RECAP: ENGVALL, LUFF POWER HAMMERS PAST PHANTOMS
Nov 7, 2026
Game Summary
Game Highlights
Photo Gallery
The Hamilton Hammers (4-9-0-2) celebrated the AHL’s 90th birthday in style, earning a 6-3 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (5-7-1-0) on Saturday night at TD Coliseum.
The Hammers closed out their three-game homestand with a strong offensive performance, highlighted by two shorthanded goals. Pierre Engvall reached 100 career professional goals with a three-point night, while Matt Luff recorded his 300th career point and Antonio Stranges scored his first goal in a Hammers uniform.
The bounce-back win came one night after a narrow defeat to the Providence Bruins and snapped Hamilton’s four-game losing streak.
Here's a recap of the night:
THE SUMMARY
Lehigh Valley’s Danila Klimovich (1) opened the scoring on the power play just over seven minutes into the game. The Hammers didn’t wait long to respond, as Liam Foudy (5) scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season while shorthanded, with Cam Thiesing picking up the assist to even the score.
Hamilton had one more shorthanded surprise in store before the period came to a close. With just 17 seconds remaining, Engvall (4) beat the Phantoms netminder to give the Hammers their first lead of the night. Hamilton took a 2-1 advantage into the first intermission, despite being outshot 14-7.
Stranges (1) got the Hammers rolling in the middle frame, scoring his first goal of the season with under three minutes remaining. Engvall and Luff picked up the assists on the milestone marker.
The trio connected again late in the period, as Luff (3) found the back of the net with 31 seconds to go. Engvall and Stranges collected the helpers, giving Engvall his third point of the night. The Hammers carried a 4-1 lead into the second intermission, while Lehigh Valley held a 23-14 advantage in shots.
For the second straight game, Hamilton entered the final frame with a lead, but Lehigh Valley quickly began chipping away. Alex Bump (9) found the back of the net just 28 seconds into the third to cut into the Hammers' advantage.
Hamilton responded almost immediately, as Hunter Drew (2) restored the three-goal cushion with assists from Marshall Warren and Robby Fabbri. However, Alex Ciernik (2) struck again on the power play with 15:26 on the clock, bringing the Phantoms back within two.
Just over two minutes later, Quinn Finley (3) capitalized on the power play to add to Hamilton's offensive outburst. Fabbri and Joey Larson picked up the assists, giving Fabbri his third point in just two games with the Hammers.
The Phantoms continued to push late, but Josh Kotai came up with a big diving save to preserve Hamilton's lead. The Hammers held on for the win, closing out their three-game homestand on a high note.
Kotai turned aside 33 of 36 shots to earn the win. Lehigh Valley's Carson Bjarnason made 10 saves on 14 shots before being relieved by Aleksei Kolosov, who stopped six of eight shots over 20 minutes. Bjarnason was credited with the loss.
Hamilton converted once on three power-play opportunities, while Lehigh Valley scored twice on six chances.
ENGVALL REACHES ANOTHER CAREER MILESTONE
One night after reaching the 200-point milestone in his North American professional career, Engvall delivered another strong performance with a three-point outing, scoring for the second consecutive game to reach 100 career professional goals.
The forward now sits second on the team with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) through 15 appearances. It also marks the second time this season that Engvall has scored in back-to-back games.
With nearly 500 professional games to his name, Engvall has recorded 135 points (65 goals, 70 assists) in 380 NHL games and 68 points (35 goals, 33 assists) in 115 AHL games.
LUFF RECORDS 300TH CAREER POINT
With a goal and an assist, Luff continued his strong recent play, recording five points (two goals, three assists) over his last four games. He also tied Foudy for the team lead with three multi-point games this season.
Additionally, an assist on Stranges' goal gave Luff the 300th point of his professional career. With another point later in the game, he closed out the night with 301 points (124 goals, 177 assists) across 466 professional games.
BACK ON THE ROAD
The Hammers begin a four-game trip Wednesday against the Hershey Bears, following by a visit to Lehigh Valley, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Cleveland. Watch all games live on AHLTV on FloHockey.
Hamilton returns to TD Coliseum on November 20 to host the Belleville Senators for its inaugural Hockey Fights Cancer game in partnership with St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation. Specialty warm-up jerseys will be auctioned, with all proceeds supporting robotic-assisted cancer surgery and care at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Tickets are available at HamiltonHammers.com, with live action available on CABLE14 and AHLTV on FloHockey.