Latest news with #LehighValleyPhantoms
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)
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WBS Penguins Suffer Heartbreaking 3-2 Elimination Loss To Phantoms
For a moment on Friday, it looked as if the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins were going to avoid a repeat of last season's first-round Calder Cup playoff loss against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and force the series-deciding Game 3 on Sunday.
New York Times
11-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ian Laperriere discusses progress of Flyers prospects, the coaching vacancy and more
Unlike their parent club, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are preparing for the playoffs. The AHL Phantoms clinched their spot this week, although they don't yet have a first-round opponent for what will be a best-of-three opening series. They're also getting some reinforcements. Last year's Flyers first-round pick, Jett Luchanko, is there, Rodrigo Abols and Olle Lycksell were reassigned from the Flyers this week, Emil Andrae could return after the NHL season is over, and highly regarded prospect Alex Bump likely will sign after the NCAA Frozen Four. Advertisement 'Our skill level is going to go up, and guys' roles are going to change a little bit, but it's for the best,' coach Ian Laperriere said. 'I think the timing is great.' Laperriere is in his fourth season as head coach of the Phantoms, 33-27-8 this season, and chatted by phone with The Athletic for a few minutes on Thursday morning. (Some questions and responses here have been lightly edited for clarity.) What have been the strengths and weaknesses of this season's Phantoms? I think our D core (has been a strength). When we defend hard, that's when we're at our best. When we do defend hard, we don't spend time in our zone and have more time to create offense. We've had problems scoring goals even when we had everybody here, so that's one thing that we can all control, is play good defense. … I'm a big believer that teams that win in the playoffs are good defenders. Hershey won the last two Calder Cups because they defend hard and they don't spend time in their zone. When we're at our best, that's the way we play. You recently got Jett Luchanko added to your roster. How has he been so far? I was impressed in (training) camp and I'm even more impressed now. His maturity, for an 18-year-old kid… He came to us with great details, and his speed is welcomed here. Especially down the middle, where we don't have that speed, he does bring that. For me as a coach, it's more his maturity away from the puck, supporting everybody. He's got all the tools. He's playing a lot, so he's a big part of our team. That was my message when he got to us — you're not coming here just to learn your way in the American League. You're going to be a big part of what we want to do here. So far, he has been. I know there was room for him to improve on his shot and finish. Does it look like that part of his game has gotten better from when you saw him last September? I want him to shoot more, to be honest. And I get it, he gets here, new teammates, he wants to please people around him. A couple times, I felt like he could have put the puck on net but he's looking for backdoor plays that our players are not ready for. It's not a skill problem. I think he needs to be a little more selfish and use his shot, because he does have a good shot. I think it's going to come by being here and getting more comfortable and confident. His playmaking ability, I think he really improved in that. He does have passing ability that I didn't notice as much (in training camp), but I'm noticing now, which is great. Advertisement (In five games with the Phantoms, Luchanko has no goals and two assists.) Another guy who is intriguing to Flyers fans is Nikita Grebenkin (acquired from Toronto as part of the Scott Laughton trade). How is he doing? He elevates our skill level, big-time. He makes plays, he's strong on the puck. He reminds me a little of Olle Lycksell, the way he plays the game. He might be a little bit bigger, but he's a puck-possession guy, looking to make plays. That's another kid that makes us better, which is a good move for the organization down the road. He's a baby, 21 years old. He's going to have a shot at one point with the big club. And wait until you meet that kid. Personality-wise, he's amazing. I know you're using him on the power play. Is that a big part of his game? Yes. He's a flank guy, he comes down the strong side. He's got good vision, a good shot. That's another kid, I'd like him to shoot a little bit more. He's a playmaking guy first, and hopefully the more he gets comfortable, he'll use his shot a little bit more. (In eight games since the trade, Grebenkin has three goals and two assists with the Phantoms.) Hunter McDonald seems to be a guy that the organization is high on, particularly with his size on the blue line. Has he made progress? Mac's been improving. It's his first pro year. Ups and downs, which is fine, but he's been solid all year. He's not afraid of fighting when it's for the right reasons. He plays hard. That's a kid that we have to tell him to relax a little bit, but I welcome that. It's easier to (coach) a kid with too much juice than someone who doesn't have enough juice. Played with Louis Belpedio all year, who's a good veteran to have on his side and helping him. He's been improving all year. For him, it's a big adjustment. In college, you go from 40 games to 72 games, and big minutes. He's been going the right direction. Advertisement (In 67 games with the Phantoms, McDonald has three goals and 13 assists for 16 points, and 93 penalty minutes.) Is there someone that's maybe a bit under the radar who's taken a big step forward? (Zayde) Wisdom. He's been great. Last year I couldn't play him. We had too many guys and his game wasn't quite the way it is now. I checked on him this summer, and he told me, 'Lappy, I'm going to come to camp and make the team, and I'll stay in the lineup.' And he walked the walked. He's been our most consistent forward. He's been great. I can't say enough good things about him, because often guys talk, but don't walk the walk. But he came to camp, had a great camp, and was healthy-scratched at the beginning of the year, but when he got in I couldn't take him out. He's playing the right way, playing hard, and he's a team-first guy. Everything I love about a guy. (In 64 games, Wisdom, a fourth-round pick of the Flyers in 2020, has 13 goals and 30 points.) Anyone else? (Jacob) Gaucher has been a guy that got an NHL contract out of his season. He's a great story — an undrafted guy, and a great story for the organization actually. If you show the Flyers that if you do the job, you'll get rewarded. He's been great. Gendron has scored 20 goals as a 21-year-old. He's been improving away from the puck. He's scored goals everywhere he's been. But we all know pro hockey, there's more to it. He's giving himself a chance to maybe one day, if he keeps going like that, to have a sniff at the NHL. (Gaucher, who signed a two-year, entry level contract with the Flyers on Dec. 12, is second on the Phantoms in scoring with 36 points — 20 goals, 16 assists — in 67 games. Gendron has 20 goals and eight assists in 61 games.) The Flyers obviously have a head coaching vacancy now. Are you interested in that job? I'd love to have that job, for sure. I want to coach at the best level. It's in (GM Daniel Briere's) hands and we'll see what happens at the end of the year. I'm focusing on taking this team as far as I can. But to be honest, transparent — for sure. Who wouldn't want that job? I love the Flyers and that's a job I'd like. At the end of the day I'm trying to stay in the moment, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.
