The Hershey Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms kicked off the Atlantic Division Semifinals at Giant Center on Wednesday night. The two teams met up in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, with the Phantoms fresh off a first round win. In the opening game, Hershey built a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 win. Hunter Shepard earned first star honors with 30 saves.
Back in the Bears’ Den
Playoff hockey returned to Giant Center for the first time since last June. Hershey had more than a week off after earning a bye from the first round. The Chocolate and White dispelled any concerns of rust with a strong opening push. They’d open the scoring when Hendrix Lapierre deflected a point shot from Chase Priskie. The crowd of just over 8,000 was on their feet and roaring early in the game.
Lapierre made his return to Hershey’s lineup after spending the last two months with the Washington Capitals. His great season culminated with his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal on Sunday. He picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, tallying on the deflection much like he did a summer ago in Game Seven.
Rivalry Renewed
In the 13th matchup between the two division foes this season, it didn’t take long for tempers to flare. Despite a physical, heated game between the two teams, the referees kept their arms down. Outside of matching minor penalties at the midway mark of regulation and neither team had a power play in the game.
Hershey doubled their lead late in the second period. Bogdan Trineyev drove the puck in wide and threw it to the net front. The puck clipped off of Matt Strome and landed for Henrik Rybinski in front of the net. He’d take the shot, which leaked through Cal Petersen to make it 2-0 Bears. Rybinski, playing in his first Calder Cup Playoff game, tallied his first postseason goal. Trineyev tallied his first postseason point assisting on the goal.
Phantoms Fire Back
Much like their Game Two win over Wilkes-Barre, Lehigh Valley pushed hard in the third period. It’d be the only stanza in which they had the lead in shots in an effort to erase the deficit. With just under five minutes to play, Petersen went to the bench for the extra attacker. He’d barely be able to sit down before the Phantoms struck. Tanner Laczynski, fresh off of a two-goal game in Game Two, stayed hot by burying a shot in the slot.
Laczynski had a career year at the AHL level, tallying 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 49 games. Bobby Brink and Ronnie Attard tallied assists on the goal in a good showing for the Philadelphia Flyers prospects. Suddenly, the Phantoms had momentum and plenty of time to try and tie the game.
Race to the Finish
The Phantoms pushed with the time they had, but the experienced Bears held firm. Shepard made a couple key saves late to preserve Hershey’s lead as the first star. The first game went to the Bears, who took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Hershey shook off the rust of 11 days between games played as the rested team versus a tested Lehigh Valley squad. Although the Bears made the lead stand up, head coach Todd Nelson believes there’s room to improve.
“They came at us real hard,” Nelson said. “They’re a good hockey team, well balanced. I thought we did a pretty good job. Some things we need to work on and clean up, there were some mental errors that we haven’t seen a lot during the course of the season. Maybe that’s from being off for so long. We’ll be able to clean that up with video (in practice) on Friday.”
“We have to understand that a team like that isn’t going to quit. They came at us, they came back in their last series to win it. It’s going to be a battle.”
Game Two Looming
The two teams set their sights on a rematch in Hershey on Saturday in Game Two. The Phantoms have to be encouraged by the effort to hang with the Bears. Their physical style and hard-working mentality gave them an edge in the first game. Although solving Shepard proved to be a difficult test, they were in the game throughout and now try to push their game further. In a five-game series, though, time is a factor with this next game a critical one.
Hershey will similarly look to up their game as Nelson mentioned. The Bears have much more to give despite the win and a good enough showing. Hershey missed out on a couple of chances that might have led to a larger margin of victory. Lapierre had several quality opportunities in a strong showing for the second-year pro. The Chocolate and White will aim to demonstrate why they finished first overall properly on Saturday.
