The Hershey Bears returned to the Calder Cup Playoffs in style on Wednesday at Giant Center. It’s a grudge match between the Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the second straight year. The series opened with plenty of animosity, but Hunter Shepard made 26 saves to lift the Bears to a 3-0 win in the opening game. Hershey took a 1-0 series lead in the process with a rematch set for Friday in Game Two.
Battling Bears
It took seconds for tempers to flare between the two established rivals. Scrums after whistles were commonplace early and often. Hershey jumped out to an early lead just about halfway through the first period. On a delayed penalty, Chase Priskie got the puck on the outside and wired a shot past Parker Gahagen on the short side.
Priskie trailed only Ethan Bear in terms of points among defensemen for the Bears in the regular season. Wednesday’s goal is his first in the playoffs since Game One of the Eastern Conference Final against Cleveland a year ago. Hershey had a 12-6 shot edge in the first period and emerged with the lead.
Getting the lead has been key in the rivalry between these two teams. In the regular season series, the team that scored the first goal won nine of the ten matchups. With the Bears holding a narrow lead of 5-4-1-0 in those ten games, the trend kept up in the first postseason matchup as well.
Momentum Shift
The defining moment of the game happened early in the third period. Protecting a 1-0 lead, the Bears got into penalty trouble with an extended stint down two men. Hershey limited the chances against and stood tall in the face of a potential game-changing opportunity. The crowd of 8,050 roared their approval as the Bears killed off the penalty in a crucial juncture.
Only minutes after the penalty kill, the Bears seized the momentum and added to the lead. Spencer Smallman found some space and took a pass from Alex Limoges. He fired a perfect shot high over the goaltender’s shoulder for his first playoff goal as a Bear. Hershey opened a 2-0 lead going down the stretch in the third period.
Hershey won a lot of games by a single goal during the regular season, and it appeared to be another close finish. However, Bogdan Trineyev jumped up to claim a loose puck and ice the game with an empty net goal. Shepard locked in the rest of the game to earn his fourth shutout combined with the regular season.
“(Shepard) was great tonight,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “He made some huge saves in the second. I thought we protected him pretty good in the first, and then killing off that 5-on-3. That was probably the turning point because we scored after that to make it 2-0. But just a great effort from him, and that’s what he does.”
“(The win) was huge for tonight and it gives our killers confidence. It gives our team confidence. They’re probably looking at it like it was a missed opportunity. You know, they had some great chances and Shep stood tall. It was a good hockey game tonight, both teams played well.”
Next Up
The two teams are set to collide in Game Two on Friday night at Giant Center. After Friday’s game, the series will shift to Allentown. Hershey has a chance to open a 2-0 series lead before that happens. It’s a big opportunity with one of the best games the team has played this season. Lehigh Valley will look to break through and earn a split.
