Kolosov Shutout to Close Out 2025
Pederson Scores Twice, Phantoms Blank Hershey 3-0
December 31, 2025
Allentown, PA – Aleksei Kolosov was a brick wall and the Phantoms finished off 2025 with a 3-0 victory over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday afternoon to close out 2025. Kolosov’s 31-save performance was his second shutout of the year. Lane Pederson (10th, 11th) scored a pair of goals in the first period and Oliver Bonk picked up his pro point on an assist in the first and then contributed on the other side of the ice with a key block in front of a mostly-open net to preserve the shutout.
It was a tremendous bounce-back performance for the Phantoms who stole a point from Charlotte with a late Monday night rally despite largely not playing at their best. In this one, Lehigh Valley (16-11-4) was off to a flying start and cranked out a season-high 18 shots in the first period en route to taking the early 2-0 lead.
But Phantoms head coach John Snowden, while liking some of the offensive pressure, was perhaps even more pleased with the effort on the back end and in front of Kolosov when the Bears put together a significant push in the second and third periods. Yes, Kolosov was great. But the guys in front of him were key as well in a hard-nosed effort with several big blocks at the right times.
“I mean, when you’re a winning team, that’s the types of things you do,” Snowden said. “You sacrifice on a shot block. They don’t feel the greatest in the world. But you know, Murch eats one in the second period of a bomb coming across, they’d be coming downhill and he blocks one. Ginning had about five blocks. Mac had about five blocks. Eklind had blocks. All of them.”
The Phantoms scored a pair in the first period working the puck to Pederson in the slot for a couple of snipes. Ty Murchison connected with him for the first goal at 4:40 also assisted by Bonk.
Cooper Marody found him from the left boards for the sewcond one with Pederson finding an opening and blasting through a shot that went off Clay Stevenson and then trickled in before Eklind, at the net front, could get a piece.
Helge Grans almost made it a 3-0 game but his point-shot hit off the crossbar and somehow stayed out.
Lehigh Valley outshot Hershey 18-7 in the first period but the middle frame was a different story with some tilted ice and a significant push from the Bears including a post shot by Corey Schueneman.
The Phantoms hung on and preserved the lead thanks to Kolosov as well as more hard defending when things got tough.
Hershey wasn’t done in the third and kept coming. A point-blank chance and then a close-range rebound were both repelled by Kolosov with 8:20 to go in perhaps his best saves of the day. Louie Belpedio hit the post at 6-on-5 with under two minutes left and Kolosov was way over to his left to meet that shot. Bonk saved the day, and the shutout, with his scrambling block on the other side to keep the Phantoms ahead by a pair.
All part of the concerted defensive team effort.
“That’s what I really liked about our structure in our D zone,” Snowden said. “Our sticks were just in every lane, and we’re hitting pucks. Were hitting sticks trying to play inside of us. We’re blocking shots. We got desperate out of that in front you. So all those things are what’s a really positive thing for us. Because we locked down. We really wanted to defend and really cared about defending. And I mean that at the end of the day is what got us that win.”
Max Guenette picked off an entry and his clear, deflected off a Hershey stick rolled barely inside the left post of the empty net for his first goal as a Phantom to seal the victory with 36 seconds remaining.
Lehigh Valley finished the homestand with a four-game point streak at 3-0-1. And the Phantoms improved to 2-2-2 against the Chocolate and White.
The Phantoms open 2026 with four straight on the road beginning Saturday night at the Belleville Senators and continuing Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at the Toronto Marlies.
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