Atlantic Division Semifinals Game 5 Preview: Bears vs. Phantoms, 5 p.m.

May 11, 2025

The best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals concludes tonight with a winner-take-all Game 5 of the series at GIANT Center.

Hershey Bears (2-2) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-2)
May 11, 2025 | 5 p.m. | GIANT Center | Series Tied, 2-2
Referees: Graedy Hamilton (41), Liam Maaskant (45)
Linespersons: Brandon Grillo (75), Ryan Jackson (84)

TONIGHT'S PROMOTION:

Cowbell Giveaway - The first 6,800 fans in attendance will receive a cowbell. 

BUY TICKETS NOW VIA TICKETMASTER

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski, and FOX43's Ryan Ye on the call
TELEVISION: FOX43
RADIO: WFVY 100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9 FM & WOYK 1350-AM, Capitals Radio, In-arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:30 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on their way to a 6-4 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals on Friday night at PPL Center to tie the best-of-five series at two wins apiece. Bogdan Trineyev (5:46), Chase Priskie (11:51), and Mike Vecchione (14:15) scored in the first period for the Bears, while Pierrick Dube added a pair of second period tallies, and Ivan Miroshnichenko scored on the power play in the third period in the win for Hershey. The Phantoms outshot the Bears 32-27 in the contest. 

GAME FIVE FACTS:
The Bears are 8-9 all-time in Game 5 of a best-of-five series. Hershey has won its last three decisive Game 5 contests, with the most recent victory coming in the 2019 Atlantic Division Semifinals versus the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hershey's Brian Pinho scored at 10:27 of overtime to give the Bears a 3-2 win, and a series victory over the Sound Tigers. The Bears' last home-ice win in a conclusive Game 5 of a series came in 2016 when the Bears defeated the Portland Pirates 2-1 to claim a series win. Defenseman Ryan Stanton scored the winning-goal, and that Bears team would go on to advance to the 2016 Calder Cup Finals. 

2017 MEMORIES:
The last time Hershey and Lehigh Valley played a winner-take-all game in a series was in the 2017 Atlantic Division Semifinals. Lehigh Valley rallied to tie the series, 2-2, with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 at GIANT Center, setting up a fifth and deciding game in Allentown on April 30, 2017. In that game, Hershey bolted out to a 2-0 lead in the first period at the PPL Center on goals by Stanislav Galiev and Christian Thomas, and rookie defenseman Colby Williams' tally in the third period turned out to be the game-winner in a 3-2 decision for Hershey. Pheonix Copley stopped 28 shots in the victory for the Bears as the road team won every game in the series. 

DUBE'S DEADLY:
Pierrick Dube potted a pair of goals in Hershey's Game 4 victory on Friday for his first two markers of the postseason. He will look to keep his success in big games going tonight as the Bears attempt to eliminate the Phantoms. In Hershey's run to the 2024 Calder Cup title, Dube had six points (5g, 1a) in games in which Hershey eliminated its opponent, including a goal and an assist in Hershey's final victory over the Phantoms in the Atlantic Division Semifinals, and a hat trick in the Game 6 Calder Cup victory over Coachella Valley. Dube has scored 13 points (9g, 4a) in 21 career playoff games for Hershey. 

COUNT ON CLAY:
Hershey turned to goaltender Clay Stevenson in the Game 4 win, snapping a streak of 43 straight playoff starts for Hunter Shepard. The move worked for Hershey as Stevenson continued his winning ways versus Lehigh Valley with the 28-save effort to pick up his first career Calder Cup playoff victory. In the regular season and postseason combined, Stevenson is 9-3-1 in 14 career games versus Lehigh Valley with a 2.02 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage, and four shutouts. 

POWER PLAY POUNCES:
The Bears broke out in a big way on the power play in Game 4. After starting the series at 1-for-16 on the power play in the first three games, Hershey went 3-for-8 in Game 4. It marked the first time the Bears scored three power-play goals in a game since Oct. 26 at Springfield, the only other occasion this season in which Hershey potted a trio of goals on the man advantage. It was also Hershey's first outing of three power-play goals in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals versus Cleveland (3-for-6). Hershey is now 4-for-24 (16.7%) on the power play in the series, while the Bears have held the Phantoms to just 1-for-18 (5.6%) on he man advantage, with Hershey's penalty kill posting a 7-for-7 performance in Game 4. Since the start of the 2023 playoffs, Hershey has gone a combined 22-4 in games in which they scored a power-play goal. 

BEARS BITES:
The Bears have an all-time postseason record of 19-14 against the Phantoms...Including head-to-head results from the regular season and this series, the Bears are 6-0 against the Phantoms when scoring first, while Lehigh Valley is 7-0-1...Hershey's all-time playoff record when facing elimination is 70-58, and the club's record when they have a chance to win a series is 81-72...With the Game 4 win, Hershey head coach Todd Nelson registered his 30th playoff victory with the Bears, passing Bruce Boudreau (29) and tying John Paddock for second in franchise history. Frank Mathers owns the club record with 60 wins...With a two-assist game on Friday, Alex Limoges has a point in all four games of the series (1g, 4a). Going back to the regular season, Limoges has points in six straight games overall (2g, 6a). He also owns a six-game playoff point streak (1g, 8a), dating back to the 2024 Calder Cup Finals...A total of 12 different Bears had a point in the Game 4 win for Hershey...The winner of today's contest will play the winner of the #2-Charlotte vs. #3-Providence series in the Atlantic Division Finals. Charlotte and Providence play their own decisive Game 5 this afternoon. 

ON THIS DATE:
May 11, 1997 - Blair Atcheynum scored the game-winning goal 42 seconds into triple overtime as the Bears downed the Philadelphia Phantoms in Game 6 of the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals by a score of 3-2. The game stands as the longest game in franchise history. With the Bears facing elimination, Hershey forced a Game 7 at the Spectrum with the win, a game also won by the Bears 4-3 in regulation on the game-winner by Mike McHugh en route to the club's eighth Calder Cup Championship.