Bears Fall to Phantoms 4-3 in Overtime in Preseason Finale

October 8, 2023

The Hershey Bears (1-1-1-0) closed out their 2023 preseason schedule with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-2-0-0) on Sunday afternoon at PPL Center.

BOX SCORE

Tyson Empey gave Hershey a 1-0 lead at 9:56 of the first period when he redirected Nicky Leivermann’s shot past Cal Petersen for his first of the preseason, with Henrik Rybinski earning a secondary helper.

In the second, Ryan Hofer converted on a shorthanded penalty shot at 10:30 to put the visitors up by a pair of goals. Hofer’s backhand shot deflected off Petersen’s poke-check attempt and trickled into the cage.

Adam Ginning got Lehigh Valley on the board at 3:15 of the third period to spoil Hunter Shepard’s shutout bid.

Bogdan Trineyev replied for Hershey with a short-side snipe from Dmitry Osipov at 6:30.

The Phantoms then pulled level with back-to-back goals, as Alex Gendron scored shortly after a Bears penalty expired at 9:43, and Evan Polei slipped the puck through the pads of Shepard on a breakaway at 10:08.

The score remained tied 3-3 through the end of regulation, sending Hershey to its first overtime contest of the postseason, and Tanner Laczynski one-timed a shot from the left circle 40 seconds into the sudden-death period to win it for Lehigh Valley.

Shots finished 23-18 in favor of the Bears. Hunter Shepard took the overtime defeat with a 14-for-18 effort; Petersen went 20-for-23 in the win for Lehigh Valley. Hershey was 0-for-3 on the power play; the Phantoms finished 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

The Bears open the 2023-24 season and get set to defend their Calder Cup championship on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. when they face the Belleville Senators at GIANT Center.  Prior to the game, the Bears will raise their 12th Calder Cup championship banner to the GIANT Center rafters. All fans in attendance can score their own Calder Cup Champions Mini Banner, courtesy of Members 1st Federal Credit Union. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the popular Home Opener Red Carpet Event. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.