The Hershey Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms met up for the last time in the season on Friday. Valuable points were on the line for both teams in different situations, and this game lived up to the billing. Four different players scored for the Bears and Hunter Shepard stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 4-1 Hershey win. Hershey’s 51st win matches the record for most wins in the AHL’s current 72-game schedule.
Rivalry Renewed
Hershey finished this year’s season series with Lehigh Valley at 8-2-0-2, but it was a battle to get there. Much like the last time the two teams faced off, it started off as a low-scoring game. The Bears got the only goal of the first period thanks to Matthew Phillips. Chase Priskie fired a hard shot from the point that had eyes. Phillips was not deterred by the dangerous shot, getting a stick on it for his second goal in a Bears uniform to make it 1-0 for the home team.
The road to a long playoff run in the Eastern Conference runs through Pennsylvania. Both teams battled into the second period, where the Bears doubled their lead on the power play. Ethen Frank buried a shot from his office on the left side for his 29th goal of the season. He’s one goal from hitting 30 and matching his goal output from 2022-23 and three points from matching his point total from a year ago.
Fight to the Finish
Lehigh Valley did not back down, cutting the lead to one with a goal from Garrett Wilson. He’d shoot from a sharp angle and bury the only goal of the game for the Phantoms. Wilson was the most noticeable player on the ice for the Phantoms, getting involved in the scoring and physical play. He’d reduce the lead to a single goal going into the third with his eighth of the season.
Hershey rose to the occasion in the third period. With the physicality ramping up and the ire between the two teams at a high in matchup 12, the Bears took control. Logan Day, one of the most impactful players of the team’s run to the Calder Cup, tallied his fifth of the season. The former Phantom tallied against his former team for the second time in 2023-24, an important goal to extend the lead.
The Bears would finish the scoring and put the game out of reach with Joe Snively’s 12th of the season. Priskie was noticeable all over the ice, this time finding Snively all alone to deflect a shot to the net. Both players finished with multi-point nights and were among the three stars of the game. Shepard earned his 26th win of the season, making several key stops. His body of work included a close save in the first period that went to review but was ultimately deemed to be just another key stop.
Coach’s Corner
“I thought we played well for sixty minutes tonight,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “Yeah, we had some lulls and some breakdowns, but when we did, other guys were there to save the day. I thought we stuck with it and took over the game in the third period. I liked our competitiveness tonight, our guys played strong and had to will to win pucks in the corners. That was the difference tonight.”
“This poor guy, he’s been called up and sent down,” Nelson said of Phillips. “It’s nice to see him settle in and get more comfortable with our club. He had a full week of practice with our guys. You have to give him credit, he’s not a very big guy but he’s the first one in the corners and digging for loose pucks. He’s not intimidated, he just works his tail off.”
Clinching Scenarios
The Phantoms miss out on two points but stay afloat in the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Out of town, the Hartford Wolf Pack dealt the Springfield Thunderbirds a 5-3 loss to keep the Phantoms four points above the playoff line. Hartford clinched a playoff spot with the win, leaving the sixth spot the last one in the dance. It’s a fine line, with the Phantoms suffering their third straight loss. They can pass the Wolf Pack only if they win out and their opposition drops their remaining schedule. If the season ended today, they’d have a first-round date with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It’d be the first playoff hockey at PPL Center since 2018, an important mark for the franchise. They’ll kick off their final four games with a home-and-home with the Bridgeport Islanders.
Hershey extends its winning streak to five games and will face another hot team in a home-and-home set against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins have won six games in a row and are looking to advance into second place with some help and a few wins. It’s the latest challenge for the Bears in terms of playoff action arriving early. With Friday’s win and an overtime loss for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Bears achieved more history. The Chocolate and White earned the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s top regular season team. It’s the first time the Bears won the award happened back in the 2020-21 season.
