Patrick Williamstheahl.com writer
It was a close call, but the Hershey Bears bid to become the first team to win three consecutive Calder Cups since 1962.
Feisty Lehigh Valley Phantoms attacked the defending champion twice in the team’s best Atlantic Division semifinals. Hershey had to resist elimination twice before sending the Phantom into the offseason to win the 4-2 game in Game 5 of Sunday’s Giant Center.
“I’m worried,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson Speaking of what he saw in Phantom before the series even opened, “this is right.”
These concerns only increase after back-to-back losses, which puts the Bears in the 2-1 series holes. However, on the edge of the PPL Center, the Bears won 6-4 on Friday night, before eventually giving up the Phantom on Sunday. Escape requires major lineup movements, goalkeeper changes, and most importantly, being able to see the series until the final horn.
Hunter Shepard He won the first three games of the series and performed well. But Nelson turned Clay Stevenson For Game 4, it was a guts based on his past success against the Lehigh Valley. This is the first game in the playoffs since the Bears started this time in April 2023, with goalkeepers outside Shepard.
Nelson then returned to Shepard for Game 5, satisfied with his ability to cope with the pressure of the big game. The move also paid off, as Shepard made 19 saves and ended several major opportunities in the third phase after Phantom lowered Hershey’s lead to 3-2.
center Mike SgarbossaThe team’s longest player came back from an injury late in the season and played the first three games of the series without scoring no points. Nelson chose to compete in Games 4 and Games 5. Garrett Roe Being inserted into the lineup, so is the three-time AHL All-Star Defender Brad Hunter. The modified mixture works because a dispersed, disconnected group quickly exhibits a more cohesive collective game.
Some important problem-solving tips also played a role after Lehigh Valley burned the Bears with three short goals in two wins. Hershey’s strength was shown in Game 4 to assemble with three goals. Although the Bears scored no points in five chances Sunday, the team did show a trick to attract Lehigh Valley to free throw trouble. After the Phantom’s first goal 2:08 to the third stage of Game 5, Hershey attracted three minors (including a full two minutes of 5-on-3), spending precious time to help the short circuit make a comeback.
“Keep your mind flat,” move forward Spencer Smallman Talking about Hershey’s game plan. “Keep cool. Whatever you need.”
All of this works. The bear, dull, heavy phantom, is likely exactly what the bears need to make the playoffs. After a long break after a regular season finale, the Bears were trapped with Pennsylvania’s opponents in a physically scrutinized, scrutinized, weird confrontation.
That’s playoff hockey and it feels like. Hershey now wins the league record for nine consecutive Calder Cup playoff series.
“I want to give credit on the credit line I deserve, they’re just the third team in those nine series, pushing Hershey to the brink of elimination,” Nelson said of Phantom. “Their guys never resigned. They directed well. They did a great job. We consider ourselves a very good hockey team, but it’s a fight. ”
The series also restores the Bears’ sense of resilience and purpose that has been shown in the last two playoffs. Leaded by All-Star Forward Alex Limoges There are 6 points. As they did in 2023 and 2024, donations come from the upper and lower rosters.
“It illustrates the meaning of the character,” Nelson said. “It illustrates the leadership in the room, it’s the experience they went through. Our guys went through. They found a piece of gear I was looking for.”
Roe scored 6 goals in 12 playoff games last year Riley SutterWinning the second cycle goal in Game 5. Roe’s game was his 14th professional season retirement game, reflecting that it would be necessary if the Bears were to be the first third-class water top team in the AHL in 63 years.
“The ultimate teammate,” Smallman said of Roy. “You just looked at his way on the ice and you know he’s ready for the fight, and I think that drags a lot of people into the fight, too.”
Charlotte awaits the Bears’ path in the five-time Atlantic Division Finals, which will not be relieved. Checkers played five games against the Providence Bruins in their semi-finals and had the advantage in Game 5 on Sunday, where they allowed only eight goals with a 5-2 victory.
Charlotte’s penalty killing efficiency was the league’s highest in the regular season, with 16 short-range goals leading the AHL. They then allowed only two powerful goals in 19 cases against Providence while scoring a pair of brief strikes.
The Bears will drive south on Wednesday and start preparing for the first game in Charlotte on Friday night. This is another obstacle, but the bears will meet head-on.
As Nelson faced checkers before leaving Sunday’s post-match press conference, “put on the seat belt.”
During the fifty years in the American Hockey League, Theahl.com writer Patrick Williams currently covers NHL.com and Flosports leagues and is a regular contributor to Siriusxm NHL New Network Radio. He won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding league coverage in 2016.
