Photo: Eric Lord
With a first round bye, the Hershey Bears awaited their opponents for the Atlantic Division semifinals to begin the defense of their Calder Cup championship. That opponent was determined on Friday night as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms knocked-off the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5-4 in overtime to sweep the three-game series and advance to face the chocolate and white.
Series Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, May 1, Lehigh Valley @ Hershey – 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 4, Lehigh Valley @ Hershey – 7 p.m.
Game 3: Wednesday, May 8, Hershey @ Lehigh Valley – 7:05 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, May 11, Hershey @ Lehigh Valley – 7:05 p.m.
Game 5: Sunday, May 12, Lehigh Valley @ Hershey 7 p.m.*
* If Necessary
Playoff History
The Bears and Phantoms have squared off in the playoffs five times previously with Hershey prevailing four times. Only one of those series came with the franchise in Lehigh Valley. The other four matchups took place when the Phantoms were located in Philadelphia.
The most memorable postseason meeting was the first one in 1997 in the Southern Division semifinals. The two sides were the top two teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) during the regular season.
Hershey captured game one in the old Spectrum with winger Kurt Miller netting the decider in a 5-3 win for the chocolate and white. The Phantoms scored often in game two en route to a 7-4 victory on home ice.
As the series shifted to Chocolate Town, the Bears prevailed 4-2 behind Eric Veilleux’s game winner. Philadelphia took back home ice when Colin Forbes tallied in overtime to lift the Phantoms to a 3-2 overtime victory. After getting drubbed 5-0 in Philadelphia in game five, Hershey faced elimination on home ice in game six. What happened next was one of the most memorable games in franchise history.
With the score tied at two, the contest headed to overtime, make that three overtimes. Then, Blair Atcheynum etched his place in Bears’ lore by splitting two Phantoms’ defensemen and slid a shot through the five hole of Neil Little to keep Hershey’s season alive. Goalie Jean-Francois Labbe made 62 saves. The Bears then topped Philadelphia 3-2 in game seven to win the series. Hershey would move on and win the Calder Cup in five games over Hamilton.
One year later, the Phantoms exacted their revenge on the Bears by eliminating the chocolate and white in the Mid-Atlantic Division finals in four games. Philadelphia ended up winning the Calder Cup that season.
1n 2000, Hershey edged the Phantoms three games to two in the Mid-Atlantic Division semifinals. The Bears dropped two games in the Hersheypark Arena after leading the series two games to one. However, David Aebischer recorded his second shutout of the series in game five and the chocolate and white survived with a 4-0 triumph in game five.
The Bears ended the run of the Philadelphia Phantoms with a four game sweep in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs in 2009. Alexandre Giroux continued his historic season with two game winners in the series. Hershey would go on to defeat the Manitoba Moose in six games to win the Calder Cup.
The lone playoff meeting with the Phantoms since the franchise was established in Allentown came in the first round in 2017. The series featured the road team winning every game. Nathan Walker’s overtime winner and Pheonix Copley’s shutout gave the Bears a 1-0 win in game one at the PPL Center and the chocolate and white then defeated Lehigh Valley 5-4 in game two. The Phantoms returned the favor in Hershey with Chris Connor scoring in overtime to lead Lehigh Valley to a 2-1 triumph in game three and the ghosts then captured game four 4-1. The Bears rode Colby Williams’ decider to exorcise the Phantoms 3-2 in game give.
2023-24 Season Series
To say that Hershey and Lehigh Valley are familiar with each other would be an understatement. The Bears and Phantoms squared off 12 times during the AHL regular season. The chocolate and white won the season series with an 8-2-0-2 record and recorded five shutouts.
The first three matchups of the season went the way of Hershey. The first of these came on October 28 in the Giant Center. The Bears rode two goals from Pierrick Dube and 32 saves from Clay Stevenson to triumph 4-0. Four days later, the chocolate and white edged Lehigh Valley 4-3 in overtime on home ice with Chase Priskie providing the winner in the extra session. Then, Stevenson blanked the Phantoms again on November 11 with Mike Vecchione and Dube providing the offense in a 2-0 road win.
Lehigh Valley broke through with their first victory against the Bears at the Giant Center on the season on November 12. The ghosts got goals from four different players and Hershey could only put one past Nolan Maier despite holding a 30 to 19 shot advantage as the Phantoms topped the chocolate and white 4-1.
The Bears returned to their winning ways, taking the next two contests. Stevenson was at it again in Allentown on December 30, turning aside 37 shots in a game Hershey was outplayed. Matt Strome led the way with two goals and the chocolate and white shutout Lehigh Valley for the third time 4-0. In the first meeting of 2024 on January 7, the Bears tied the game in the third period and Alex Limoges deposited a shot past Cal Petersen in overtime to lift Hershey to a 3-2 home victory.
The next time the two sides faced off, there were five combined goals in the first period with the Bears holding a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes. Ronnie Attard equalized for the Phantoms in the third and the game wound up in a shootout. Jon-Randall Avon netted the lone conversion in the skills competition to give Lehigh Valley a 4-3 shootout win.
Hershey and Lehigh Valley exchanged victories in the next two meetings. The chocolate and white scored three times in the third period to rally for a 4-2 road triumph on January 31. Jimmy Huntington tied it before Vecchione potted the winner. The Phantoms returned the favor two days later, tallying three times in the third period to conquer the Bears 4-1.
Lehigh Valley earned the sole winning streak against the chocolate and white in the regular season when they topped Hershey in a snooze fest of a game on March 3. The two teams combined for a total of 24 shots through regulation and overtime with the Bears only registering a single shot in the third period and then one in overtime. The ghosts outgunned the chocolate and white two to one in the shootout and Lehigh Valley gained a 1-0 shootout conquest of the Bears.
The chocolate and white ended the season series by getting the best of the Phantoms in the final two contests in April. Dube netted the only goal of the game in the first period and Hunter Shepard stopped all 19 shots he saw in a 1-0 whitewash of Lehigh Valley. In the last matchup of the regular season, 10 different Hershey players recorded a point and the Bears bested Lehigh Valley 4-1 on April 12.
Season Series
Hershey Lehigh Valley
Points: Pierrick Dube – 8 Cooper Marody – 6
Goals: Pierrick Dube – 6 6 Players – 2
Assists: 3 Players – 5 3 Players – 4
Wins: Clay Stevenson – 4 Cal Petersen – 2
Shutouts: Clay Stevenson – 4 Cal Petersen – 1
Roster Ins-and-Outs
With the Washington Capitals being swept by the New York Rangers, Hershey will get reinforcements back from the parent club. Center Hendrix Lapierre and left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko will return to deepen an already strong forward corps. On the back end, the Bears will receive needed captain Dylan McIlrath, Lucas Johansen and Hardy Haman Aktell. These three defensemen will restore the team’s defensive depth. Vincent Iorio is also eligible to return, but is currently injured. He recently began skating and is return date is unknown.
The Phantoms were without one of their top offensive players in the first round series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Samu Tuomaala has been out since being injured versus Bridgeport on April 13. The speedy winger is close to returning and likely will feature in the matchup against the Bears. Tuomaala finished third on the team in scoring with 43 points. Lehigh Valley received four players from the Philadelphia Flyers after the Flyers season ended. Forwards Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell were sent to the Phantoms, as were defensemen Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning. In goal, Lehigh Valley added Russian prospect Alexei Kolosov late in the season. He served as Cal Petersen’s backup during the opening round.
Keys to the Series
When the puck drops for game one, it will be 10 days since Hershey played a game. A little rust can be expected, but the Bears need to quickly find their sharpness. The chocolate and white do not want to allow Lehigh Valley to get quick jump on them in the series.
Discipline is key for Hershey. There was a stretch late in March where the Bears took a lot of penalties and were shorthanded 23 times in four games. The chocolate and white had the best penalty kill in the AHL during the regular season, but eventually they will get burned if they take too many penalties. The Phantoms have Garrett Wilson in the lineup who consistently likes to stir things up. The Bears have to keep their cool when Wilson gets chippy. Allow him to take the penalties.
The power play has been up and down for Hershey this season. When the unit moves the puck quickly and makes passes to move the penalty killers, success is usually found. However, there are many times when the power play becomes too deliberate and allows the penalty kill to just sit in their box and clog up shooting and passing lanes. In a short series, a potent power play can be a decisive factor.
The Bears need to adapt to what the Phantoms throw at them. During the regular season finale, Charlotte clogged the middle of the ice and took space away from the chocolate and white. Lehigh Valley could deploy a similar strategy in an attempt to slow down Hershey’s offense. If this happens, the Bears cannot force the puck down the middle where the Phantoms would have numbers. The chocolate and white need to use the wings to draw the Lehigh Valley out of the middle of the ice and then feed the puck back to the center when there is more space available.
Finally, the Bears need to play with purpose and not go long stretches without offensive pushes. The Phantoms have nothing to lose as the big underdogs in the series and will play freely. Hershey has to bring the intensity and keep their foot on the gas. There were times late in the season when the offense would be asleep for stretches and fire five or fewer shots in a period. Keep Lehigh Valley on their heels in their own end.
By Eric Lord
