The Hershey Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are making preparations to do battle in the 2023-24 American Hockey League season. The two teams are slated to play each other 12 times, down two games from a year prior, as a key part of their schedules. These 12 matches will renew the historic Bears and Phantoms rivalry.
The matchup represents about 16% of the schedule for each team and features critical points toward a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs. It’s a marquee rivalry that goes back about 27 years with plenty of bad blood old and new.
Prior to the 1996-97 season, the Philadelphia Flyers moved to a brand new arena known today as the Wells Fargo Center. That left their original home, the Spectrum, without an occupant and led to the Flyers creating their own AHL affiliate only a slapshot away from their new digs.
The problem? It led to a severance from their prior affiliate, the Hershey Bears, after a 12-year span. With the move, an instant rivalry between the Bears and the brand-new Philadelphia Phantoms was born.
Bad Blood Between the Bears and Phantoms
The Bears partnered up with the Colorado Avalanche for what would become a nine-year affiliation. Naturally, the Phantoms and the Bears finished as number one and number two, respectively. This led to an evitable meeting in the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals.
A matchup so intense, it was dubbed “the real Calder Cup Finals” of the 1997 playoff year. The two teams traded wins over the course of five games, with the Bears facing elimination in Game 6.
On home ice at Hersheypark Arena, the two teams went three overtimes before Blair Atcheynum lifted the Bears to glory. Hershey prevailed in Game 7 and ultimately went on to win the Calder Cup.
The Phantoms exacted revenge the next year by sweeping the Bears in four games on their way to a Calder Cup of their own. The two teams would have some strong finishes but didn’t meet in the playoffs for another decade in 2009.
Philadelphia won the Calder Cup in 2005 and Hershey took it back in 2006. However, the teams never met for playoff hockey at equal strength during that time. The Bears swept the Phantoms as the first leg of their journey back to the peak of the AHL that year, but it marked the end of an era as the shape of the rivalry changed forever.
Things Change
“This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Flyers founder Ed Snider said about the demolition in 2009. “The Spectrum is my baby. It’s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.”
The Spectrum was officially torn down in late 2010, making room for a slew of other projects and venues in the Philadelphia sports complex. Its demolition sparked the sale of the Phantoms and relocation to Glens Falls, New York. They remained there for five seasons. The Phantoms missed the playoffs in all five of those seasons. Shaping top-tier talent remained important, with the likes of Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, and Shayne Gostisbehere passing through in that span.
Without proximity and some years of struggle, the rivalry wasn’t as fierce as in years past. During the 2013-14 season, the two teams faced off just six times, a far cry from what was to come in the future.
The Flyers made a sweeping change to their affiliate structure by bringing the Phantoms to Allentown, Pennsylvania. They became the Lehigh Valley Phantoms upon the completion of the PPL Center starting in the 2014-15 season. The Flyers also aligned with the nearby Reading Royals at the ECHL level. Now, all of the Flyers’ affiliates are in the Keystone State for the foreseeable future.
A New Era of the Bears Phantoms Rivalry
The two teams would tangle 12 times in the first year of the relocation. This new route became part of a much easier travel schedule for both teams and has remained that way ever since. Both sides were in the midst of rebuilding after missing the playoffs in prior years, setting the stage for their first playoff matchup since the Philadelphia days in 2017.
In a series that felt like old times, the Bears took the first game thanks to a Nathan Walker goal in overtime followed by a wild third-period comeback in the second game. Chris Bourque scored with 33 seconds to play in regulation to stun the PPL Center to cap off a comeback from a 4-2 deficit through 40 minutes.
The Phantoms stormed back on the road at Giant Center with an overtime win of their own as former Bear Chris Connor haunted his former team and sent the series home with a 4-1 win in Game 4. Hershey had one last miracle up its sleeve in a decisive Game 5 as rookie defenseman Colby Williams had the game-winning goal. The matchup continues to be a frequent one for both teams, with as many as 14 matchups in 2022-23 and 12 in the upcoming 2023-24 slate.
Player Development
The two sides continue to develop prospects for the Flyers and Capitals, who have been fierce rivals in the past at the highest level. The rivalry extended even into the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in which the two sides selected in sequence in the first round, with the Flyers taking Matvei Michkov seventh overall while the Caps nabbed Ryan Leonard eighth. Both players are expected to be big pieces of their respective clubs moving forward and could see time in the AHL systems in a few years.
For now, the focus shifts towards the incoming season. The Bears are the defending Calder Cup winners and had 11 wins in 14 matchups with their in-state rivals. The Phantoms are hoping some added youth will reinvigorate their lineup after narrowly missing out on advancing in the play-in round of the postseason. It’ll make for must-see hockey over the course of the year as both teams continue a legacy of fierce competition that’s become an important staple of the AHL.
