Latest news with #LehighValleyPhantoms
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Announce 2025 Preseason Schedule
The Pittsburgh Penguins have their training camp and preseason coming up, and so does their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The baby Penguins announced their preseason schedule on Monday and it consists of two games. They will play the Hershey Bears on October 3 at 10:30 a.m. ET as part of their school day game and STEM workbook giveaway before playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on October 4 at 7:05 p.m. ET. Schools in the Northeast Pennsylvania area are invited to the game, marking the fourth consecutive year the WBS Penguins host a school day game. They have won the previous three and will try to make it four in a row. They will start the regular season on October 11 against the Hartford Wolf Pack at 6:05 p.m. ET. It will be the first of 72 regular-season games before the Calder Cup Playoffs commence. The WBS Penguins are coming off their second-straight playoff exit at the hands of the Phantoms. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more! Featured Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lehigh Valley Phantoms' Eetu Makiniemi Signs In Finland
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Eetu Makiniemi has signed a one-year deal in Finland with TPS, it was announced late last week. Makiniemi, a 2017 fourth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, spent this season with the Phantoms, going 3-0-2 while posting a 3.03 GAA and a .899 SP. Since coming over to North America in 2021, Makiniemi has appeared in 59 career AHL games (with the Phantoms, Chicago Wolves and San Jose Barracuda), posting a record of 30-20-6 along with a 2.79 GAA and a .905 SP. Advertisement Throughout his time in North America, Makiniemi got into two regular season games with the San Jose Sharks, going 1-0-1 while collecting a 2.13 GAA and a .906 SP. With Makiniemi heading back to his home country, he should have the chance to play a big role with TPS. Having posted solid numbers in Liiga in the past, Makiniemi could be one of the better goalies in the league and guide his team to the playoffs.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Philadelphia Flyers Lose Goalie To Overseas Club
The Philadelphia Flyers have lost one of their depth goalies, as Eetu Makiniemi has signed a one-year contract with TPS of the Finnish Liiga. Makiniemi, 26, signed a one-year contract with the Flyers for the 2024-25 season back in September. This was after he attended the Flyers' training camp on a professional tryout. Advertisement Unfortunately, Makiniemi's season ended in November after he suffered a sports hernia that required surgery. In five games with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he posted a 3-0-1 record, a .899 save percentage, and a 3.03 goals-against average. Makiniemi was eligible to hit the market as a Group 6 UFA this summer, but will instead be taking his talents overseas after landing this new deal. The Carolina Hurricanes selected Makiniemi with the 104th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but he never played a game for the club. In his two career NHL games with the San Jose Sharks during the 2022-23 season, he recorded a 1-0-1 record, a .906 save percentage, and a 2.13 goals-against average. Photo Credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Two-Time Defending Champion Hershey Bears Eliminate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Advance To Atlantic Division Finals
The Hershey Bears' quest to win three straight Calder Cups remains intact after they defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-2 on Sunday, eliminating them in five games to advance to the Atlantic Division Finals. Hershey will take on the Charlotte Checkers in a best-of-five series with the chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bears were led by Alex Limoges who had one goal and five assists and Bogdan Trineyev who had three goals and four points in the five game series. 2024 AHL Goaltender of the Year Hunter Shepard was back in the net in game five and made 19 saves on 21 shots after the Bears started Clay Stevenson in their game four victory. Hershey went a dismal 4/29 on the power play in the series and will need to start converting at a higher rate to beat the Checkers. On to the next — Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) May 11, 2025 Despite the tough loss there is lots to look forward to if you are a Lehigh Valley/Philadelphia Flyers fan. Youngsters Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko looked dynamic in their first stretch of professional hockey, finishing with two and six points respectively. Anthony Richard and Emil Andrae stood out in the series against Hershey, Richard finishes the playoffs with seven points in seven games while Andrae recorded six assists in seven games. Phantoms starting goaltender Parker Gahagen was having a solid playoff showing before suffering an injury in game three, veteran Cal Petersen started games four and five. Game one of the Atlantic Division Finals gets underway Friday May 16 in Charlotte. Checkout The Hockey News' Washington Capitals site for more updates on Hershey. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Flyers prospects Jett Luchanko, Alex Bump getting taste of playoff hockey with AHL's Phantoms
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Jett Luchanko didn't get an opportunity to play much high-pressure hockey this season. His junior team, the Guelph Storm, finished in last place in its conference, while Team Canada's stay in the World Junior Championships not only didn't last very long, but Luchanko only skated in a depth role — something that was frustrating for the Philadelphia Flyers brass. Advertisement But Luchanko's getting a taste of it now. The AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms are in a dogfight with the Hershey Bears, the back-to-back defending Calder Cup champions, with a decisive Game 5 set for Sunday evening. Hershey took games 1 and 4, while the Phantoms captured games 2 and 3. 'It's great to be able to play some meaningful hockey,' Luchanko said Friday after the Phantoms lost 6-4 at PPL Arena, squandering a chance to close out the series and move on. 'Didn't get to do that at the end of my (junior) season. Everyone's been great here, really welcoming. It's been a fun time so far.' Friday, though, wasn't all that enjoyable. The Phantoms dug themselves a 3-0 first-period hole, and although they scored twice early in the second to get back into it, the Bears quickly regained control. After dispatching the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first round by winning the first two games of a three-game series, Luchanko and the Phantoms are finding out what's made Hershey so formidable the past two seasons. That is, the games are much tighter-checking than they were in the first round, while the increased physicality has been evident, particularly when the whistle-happy referees seemed extra vigilant in an attempt to keep Friday's game from getting out of hand. There were a pair of third-period fights and countless scrums after the whistle, as each team tried to set the tone for Sunday's series finale. Yes, this felt like a true playoff game in every sense. 'Yeah, it's tough — they're a really good team, tight-checking team,' Luchanko said. 'It's fun to be able to go up against them and kind of see what they bring.' Competing in this sort of environment is what Flyers general manager Daniel Brière and his staff hoped would materialize when they reassigned guys like Luchanko and fellow prospect Alex Bump to the Phantoms as soon as they could. Luchanko joined on March 27, while Bump arrived on April 15, just days after Western Michigan won an NCAA National Championship. More often than not, they've been on the same line, too. Luchanko and Bump connected for some highlight reel scores in the series against the Penguins, but playing the Bears has been a different story. Luchanko has one assist through four games in the series, while Bump is scoreless. Cap Scratch Fever#RallyTheValley | #LVvsHER | #LVPhantoms — Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) May 4, 2025 Still, the experience of going through it is valuable. 'Means the world for them, because that's playoff hockey,' Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière said. 'You don't have much room out there, you have to do the best that you can with what you have. I think it's only gold for those two kids for their careers down the road to experience that. The Wilkes-Barre series was a little bit more wide open. This one's tighter. That's real hockey.' Advertisement Luchanko, drafted 13th by the Flyers last year and surprisingly made the team out of camp, finished his OHL season with 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 46 games. It was a decent total, considering that Guelph was among that league's weaker teams, and won't even turn 19 years old until Aug. 21. The message from the Flyers after he was reassigned back to his junior club in October — following four scoreless games with the Flyers, including one in which he made a good account of himself against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers — was, according to Luchanko, 'to work on all areas of my game and more offensively, as well. That was my goal when I went back: was try to hold onto pucks more, things like that. Trying to work on my shot, as well.' That's an ongoing process, and will likely continue to be. Luchanko is still looking for his first goal with the Phantoms in 15 total regular-season and playoff games headed into Sunday, to go with his eight assists. The 21-year-old Bump, on the other hand, already has three goals in eight Phantoms games, including two in the series against the Penguins, both set up by Luchanko. He's shown flashes, too, of what was his best attribute in college — getting pucks on net. Alex Bump to Jett Luchanko, and back to Alex Bump. Can you say F-U-T-U-R-E, #Flyers fans? @InsideAHLHockey — Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) April 24, 2025 In the Phantoms' 3-0 Game 1 loss to Hershey, Bump registered eight of Lehigh Valley's 26 shots on goal. Even if none of them got past the goaltender, that was exactly what Laperriere wanted to see from the 2022 fifth-round pick that has blossomed into one of the Flyers' top prospects. 'He's a shooter,' Laperrière said. 'He scored two goals against Wilkes-Barre, great shots. Against a team like Hershey, I want pucks on net because it creates some chaos. They're man-on-man, so you want to create chaos. It's no secret, put pucks on net — and he does that.' Advertisement Said Bump: 'Shot first mentality over here, so, yeah, that's usually what I'm thinking in the O-zone.' Of course, things move a little more quickly in the AHL than they did in college. Bump is realizing against the Bears. He had just one shot on goal in Game 4 and none in Game 3. 'College, I felt like I could hang onto the puck a little bit longer,' Bump said. 'I can't out there anymore, which I'm definitely going to have to adjust to, because I loved hanging onto it in college,' he said. 'Just quicker, faster thinking — make the plays quicker.' Both Luchanko and Bump will be players to watch when the Flyers reconvene for training camp in September. Among the forwards on the Phantoms' roster, the two of them may have the best chance of cracking the opening night lineup. In the meantime, they'll keep getting a taste of what pro hockey is like when the temperature is turned up. 'That's why I'm here, so I'm not really walking in blind next year, and I have some experience under my belt,' Bump said. Said Laperrière: 'They can't get frustrated. They have to battle through it. They will get hit because they're good players. They have to learn from it and get better.' (Photo of Jett Luchanko: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
