The Hershey Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are going the distance in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. With their backs against the wall, the Bears took a 6-4 win on the road in Allentown. The win forces the series back to Hershey for a fifth and final game on Sunday at Giant Center. Hershey’s offense scored as many goals as they had all series in a single game. Clay Stevenson picked up the win in his first Calder Cup Playoff start with 28 stops.
New Day, New Bears Look
The Bears made a few significant lineup decisions for Friday’s game. Todd Nelson and company opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Brad Hunt drew into the lineup for Mike Sgarbossa, while Garrett Roe made his return to the lineup. The move gave the Bears more options on the back end, particularly on the power play. Stevenson’s start was based on his past success against the Phantoms, particularly on the road.
As for Clay, he’s always played well against Lehigh (Valley),” Nelson said. “I just wanted to shake things up. I thought if we’re going down, we’re going down swinging.”
The moves paid dividends for the Bears as they struck for three goals in the first period. Hershey struck just over five minutes in with Bogdan Trineyev’s second goal of the playoffs. He took a great pass from Riley Sutter and found some space, beating Cal Petersen over the glove. The first team to score has won all three prior games, and Friday was no exception.
Hershey doubled the lead with some much-needed success on the power play. The Bears won battles on the boards with Luke Philp setting up Chase Priskie for a one-time blast. His shot rang the top left corner of the net just as the power play expired. The goal officially counted at even strength by the slimmest of margins.
The Bears netted one more goal off the stick of a former Phantom. Spencer Smallman drove into the zone and drew both defenders to him. He’d pass off to Mike Vecchione, who had space to wire a perfect shot past Petersen. Hershey took a comfortable looking 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
Trading Tallies
It looked like a strong lead, but the Phantoms nearly erased it in the blink of an eye. Lehigh Valley struck for two goals separated by 35 seconds to cut the lead to 3-2. Zayde Wisdom maintained a strong postseason with his third of the playoffs, dragging the puck to the backhand and lifting it by Stevenson. Wisdom has tallied four points in six total playoff games to provide some essential scoring.
The Phantoms cut the lead to one goal in short succession with a goal from Rodrigo Abols. He’d capitalize on a Hershey turnover and beat Stevenson low for his second of playoffs. Abols spent time with the Philadelphia Flyers this season, with his return adding another dimension to the Phantoms.
Hershey called its timeout after the goal and slowly worked their way back into the game. They’d strike on the power play as Hunt would factor in on an important goal. He’d fire from the point, with his shot rebounding right to Pierrick Dubé’s stick. Hershey’s scoring sensation buried the loose puck to extent the lead.
However, the Bears weren’t done, fully restoring the three-goal lead before intermission. Hendrix Lapierre made an excellent individual effort to break the puck into the zone. He’d eventually hand it off to Alex Limoges with a lane to the net. Limoges got two shots on goal, with the second rebound popping out to Dubé for the finish.
At the Limits
The Bears appeared to put the game away and send some of the home fans to the exits. Ivan Miroshnichenko scored on a swift wraparound for another power play goal. Factoring in Priskie’s goal, the Bears finished with three goals on eight power play opportunities. Prior to Friday, the Bears had just one power play marker in 16 attempts in the playoffs. Much as the special teams hurt Hershey in past games, it ended up factoring in on a win with success.
However, the never-say-die Phantoms competed to the final horn. They’d again bag a pair of goals in rapid succession to cut the Bears’ lead to 6-4 and nearly bring the game closer. Oscar Eklind and Jacob Gaucher scored goals 47 seconds apart to suddenly cut the deficit to two with plenty of time remaining. Even down a man, the Phantoms pulled Petersen to get back to five skaters and pressure the Bears.
Stevenson came up with a few big saves late, with the Phantoms owning a 19-6 shot lead in the final frame. Hershey held on to take the win and force Game Five, with a lot of hatred sure to carry over back to Giant Center. The two teams nearly got into it going off the ice, where they cross over each other to reach the exits.
All or Nothing
The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the Atlantic Division Finals. Nelson left everything on the table for the game as his team held a closed practice on Saturday. Hershey’s offense struck for six goals for the first time since early December. The Bears last won a decisive game in the Eastern Conference Final, with Roe providing the heroics in Game Seven.
Meanwhile, the Phantoms look to get the job done on the road. It’s been a long time since the Phantoms have been in this position, with Lehigh Valley getting as far as the division final in 2018. Just as the regular season series between the teams has been an even split, the playoffs will face a similarly close finish.
