Phantoms Stunningly Rally in Saturday Thriller

Laval Prevails in Shootout 5-4

November 29, 2025

Allentown, PA – The Phantoms almost pulled it off. A wild, see-saw affair saw both teams trade goals and leads back-and-forth in a Saturday night thriller with the Laval Rocket ultimately enjoying the last laugh in a 5-4 shootout decision at PPL Center on Gritty Night. Lehigh Valley shockingly came back from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead. But the first-place Rocket weren’t done and Sammy Blais scored a tying goal with 36.6 seconds left and then tacked on the only goal in the shootout to secure the bonus standings point.

Phantoms fans were treated to their first overtime game at PPL Center this year. And while the end result might have been less than ideal, Lehigh Valley did secure a valuable standings point and the fans certainly had plenty of thrills along the way as the Comeback Phantoms showed their rallying abilities yet again.

Lehigh Valley (11-6-3) was even inches away from a phenomenal win of its own. With just one second left in overtime. Alex Bump rushed straight into the Laval zone and shot for the right post. Jacob Fowler barely got enough of the monster blast to change its direction. The puck almost rolled into the net anyway but missed by just inches to keep the Rocket alive.

It was a fast, emotional game largely dominated by special teams. The night featured momentum swings in both directions and showcased the resilience that has been a hallmark of Lehigh Valley’s play in recent weeks. Trailing 3-1 in the second period, it was Christian Kyrou’s (4th) buzzer-beater on a 5-on-3 power play that got the comeback jump-started for the Phantoms. Carl Grundstrom (7th) tied it early in the third and Lane Pederson (7th) put the Phantoms ahead to thrill the crowd. But the Rocket weren’t done and they had just enough gas in the tank to find the tying goal and then push through for the victory.

“I’m happy that we battled our way back and got a point, but it’s far too many games now that we’re having to battle our way back,” said head coach John Snowden. “We just can’t spot teams goals like that, and we can’t always play from behind and try to scratch our way back into the game.”

Anthony Richard finished the night with three points (1g, 2a) and Christian Kyrou, backed by his buzzer-beater also put forth a multi-point night.

Laval struck first on a 3-on-2 rush when Alex Belzile’s first of two goals was snapped on a low shot past Carson Bjarnason at 7:42 of the opening period.

Richard delivered a sharp setup from behind the cage, and Carl Grundstrom (6th) finished on his soft backhand toss from a sharp angle for a power-play goal at 14:40 to tie the game. Devin Kaplan earned the secondary assist by winning a board battle that extended the play.

The Rocket retook the lead late in the period on a full-ice sequence initiated by William Trudeau. Xavier Simoneau found a streaking Samuel Blais on the right wing who powered to the net to score in tight with 2:59 remaining. Despite outshooting Laval 14–8, the Phantoms trailed 2–1 after 20 minutes.

The second period quickly turned into a parade to the penalty box. Lehigh Valley killed off two early minors with Bjarnason providing a composed, stabilizing presence that included a key in-tight stop on Filip Mesar. But on Laval’s third consecutive power play of the period, Belzile pounced on a rebound in the slot at 8:27 to extend the Rocket lead to 3–1. It was the culmination of a stretch in which Laval held a 10–3 second-period shot advantage thanks to sustained special teams time.

The Phantoms pushed back late in the frame and earned consecutive power plays in the final two minutes. When an additional high-sticking call gave the Phantoms a 5-on-3 advantage, they capitalized in the final heartbeat of the period. Kyrou buried a rebound from a Richard shot with 0.1 seconds left, confirmed after review, cutting the deficit to 3–2 and igniting PPL Center as the team headed into the locker room.

Lehigh Valley carried that surge straight into the third period. Just 2:06 into the frame, Richard created the equalizer with a veteran’s touch, banking a sharp-angle shot off Laval goaltender Jacob Fowler from beneath the goal line to tie the game 3–3. After a roughing sequence left the Phantoms shorthanded again, their penalty kill held firm and preserved the momentum.

Moments later, the Phantoms took their first lead of the night. Off an offensive-zone faceoff win by Pederson, Kyrou collected the puck and found Pederson positioned perfectly rotated over to the left dot with plenty of space to snap home the go-ahead tally at 12:38 past the right shoulder of Fowler on the short side to propel the Orange and Black to a 4-3 lead.

Carson Bjarnason’s best save of the night came a few minutes later when he robbed Xavier Simoneau’s bid to even the count. Bjarnason practically pulled the splits and somehow came through with the glove save with just 4:11 remaining. Ty Murchison also came through with a key blocked shot to help thwart a Laval power play.

But the Rocket were still alive. From the center point, Joshua Roy neatly blocked down a clearing try and sent a low shot that Blais redirected past Bjarnason with just 36.6 seconds remaining to tie the game 4–4.

Lehigh Valley outshot the Rocket in the 3-0 in the overtime, including Bump’s bid for the winner that just missed with only one second remaining.

In the shootout, Samuel Blais delivered a highlight-reel backhand finish in Round 2 and Fowler denied Alexis Gendron in Round 3 to cap Laval’s counter-comeback in a 5-4 final.

Despite the ending, the Phantoms showed again that they can push elite teams to the limit. Richard’s three-point effort led the way, Kyrou continued his strong run since joining the team, and Pederson’s go-ahead strike highlighted a spirited third-period surge. Bjarnason battled through heavy special teams pressure early and made composed, timely saves as the night progressed. Lehigh Valley outshot Laval 38–33 and controlled significant portions of the game at even strength.

The Phantoms return to action next weekend with a road trip to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday before returning home Saturday for a Holiday Party matchup with the Utica Comets at PPL Center, including Winter Youth Knit Caps for the first 2,500 kids courtesy of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

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