Alex Bump Scores, Sets Up Another as Flyers Rookies Beat Rangers 3-2 in Allentown

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Alex Bump knows what time of year it is. The Flyers prospect scored the winning goal and set up another on Saturday night as Philadelphia's rookies beat the New York Rangers' rookies 3-2 in the opener of the two-game Rookie Series at PPL Center, the home of the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

"It's kind of getting to the time where you've got to make an impression," Bump said afterward, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. With NHL training camp around the corner, the 22-year-old winger made one, driving a line with Cole Knuble and Jett Luchanko that The Hockey News said "drove the bus" for the Flyers from start to finish.

Gard Gets the Flyers Going

Philadelphia opened the scoring 4:23 into the first period. After some work in the offensive zone from Noah Powell and Alex Ciernik, Matthew Gard collected a loose puck around the front of the net and finished for a 1-0 lead, with Powell credited with the assist in the Phantoms' game release.

The Rangers answered on the power play at 15:20 of the first with a deflection in front of the net, tying the game 1-1. Flyers defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii was in the penalty box for both New York goals on the night, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.

New York goaltender Callum Tung had his moments, including a stop on a Luchanko breakaway that Ilya Pautov set up, according to The Hockey News.

The Flyers also leaned on some newer faces. Brek Liske quarterbacked the top power-play unit, and Pautov, a 2024 sixth-round pick who signed with the club this summer, caught the eye of The Hockey News. Pautov is expected to spend the 2026-27 season with the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques.

Bump and Knuble Click

The go-ahead goal came at 16:41 of the second period. Bump spotted Knuble cutting backdoor toward the crease and fed him for a close-range finish and a 2-1 Flyers lead.

Bump was quick to share the credit. "He's a great player," he said of Knuble, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. "Heavy on the puck, can make plays, as well." Knuble said of his chemistry with Luchanko, "I think we complement each other well."

Early in the third period, the line struck again. Luchanko carried the puck out of the neutral zone on a solo rush and found Bump on the wing, and Bump finished at speed to make it 3-1. That goal proved to be the winner.

A Late Push and a Chippy Finish

The Rangers needed less than a minute to respond. Another power play produced a goal from the left circle, cutting the lead to 3-2, and New York pushed hard the rest of the way. Carson Bjarnason, though, held firm. The Flyers goaltender stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia, and the Phantoms' release said 12 of those saves came during New York's third-period push. Both goals against him came on the power play.

"I've worked on a lot of things this summer," Bjarnason said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The game ended with tempers up. After the final horn, Powell got tangled up with a Ranger and defenseman Ty Murchison dropped the gloves, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia and the Phantoms. The Hockey News described Spencer Gill and Murchison as involved in the post-whistle scrums.

Closer Than It Looked

The Hockey News wrote that the game "wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated," and the Phantoms noted Bjarnason was perfect at five-on-five. The two goals New York did score both came with the man advantage, which made Sokolovskii's penalties the one real blemish on the night for Philadelphia.

Some of the Flyers' most prominent prospects were still to come. Denver Barkey, Oliver Bonk and Porter Martone were expected to join the lineup for Sunday's rematch at PPL Center, according to the Phantoms.

That rematch went Philadelphia's way, too. The Phantoms reported that the Flyers won Sunday's game 4-1 to sweep the weekend, with Barkey contributing a goal and an assist. For Bump, though, Saturday was the statement. A goal, an assist and a top line that tilted the ice is exactly the kind of impression he said he came to Allentown to make.

Photo Credit: Samantha Diane/Undrafted