Graphic: Charlotte Checkers
In the Atlantic Division Semifinals, the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears fell behind the Lehigh Valley Phantoms two games to one before rallying to take the final two games of the series to win their American Hockey League (AHL) record ninth straight Calder Cup playoff series. The Chocolate and White now advance to play the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division Finals. The Checkers defeated the Providence Bruins in the other Atlantic Division Semifinal.
Series Schedule
Game 1: Friday, May 16, Hershey at Charlotte – 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 17, Hershey at Charlotte – 7 p.m.
Game 3: Wednesday, May 21, Charlotte at Hershey – 7 p.m.
Game 4: Thursday, May 22. Charlotte at Hershey – 7 p.m. *
Game 5: Saturday, May 24, Charlotte at Hershey – 7 p.m. *
* If Necessary
Playoff History
This will be the fourth all-time playoff meeting between Hershey and Charlotte. The Checkers won the first two battles with the Bears prevailing in 2023.
In 2011, Charlotte ended Hershey’s two-year reign by toppling the Bears in six games in the first round. The Checkers then swept Hershey in the second round en route to their Calder Cup championship in 2019.
The lone series triumph for the Chocolate and White came in the 2023 Atlantic Division Semifinals. The Bears raced out to a 4-0 lead in game one in Charlotte and skated to a 5-2 victory. A day later, Hershey got goals from Joe Snively, Mason Morelli, Connor McMichael, Sam Anas and Garrett Pilon and won 5-1 to head back home up two games to none. The Checkers clogged the middle in game three and two breakaway goals in the second period led Charlotte to a 2-1 victory. Game four began much like game three for Hershey. The Checkers continued to clog the middle of the ice and the Bears were flat in the first period. Charlotte deservedly jumped out to a 2-0 advantage and looked poised to extend their advantage, as the Hershey offense was dormant, generating just two shots on goal in the opening frame. A huge check from Beck Malenstyn on Santuu Kinnunen broke a pain of glass behind the goal and caused a delay in play. The break stalled the Checkers’ momentum. The Bears tallied twice in the second to tie the game and added four more in the third to take the game 6-2 and capture the series in four games. The Chocolate and White would go on to win the Calder Cup.
How They Got Here
Charlotte
The Checkers earned a bye in the opening round by finishing second in the Atlantic Division. They squared off with the Providence Bruins in their Atlantic Division Semifinal. Charlotte quickly quieted the home crowd in Providence in game one when John Leonard and Justin Sourdiff scored shorthanded goals 37 seconds apart before the matchup was five minutes old. The Bruins never recovered and the Checkers took game one by a score of 5-1.
Charlotte made it a clean sweep in Rhode Island by tallying twice in the second period of game two. Kaapo Kahkonen stopped all 32 shots he faced in a 2-0 win.
The series shifted back to North Carolina and Providence stayed alive behind a stellar performance from goalie Michael DiPietro. The Checkers outshot the Baby Bruins 40 to 19, but DiPietro stopped 38 shots and Tyler Pitlick scored with 4:44 remaining in the third period to lift Providence to a 3-2 victory.
Charlotte again failed to close out the Bruins on home ice in game four. Patrick Brown struck seven minutes and eight seconds into overtime to give Providence a 3-2 triumph and send the series to a winner-take-all game five.
In the decider, the Checkers clamped down defensively. They held the Bruins to one shot through the first 30 minutes of the game and Providence recorded just eight shots during the entire contest. Charlotte led 3-0 after Oliver Okuliar tallied at the 3:38 mark of the third period. Vinni Lettieri scored twice for the Bruins to make things interesting, but the Checkers potted two empty net goals to seal the series with a 5-2 triumph.
Hershey
As the Atlantic Division champions, the Bears sat out the first round with a bye. The title defense kicked off with a series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The two interstate rivals split the regular season and this series unsurprisingly went the distance.
The Chocolate and White potted the lone goal of the first period of game one at the Giant Center, a snap shot from above the left circle from Chase Priskie. In the third stanza, the penalty kill and Hunter Shepard came up big in killing off a lengthy five-on-three. Hershey rode that momentum to a second goal, this one from Spencer Smallman, and Bogdan Trineyev sealed the 3-0 shutout victory with an empty netter.
In game two, the Phantoms moved in front with an Anthony Richard goal in the second period. Then, Zayne Wisdom scored shorthanded in the third to up the Lehigh Valley advantage to 2-0. Alex Limoges tallied on the same power play to bring the Bears within one. Wisdom again made Hershey pay for a mistake on the power play and netted his second shorthanded goal of the night. Wisdom was the difference as the Phantoms evened the series with a 3-1 win.
The series shifted to Allentown for game three. A costly turnover by Mike Sgarbossa on the power play led directly to Jacob Gaucher’s shorthanded goal in the first period. The Bears responded with two goals in a span of a minute and 24 seconds to grab their first lead of the contest. Andrew Perrott tied the game with a low shot from the center point and then Ivan Miroshnichenko snapped a shot from the high slot that went by the glove of Parker Gahagen. Lehigh Valley evened the contest up later in the frame with a power play goal from Garrett Wilson. Two minutes and 42 seconds later, the Phantoms went back in front on a Nikita Grebenkin tally. The Chocolate and White had four power plays in third period, but could not convert and Olle Lycksell’s empty net marker clinched the 4-2 triumph for Lehigh Valley.
Facing elimination in game four, Hershey head coach Todd Nelson went with his gut and started Clay Stevenson in goal. Nelson also replaced the struggling Sgarbossa with Garrett Roe and inserted Brad Hunt into the lineup to run the power play. After a slow start, Stevenson delivered a big save on Lycksell’s shorthanded breakaway to swing the momentum. Then, Trineyev sniped a shot over Cal Petersen’s glove to put the Bears up 1-0. Priskie doubled the lead with 8:09 left in the first and Mike Vecchione added another two minutes and 24 seconds later for a 3-0 edge after 20 minutes. Wisdom and Rodrigo Abols tallied 25 seconds apart early in the second period to bring the Phantoms within one. Nelson called his time out and the Bears settled down. An undisciplined interference penalty on Hunter McDonald gifted Hershey a power play. With the man-advantage, Hunt rifled a shot that Petersen stopped, but Pierrick Dube put home the rebound to make it 4-2 in favor of the Bears. Dube then scored again and Hershey was up 5-2 after two periods. A Miroshnichenko power play goal halfway through the third period upped the lead to 6-2. Lehigh Valley refused to go quietly and found the back of the net twice to move within two at 6-4, but the Bears held on to force game five.
Nelson played a hunch once more in game five and went back to Shepard in net. Hershey had a strong early penalty kill, highlighted by two key blocks from defenseman Jon McDonald. The Bears leapt in front at the 5:19 mark of the first period when Spencer Smallman lifted a shot over the left pad. With three minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the initial stanza, the fourth line pushed the Hershey lead to 2-0 when Riley Sutter finished off a two-on-one rush with Matt Strome. Sutter made it 3-0 in the second period after he one-timed a feed from Garrett Roe. Down by three entering the third, the Phantoms turned up their game and Richard brought Lehigh Valley within two. The Bears then had a full two minute five-on-three power play, followed by another two-minute man-advantage. The Chocolate and White did not score on their power plays and Shepard had to come up with a big save on a Richard shorthanded breakaway. The Phantoms got momentum off of their penalty kill Hunter McDonald made it a one-goal game with 5:57 still to be played in regulation. Trineyev put Lehigh Valley’s hopes to bed with an empty net goal and the Bears advanced with a 4-2 victory.
Team Playoff Leaders
Hershey Charlotte
Points: Alex Limoges – 6 Wilmer Skoog – 4
Goals: Bogdan Trineyev – 3 Wilmer Skoog/Ben Steeves – 3
Assists: Alex Limoges – 5 Kyle Criscuolo – 3
Wins: Hunter Shepard – 2 Kaapo Kahkonen – 3
2024-25 Season Series
Hershey and Charlotte met eight times during the regular season. Each team won four games, but the Checkers amassed more points due to recording points in a shootout loss and an overtime loss. Charlotte prevailed in three of the four games at the Giant Center and the Bears captured three of the four meetings in the Bojangles Coliseum.
The first matchup came in Hershey on November 2. Brad Hunt opened the scoring on a snap shot two minutes and 30 seconds into the first period. John Leonard answered with a pair of goals and the Checkers held a 2-1 advantage after the initial stanza. Neither team found the back of the net in the second period. Kyle Criscuolo’s power play tally gave Charlotte a two-goal edge. Pierrick Dube got the Bears back within one with a five-on-three power play goal. Ethen Frank had the chance to tie the game with a penalty shot, but Ken Appleby made a glove save. The Checkers put the contest away when Rasmus Asplund scored into the empty net for a 4-2 Charlotte win.
A day later, Riley Bezeau netted the lone goal of the first period. A one-timer from Frank tied the game up in the second period and then Henrik Rybinski redirected an Ethan Bear shot from the left point to vault Hershey in front. Frank struck again two minutes and 35 seconds later to provide the Chocolate and White a 3-1 lead. Matt Benning then struck on a five-on-three power play to make it a 3-2 game after 40 minutes. Ryan McAllister leveled the score in the third and the Checkers outshot the Bears 12 to 3 in the third, but Hunter Shepard allowed the matchup to head to overtime. Neither team scored in the extra session and Dube converted the only goal in the shootout to lift Hershey to a 4-3 shootout victory.
On December 14, Brennan Saulnier put the home side in front in the first period, but that proved to be the lone offensive highlight of the evening. Oliver Okuliar’s shot deflected off Garrett Roe to tie the game in the first and Okuliar tallied the game winner in the third as Charlotte prevailed 2-1.
In the fourth and final meeting in Hershey on December 29, Justin Sourdiff’s second period marker was the difference. Ken Appleby made 16 saves and the Checkers triumphed 1-0.
The series shifted to North Carolina after the new year. The initial meeting in Charlotte came on January 10. Sourdiff opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first period and then Trevor Carrick added another to push the lead to 2-0. In the second, Will Lockwood tipped in a Michael Benning shot to make it 3-0. The Bears rallied in the third. Aaron Ness’s slap shot goal got Hershey on the scoreboard. Dube brought the Bears within one and then Saulnier evened the score line to force overtime. In the extra session, Clay Stevenson banked a pass off the left boards to Alex Limoges in the neutral zone. Limoges skated into the left circle and wristed a shot past Chris Driedger. Hershey earned a come-from-behind 4-3 victory.
The next day, the Bears kicked off the scoring with a Mike Vecchione power play goal. The Checkers responded two minutes and 40 seconds later when Patrick Giles redirected a Jaycob Megna shot. Sourdiff put Charlotte in front in the second, but a Limoges wrist shot with 4:30 left in the middle frame made it 2-2. A Vecchione redirection gave the Chocolate and White a 3-2 advantage and then the forward completed his hat trick with an empty net tally to lead Hershey to a 4-2 win.
The last two meetings of the regular season came in North Carolina on February 22 and 23. After a scoreless first period on the 22nd, Leonard placed a snap shot from the slot under the arm of Shepard to put the Checkers ahead. Shepard made two high end saves in the third stanza to keep his team within one and Hendrix Lapierre brought the Bears even with a four-on-four, breakaway goal. A Hershey turnover preceded the go-ahead goal by Benning with 28 seconds left. Criscuolo secured the game for the Charlotte with an empty net tally and the Checkers won 4-2.
The Bears captured the last game of the season series on the 23rd of February. Ivan Miroshnichenko scored in the second period and Bear fired a shot into an empty net in the third to provide all the offense Clay Stevenson would need in a 2-0 whitewash of Charlotte.
Season Series Leaders
Hershey Charlotte
Points: Alex Limoges – 5 John Leonard – 6
Goals: Mike Vecchione – 3 John Leonard/Justin Sourdiff – 3
Assists: Dube/Bear/Iorio/Lapierre – 3 Leonard/Asplund/Kierstad/Benning – 3
Wins: Clay Stevenson – 3 Ken Appleby – 3
Shutouts: Clay Stevenson – 1 Ken Appleby – 1
Roster News
Charlotte
The Checkers have a goalie now that did not feature in any of the eight matchups with the Bears during the regular season. Veteran Kaapo Kahkonen played in all five games against the Providence Bruins. He was acquired at the trade deadline in a trade that sent Chris Driedger to the Winnipeg Jets organization. Kahkonen posted a 1.78 goals against average the Bruins and recorded one shutout.
Defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel missed the entire first round series with Providence. Fellow blue liner Matt Kierstad was injured in game three and was held out of the final two games of the series. Rookie Eamon Powell replaced him in game four and Dennis Cesana got the call in game five. Kierstad is currently listed as day-to-day. Also, Jaycob Megna is currently with the Florida Panthers, serving as an extra defenseman in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hershey
Defenseman Nicky Leivermann was injured in game two after being checked into the boards by Lehigh Valley’s Garrett Wilson. Leivermann was out the rest of the series. Center Henrik Rybinski also suffered an injury in game two and did not return in the series.
The Bears should get some help from the Washington Capitals. The parent club was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by Carolina on Thursday. Defenseman Ethan Bear is eligible to return to the Chocolate and White. Bear would be a huge addition to the lineup. He led Hershey in scoring this season and was the team’s most valuable player. Bear would improve the Bears in every aspect of the game.
Series Outlook/Keys
Hershey gave up three shorthanded goals to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during the five games of the Atlantic Division Semifinals. The goals were costly in losses in games two and three. The Bears did not surrender a shorthanded goal in the last two game of the series after moving away from the five forward power play unit. However, they still gave up shorthanded chances in each game that were saved by Clay Stevenson and Hunter Shepard respectively. Charlotte led the AHL in shorthanded goals during the regular season and tallied two shorties in game one of their series with Providence. Hershey has to be sharp with their passes while on the power play and play smart. Do not make aimless passes to space or drop the puck to nobody in particular.
Both teams struggled on the power play in their Atlantic Division Semifinal series. The Checkers were 1 for 18 on the man-advantage. The Bears went 4 for 29 on the power play, but three of those goals came in game four. They were 1 for 21 in the other four games. During the regular season series, Charlotte scored four times in 29 opportunities and Hershey converted five of 35 chances. If one team can get their power play going, it will give them an advantage in what should be a tight series.
Kaapo Kahkonen is a goalie that the Bears have not seen this season. The Chocolate and White will have to figure out his weaknesses quickly. Associate goalie coach Juha Lehtola does a good job picking apart video of the goalies from the opposition and his input will be important in aiding Hershey skaters in finding the best spots to try to beat Kahkonen.
The top six for the Bears needs to show up every game. They were passengers in games two and three against Lehigh Valley. The effort was much better in the final two games of the series after Nelson challenged them.
Containing the top players for the Checkers will be important for Hershey. John Leonard and Justin Sourdiff were thorns in the Bears’ side during the regular season series. The pair combined for six goals. Hershey needs to lock down these players and not leave them uncovered.
The Bears received strong production from their bottom two lines. Bogdan Trineyev potted a team best three goals and is second on the team in playoff scoring with four points. He teamed with Luke Philp and Ivan Miroshnichenko on the third line and each of those players contributed three points. Matt Strome and Riley Sutter from the fourth line also each recorded three points. Sutter tallied two important goals in game five, including the game winner, and Strome had two helpers in the same contest. If Hershey can get continued offense from their bottom two lines, it makes them a tougher team to defend. Charlotte will not be able to focus completely on the big guns.
By Eric Lord
