MFHOOD
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- Apr 29, 2024
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Hershey’s quest for its 13th Calder Cup begins at home tonight against a familiar foe after the Bears dominated the league in the regular season with 53 victories and an American Hockey league-best 111 points.
Hershey Bears (0-0) vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-0)
May 1, 2024 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center | Series Tied, 0-0
Referees: Beau Halkidis (48), Alex Lepkowski (74)
Linespersons: Jud Ritter (34), J.P. Waleski (14)
Tonight's Promotions:
Members 1st Cowbell Night - The first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears cowbell, courtesy of Members 1st Federal Credit Union.
(Best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinals)
Puck drop: Game 1 is 7 p.m. tonight at Giant Center.
Opening round: Hershey had a bye; Lehigh Valley defeated Wilkes/Barre-Scranton two games to none to claim their best-of-three series.
Old friends: The Bears and Phantoms are meeting for the sixth time in the postseason and Hershey has a 4-1 series record.
Regular season matchup: Hershey finished 8-2-0-2 vs. Lehigh Valley, including a 5-1-0-0 mark at Giant Center.
HEAD-TO-HEAD FACTS:
Hershey is a lifetime 154-104-8-22-17 in the regular season against the Phantoms franchise, dating back to its days at the since-demolished Philadelphia Spectrum. The Bears own a 14-11 playoff record since the two clubs first met in the 1997 postseason, with Hershey also owning a 4-1 series record; Hershey's victories in 1997 and 2009 were part of eventual championship runs, while the Phantoms took the 1998 series victory in the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals en route to their first title. Since the Phantoms relocated from Glens Falls, N.Y. to Allentown in time for the 2014-15 season, the Bears and Phantoms have only met in the postseason once, with Hershey taking the best-of-five 2017 Atlantic Division Semifinals in five games. Hershey claimed the 2023-24 regular-season series with a record of 8-2-0-2, going 5-1-0-0 on GIANT Center ice.
Hershey standouts: Ethen Frank led the team in goals (29) and power-play goals (13); Joe Snively led the Bears in points (5); goalie Hunter Shepard won 27 games, had a goals-against average of 1.76 and Shepard had a save percentage of .929.
Phantoms of note: Cooper Marody and Olle Lycksell each have 19 goals and Marody has tallied 56 points; goalie Cal Petersen has allowed two goals or less in eight of his last 13 starts.
ON THIS DATE:
May 1, 1997 - The Bears opened their first-ever playoff series with the Philadelphia Phantoms in Game 1 of the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals, earning a 5-3 win in front of 6,801 at the Spectrum. Hershey trailed 3-2 heading into the third period, but a sprawling block by the glove of defender Pascal Trepanier on Shawn McCosh prevented the Phantoms from widening their lead, and the Bears responded with three straight goals, including the game-winner from Kurt Miller, who was scratched in the previous round's series-clinching win against Kentucky. The first-ever postseason series between Hershey and the Phantoms ultimately went the distance, with the Bears overcoming a 3-2 series deficit and winning the decisive Game 7 less than two weeks later at the Spectrum.
Hershey-Lehigh Valley remaining schedule:
May 4: Lehigh Valley at Hershey, Giant Center, 7 p.m.
May 8: Hershey at Lehigh Valley, PPL Center, 7:05 p.m.
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