Phantoms Weekly

Chocolatetown Rivalry

February 18, 2026

Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (21-22-4) look to gain ground against a divisional foe as they play a pair of rivalry games at the Hershey Bears this weekend in a two-game series. With just 25 games remaining in the final two months of the regular season, the Orange and Black are aiming to solidify their hold on a playoff spot while potentially gaining ground on one of the teams directly ahead of them in the standings. Following this weekend’s road tilts, the Phantoms will return to PPL Center for a three-game homestand beginning Wednesday, February 25 against the first-place Providence Bruins.

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

LAST WEEK
Saturday, February 14 – Cleveland Monsters 5 at Phantoms 2
Sunday, February 15 – Syracuse Crunch 3 at Phantoms 1

THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, February 20 (7:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears
Saturday, February 21 (7:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears

WEEKLY RECAP
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Phantoms 2 – Cleveland Monsters 5
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms delivered a strong opening frame and energized PPL Center with an early surge on Valentine’s Night, but costly second-period breakdowns swung momentum sharply as the Cleveland Monsters pulled away for a 5–2 victory to open Winter Games Weekend. Oscar Eklind (2nd) and Tucker Robertson (9th) both tallied for Lehigh Valley in the opening salvo. Eklind’s came from hard work on the forecheck with linemates Zayde Wisdom and Garrett Wilson. Robertson’s individual effort found him weaving to beneath the right dot before roofing one so hard the puck didn’t even come out. Cleveland was led by multi-point nights from Justin Pearson and Mikael Pyyhtiä. Will Butcher opened the scoring for Cleveland less than one minute into the contest while former Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov (33/35) was exceptional in stopping the Phantoms’ desperation push in the third. Justin Pearson (9th) scored the team’s third goal in a row in the second period with a shortie down low and the Monsters pushed in a late empty-netter to cap the night.

Sunday, February 15, 2026
Phantoms 1 – Syracuse Crunch 3
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 including 12-2 in the first period. Dylan Duke (23rd) was on the receiving end of a lucky break for Syracuse to open the scoring with a shot by Ethan Gauthier on the power play clipping him on the pants leg on its way into the net.

BUMP IS BACK! – Saturday marked the return to the lineup of young prospect Alex Bump who had missed 16 of the previous 17 games due to injury as well as the previous 13 in a row. Since initially getting dinged up on December 19, Bump had played in just one game, on January 3 at Belleville.
“I’m just happy, honestly, to be back out there,” Bump said. “It was getting frustrating in those last few weeks, but it feels good to be back out there trying to help.”
Bump has scored 7-13-20 in 30 games in his first full rookie season. But the Prior Lake, Minnesota product also played for the Phantoms at the end of last season when he joined the club shortly after a Frozen Four appearance and NCAA Championship with Western Michigan.

GETTING A LOOK – Three young prospects have received a recall to the Philadelphia Flyers to practice with the big club this week. Goaltender Carson Bjarnason along with defensemen Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald are on the Flyers now while the NHL is still on the Olympic Break. Bjarnason and Bonk are both enjoying their first-ever NHL recall. McDonald is being called up to the Flyers for a second time but has yet to appear in a game. He was also with the Flyers from January 17-28. The opportunity to skate with the NHL players and coaches in Voorhees will be an invaluable midseason experience they can bring back with them to the Phantoms.

ROCKIN’ ROBERTSON – Tucker Robertson (10-10-20) has enjoyed a resurgence in his career since arriving to the Phantoms. The energetic and versatile forward has also racked up three goals in the last four games including tallies in back-to-back contests last weekend.

The Toronto native also has a pair of shorthanded goals this month. His recent surge of five goals in the last eight games began on January 24 with a two-goal performance against the Hershey Bears which he capped with a speedy rush down ice for an overtime winner. Robertson arrived on September 5 from the Seattle Kraken organization in a trade for J.R. Avon and his new environs and fresh start have provided a spark and resurgence in his career. Robertson’s 10 goals this season equals his total number of lamplighters from his two previous seasons combined with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He’s moved all around the lineup for Lehigh Valley. From fourth-line center to first-line winger or anywhere in between, head coach John Snowden has enjoyed the Swiss-Army Knife style flexibility the hard-nosed skater has consistently provided to the lineup.

UPCOMING MILESTONES –
– Anthony Richard, 198 pro assists
– Phil Tomasino, 199 pro points
– Max Guenette, 98 pro assists
– Lehigh Valley, 398 wins all-time

UPCOMING –
Friday, February 20 and Saturday, February 21
Giant Center, Hershey, PA
Phantoms at Hershey Bears
Hershey (22-18-8) has had an especially busy schedule upon the return from the AHL All-Star Break and went 2-2-0 in a four-game Canadian road swing that concluded on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto with a 3-2 win over the Marlies. The Bears were led by surging first-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko (11-16-27) who struck for a pair. 19-year-old talent Ilya Protas (19-21-40) is second among AHL rookie scorers and second-rounder Andrew Cristal (9-28-37) is third. Protas has scored 3-5-8 against the Phantoms and Protas has 1-5-6 in the season series. Former Phantom Louie Belpedio (7-19-26) paces the blueliners. It has been a juggling act among the goaltenders with Garin Bjorkland, Mitch Gibson, and Clay Stevenson all receiving recalls at various times to the Washington Capitals. Clay Stevenson (12-6-3, 2.69, .909) has been holding down the fort for Derek King’s crew. The Phantoms are 3-2-2 against their familiar I-78 foes and six of the seven contests have been decided by one goal while three of the matchups have gone to overtime or shootout. Lehigh Valley won the last two meetings including an Aleksei Kolosov 30-save shutout on December 31 and a 4-3 overtime win on Tucker Robertson’s strike on January 24. Aleksei Kolosov is 2-1-1, 2.25, .927 against the Bears. These are Lehigh Valley’s last visits to Chocolatetown this season. Hershey will travel to Allentown on March 21 for the finale of the season series.

Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Lane Pederson 16-15-31
Anthony Richard 13-14-27
Christian Kyrou 7-18-25
Tucker Robertson 10-10-20
Alex Bump 7-13-20

Atlantic Division Standings:
1. Providence 37-8-1 = 75
2. W-B/Scranton 32-13-5 = 69
3. Charlotte 27-16-3 = 57
4. Hershey 22-18-8 = 52
5. Bridgeport 21-21-6 = 50
6. Lehigh Valley 21-22-4 = 48
7. Springfield 18-24-6 = 42
7. Hartford 17-24-6 = 40

LOOKING AHEAD – Lehigh Valley hits the road this upcoming weekend for a pair of rivalry showdowns at the Hershey Bears on Friday and Saturday. The Phantoms return to PPL Center on Wednesday, February 25 against the Providence Bruins before closing out the month with consecutive home tilts against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1.

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