TONIGHT'S GAME NOTES
ATLANTIC DIVISION SEMIFINALS: GAME 3
HERSHEY LEADS BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES, 2-0
#2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Playoffs: 0-2, Regular Season: 48-23-5-0, 101 points) at #3 Hershey Bears (Playoffs: 2-0, Regular Season: 43-22-8-3 , 97 points, 3rd in Atlantic)
Wednesday, April 26, 7:00 pm
Giant Center
REFEREES: Olivier Gouin (54), Evgenii Romasko (39)
LINESMEN: Ryan Daisy (81), Tom George (61)
Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:30 PM)
LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fortress 1230 WKBO, the Bears app via WHP 580, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH: AHLLive.com
PHANTOMS AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for Game 3 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals this evening. Hershey leads the best-of-five series, 2-0, after claiming a pair of victories on the road last weekend. A win tonight would give Hershey its first series sweep since 2010, and advance the Bears to the second round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
2016-17 SEASON SERIES VS LEHIGH VALLEY (5-5-1-1), PLAYOFFS (2-0)
October 30 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center W, 3-2
November 13 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center L, 3-1
December 2 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center W, 4-3
December 3 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center OTL, 3-2
December 16 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center SOL, 3-2
December 26 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center W, 5-2
January 13 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center L, 6-2
January 14 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center W, 6-4
January 22 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center L, 5-1
March 10 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center L, 3-2
April 2 LEHIGH VALLEY Giant Center L, 4-2
April 5 At Lehigh Valley PPL Center OTW, 3-2
Apr. 21 At Lehigh Valley-Game 1 PPL Center OTW, 1-0
Apr. 22 At Lehigh Valley-Game 2 PPL Center W, 5-4
BEARS vs. PHANTOMS - SPECIAL TEAMS, 2017 PLAYOFFS
HERSHEY
Power Play 0-for-6 (0%)
Penalty Kill 6-for-8 (75%)
Lehigh Valley
Power Play 2-for-8 (25%)
Penalty Kill 6-for-6 (100%)
BEARS vs. PHANTOMS - SPECIAL TEAMS, 2016-17 REGULAR SEASON OVERALL:
HERSHEY
Power Play 66-for-319 (20.7%) – 5th in AHL, 4 SHGA
Penalty Kill 242-for-288 (84.0%) – 5th in AHL, 7 SHGF
Lehigh Valley
Power Play 73-for-353 (20.7%) –6th in AHL, 13 SHGA
Penalty Kill 242-for-288 (84.0%) – 5th in AHL, 7 SHGF
BEARS vs. PHANTOMS – TEAM LEADERS, 2017 PLAYOFFS
HERSHEY
Goals Chris Bourque (2)
Assists Barber, Bowey, Labrie (2)
Points Stanislav Galiev (3)
Plus/Minus Stanislav Galiev (3)
Wins Pheonix Copley (2)
Goals-Against Average Pheonix Copley (1.88)
Save Percentage Pheonix Copley (.939)
Lehigh Valley
Goals Greg Carey (2)
Assists Chris Conner (3)
Points Greg Carey, Chris Conner (3)
Plus/Minus Greg Carey (+2)
Wins N/A
Goals-Against Average Alex Lyon (2.07)
Save Percentage Alex Lyon (.882%)
BEARS vs. PHANTOMS – TEAM LEADERS, 2016-17 REGULAR SEASON OVERALL:
HERSHEY
Goals Christian Thomas (24)
Assists Travis Boyd (47)
Points Travis Boyd (63)
PIMs Tyler Lewington (142)
Plus/Minus Stanislav Galiev (+21)
Power-Play Goals Christian Thomas (12)
Shorthanded Goals Dustin Gazley (1)
Game-Winning Goals Liam O’Brien, Jakub Vrana (4)
Wins Pheonix Copley (26)
Goals-Against Average Pheonix Copley (2.25)
Save Percentage Pheonix Copley (.924)
Lehigh Valley
Goals Greg Carey (28)
Assists Andy Miele (44)
Points T.J. Brennan (60)
PIMs Samuel Morin (129)
Plus/Minus Scott Laughton (+17)
Power-Play Goals Greg Carey (17)
Shorthanded Goals Scott Laughton (4)
Game-Winning Goals Brennan, McDonald (5)
Wins Alex Lyon (27)
Goals-Against Average Alex Lyon (2.74)
Save Percentage Alex Lyon (.912%)
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Apr. 21 DEL C Chandler Stephenson Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Apr. 18 DEL D Mattias Backman Removed from playoff roster
Apr. 17 DEL LW Beck Malenstyn Released from ATO
Apr. 17 DEL C Garrett Pilon Released from ATO
Feb. 11 ADD G Adam Morrison Signed to PTO
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Apr. 25 ADD D Reece Willcox Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Reading (ECHL)
Apr. 25 ADD F Connor Bunnaman Signed to ATO
Apr. 22 ADD D Philippe Myers Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
Apr. 17 ADD G Carter Hart Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Everett (WHL)
Apr. 14 ADD G Martin Ouellette Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL)
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:
GAMES 1 & 2 RECAP: In Game 1 on Friday, Hershey’s Nathan Walker ended a scoreless deadlock, striking at 7:38 of overtime, to give Hershey a 1-0 victory over the Phantoms. Hershey goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 32 shots as Hershey took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff series. On Saturday, Hershey scored three goals in the third period to earn a 5-4 comeback victory in Game 2. After Lehigh Valley got two goals from Greg Carey late in the second period of play, Hershey entered the second intermission trailing 4-2. The Bears rallied in the third period thanks to two goals from Chris Bourque. The forward scored the game-winning marker with just 33 seconds left in the game. Despite being outshot 34-17, Hershey escaped with the victory at the PPL Center.
EIGHT WOULD BE GREAT: Dating back to 2000, Hershey has won seven straight playoff games versus the Phantoms. The Bears and Philadelphia Phantoms met in the opening round of the 2000 Calder Cup Playoffs, and Hershey took the best-of-five series, 3-2. Hershey started the current win streak versus the Phantoms on Apr. 21, 2000 in a 4-0 victory in Game 5. The last time Hershey and the Phantoms met was during the opening round of the 2009 playoffs. Hershey earned a 4-0 series sweep. The series ended with a 1-0 victory for Hershey at Giant Center on Apr. 24, 2009. Graham Mink had the lone goal for the Bears and Michal Neuvirth earned the shutout in goal.
SWEEP WOULD BE SWEET: Hershey goes for its first series sweep in seven years tonight. The last time the Bears swept a playoff series was the second round of the 2010 playoffs when they dispatched the Albany River Rats, 4-0. Three of the games in the series would go to overtime, including Game 4. Hershey capped off the sweep with a 5-4 win on Apr. 29, 2010 at Times Union Center in Albany. Current Hershey forward Chris Bourque tallied five points, including notching a pair of goals, and Mathieu Perreault scored the game-winning goal 2:23 into overtime.
BIG GAME BOURQUE: Hershey’s Chris Bourque scored twice, including notching the game-winning goal with just 33 seconds to play, to lead Hershey to a 5-4 win in Game 2. Bourque ranks first all-time in Hershey franchise history in playoff scoring with 78 points (22 goals, 56 assists) in 96 games. He ranks second in AHL playoff history in assists with 78, just two away from Darren Haydar’s record of 80. When he takes the ice for Game 3 on Wednesday, Bourque will skate in his 124th Calder Cup Playoffs game, putting him third in AHL history in games played behind former Hershey skaters Boyd Kane (128) and Bryan Helmer (159).
OVERTIME HISTORY: Last Friday’s 1-0 win in Game 1 was just the 12th time in American Hockey League playoff history that a game was tied 0-0 entering overtime. For the Bears, it was also the second straight Calder Cup Playoffs game that was decided this way. The Bears also headed to overtime tied 0-0 in Game 4 of the Calder Cup Finals last year, a game won by Lake Erie as the Monsters completed the sweep of Hershey. The win was Hershey’s 63rd all-time overtime playoff win, and Hershey’s first road overtime win since Apr. 28, 2013 versus Providence. Jon DiSalvatore was the hero for Hershey that evening, scoring 3:05 into overtime to give Hershey the 5-4 win in Game 2. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer stopped 54 shots in the victory.
HUBERT’S HELPERS: Hershey defender Hubert Labrie notched two assists in Hershey’s 5-4 win in Game 2. Including 281 regular season games, and six post-season games, Saturday’s game marked only the third time in Labrie’s career the defender has notched two assists in a game. The two assists were also the first points of Labrie’s AHL playoff career. The Quebec native appeared in four games with Texas in 2014, helping the Stars to a Calder Cup Championship.
HISTORY BOOKS: Defender T.J. Brennan of Lehigh Valley ranks second all-time in goals among AHL defenders with 134. Earlier this season, he surpassed former Bears defender Bryan Helmer who had 129 goals in his Hall of Fame AHL career. Helmer is currently Hershey’s Vice President of Hockey Operations.
PHANTOM KILLER: Hershey forward Travis Boyd has had tremendous success versus the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He led the season series with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 12 games. Boyd scored the game-winning overtime tally in Hershey’s last regular season game at Lehigh Valley, a 3-2 win for the Bears on Apr. 5. Boyd has posted 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 27 career games vs. Lehigh Valley. Boyd, along with Chris Bourque, skated in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic which was held in Allentown.