday, March 28 and Sunday, March 30 – NCAA Hockey Allentown Regional hosted by Penn State Nittany Lions

 

 

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