After finishing the 2024-25 regular season as Atlantic Division champions, the Hershey Bears get set to open the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs when they take the ice tonight at GIANT Center against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Game 1 of the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals.
Hershey Bears (0-0) vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-0)
April 30, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center | Seried tied 0-0
Referees: Jordan Deckard (14), Jake Kamrass (3)
Linespersons: Shawn Oliver (56), Jud Ritter (34)
TONIGHT'S PROMOTION:
Cheer Sticks Giveaway - The first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a pair of 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs Cheer Sticks, courtesy of Toyota.
BUY TICKETS NOW VIA TICKETMASTER
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall-of-Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY 100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, In-Arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
Hershey earned a first-round bye by virtue of winning the Atlantic Division during the regular season; its last game was a 4-3 home loss to the Phantoms on April 19 that saw Lehigh Valley and the Bears alternate goals before a potential tying score for Hershey late in regulation was nullified after the officials ruled that the puck had been knocked in with a high stick. The Phantoms are coming off a Game 2 win in their Atlantic Division First Round series against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Friday that saw Helge Grans score with two minutes remaining in regulation to lift Lehigh Valley to a 3-2 win and a 2-0 series sweep.
HOW WE GOT HERE:
The Bears qualified for their 72nd Calder Cup Playoffs appearance in their 87th season of American Hockey League competition with a 44-20-7-1 record to clinch their second consecutive Atlantic Division championship and their 20th regular-season division title, in addition to two first-place finishes in seasons when there was no divisional alignment. Hershey notably matched its franchise record for longest homestand, going 3-5-0-0 over eight straight games at GIANT Center from Dec. 14-Jan. 7, and set a franchise record for longest road trip, going 6-2-1-1 over 10 consecutive road games from March 7-29. The Bears also established a new franchise record for road points percentage (.750, 24-6-5-1). As a result of Hershey's finish, the club earned a bye for the Atlantic Division First Round.
FINAL QUARTER RECAP:
In its final 18 games of the regular season, Hershey posted a 10-5-2-1 record while outscoring its opponents 58-51 and outshooting opponents 509-453. Hendrix Lapierre led the team in scoring over the final quarter of the season with 14 points (3g, 11a) in 13 contests; his 11 assists also paced the club. Ivan Miroshnichenko led the way with seven goals and 45 shots on net, while Bogdan Trineyev recorded a +10. Hunter Shepard logged the most minutes in net, going 4-2-2 in 459 minutes of action with one shutout.
HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
Hershey is a lifetime 159-108-8-23-17 in 315 regular-season games against the Phantoms franchise, dating back to the latter's days at the since-demolished Philadelphia Spectrum. The Bears own a 17-12 playoff record since the two clubs first met in the 1997 postseason, with Hershey also owning a 5-1 series record; Hershey's victories in 1997, 2009, and 2024 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 twice, with Hershey taking the best-of-five 2017 Atlantic Division Semifinals in five games and the 2024 Atlantic Division Semifinals in four contests.
FAMILIAR FOE:
In the 2024-25 regular season, the Bears went 5-4-1-0 against the Phantoms in 10 encounters, with Hershey going 2-3-0-0 against Lehigh Valley on GIANT Center ice. Lehigh Valley took the final two games of the series, winning 5-1 at PPL Center on April 12 and closing the regular season out with a 4-3 triumph the following weekend at GIANT Center. The Bears were paced by Ethan Bear's nine points (2g, 7a), but Bear remains on recall to the Washington Capitals while Hershey's NHL affiliate continues through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Lehigh Valley was led by Elliot Desnoyers' six points (1g, 5a).
THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST:
Hershey has a lifetime record of 77-62 in Game 1s of a playoff series, and a 58-19 series record when winning the first game. Wednesday's Game 1 will mark the 101st home playoff game at GIANT Center since the venue opened at the start of the 2002-03 season. In that time, the Bears have posted a 66-34 home record in the playoffs. In the history of the Bears/Phantoms rivalry, every team that has won the first game of a playoff matchup went on to win the series.
LAP-ING THE COMPETITION:
Forward Hendrix Lapierre enters his third straight postseason with Hershey as the reigning Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs after leading the field in scoring with 22 points (7g, 15a) in 20 games. Lapierre also tied with teammate Joe Snively for the league lead in power-play assists (9) and power-play points (11). Lapierre's 22 points that year also tied with Josef Marha (1997) for the eighth-most points by a Bear in a playoff year. Lapierre's career postseason numbers for goals (10), assists (18), and points (28) leads all active Hershey players.
SOUPED UP FOR SGARBOSSA:
Bears center Mike Sgarbossa missed Hershey's final 21 games of the regular season after sustaining an upper-body injury on March 1, but the veteran pivot has shed the no-contact jersey in practices. Should he play in Game 1, it will mark Sgarbossa's first playoff appearance for Hershey since May 4, 2023 when he registered an assist in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals against Charlotte; Sgarbossa did not dress for the remainder of the 2023 playoffs due to injury and was ineligible to play for Hershey during the 2024 postseason. At the conclusion of the 2024-25 regular season, Sgarbossa is tied for 46th in franchise history in goals (93), ranks 26th in assists (175), and ranks 36th in points (268). Sgarbossa collected six points (2g, 4a) in five games against Lehigh Valley this past season to tie with Henrik Rybinski (1g, 5a) for second in team scoring against the Phantoms. Sgarbossa has seven points (3g, 4a) in 12 career playoff games with Hershey.
BENCH BOSS BREAKDOWN:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson's last two playoff runs with the club culminated in Calder Cup titles, and he enters the 2025 playoffs with 28 postseason victories for Hershey, good for fourth in club history. He is two wins away from passing Bruce Boudreau and tying John Paddock for second in franchise history. His .700 career postseason win percentage (28-12) with Hershey is third in franchise history, behind only Boudreau (.725, 29-11) and Doug Gibson (.750, 12-4). Nelson's 70 career AHL playoff wins (Oklahoma City, Grand Rapids, Hershey) are third all-time in league history, trailing only Fred "Bun" Cook (75) and John Paddock (77). Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere is making his third postseason appearance at the helm of Lehigh Valley in his fourth season behind the bench, and sports a 6-5 playoff record.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE:
Hershey's roster is composed of numerous players who have won championship titles for their respective pro, college, junior, or national team(s).
BEARS BITES:
Hershey gained some reinforcements to its depth earlier this morning when the Washington Capitals re-assigned goaltender Mitch Gibson to Hershey from the South Carolina Stingrays, while the Bears also recalled defenseman Andrew Perrott from South Carolina...Hershey announced the re-signing of veteran forward Dalton Smith to a one-year AHL contract for the 2025-26 season last Friday...The Bears were saddened to learn of the recent passing of former right wing Bruce Cline at the age of 93 last week. Cline played five seasons for the Chocolate and White from 1963-68, recording 229 points in 299 games, and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023...Hershey's 72 playoff appearances, 25 Calder Cup Finals appearances, 627 playoff games, 365 playoff games won, and 13 Calder Cup championships are all league postseason records.
ON THIS DATE:
April 30, 2017 - Hershey defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in a decisive Game 5 of the Atlantic Division Finals at PPL Center. After racing out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Bears got the eventual game-winner from defender Colby Williams at 6:16 of the third period to give Hershey a 3-1 lead, and netminder Pheonix Copley made 28 saves secure the victory. The series was just the second in AHL history that saw the road team win all five games in a best-of-five series.
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