In one of the biggest games at Allentown’s PPL Center since the franchise moved to the Lehigh Valley in 2014-15, the Phantoms missed a golden opportunity to eliminate AHL powerhouse and Atlantic Division champion Hershey Bears.
The two-time defending Calder Cup champions, facing elimination for just the third time in the past three years, jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and held off two different rallies to defeat the Phantoms 6-4 on Friday night at PPL Center.
The win forces a winner-take-all Game 5 in the division semifinal series on Sunday night at 5 p.m. in Hershey (Service Electric Network).
“[We had] bad game management right from the get-go. I felt like we had a good start,” Phantoms coach Ian Laperriere said. “Getting penalties in frustration killed the momentum. For me, it’s all game management and we need to be smarter.”
After an outstanding shorthanded chance was denied by Bears goaltender Clay Stephenson in the opening minutes, Hershey struck first as Riley Sutter forced a turnover and patiently waited to pass to Bogdan Trineyev in the middle of the ice.
The 22-year old Russian had time and space between line changes to pick his spot and blast a shot past Lehigh Valley’s backup goaltender Cal Peterson and into the top left corner to give the Bears the early lead.
Hershey doubled the lead in the final second of a power play when defenseman Chase Priskie wound up an open look and rifled it into the top of the cage to finally pay off a man-up advantage.
The nightmare worsened for the home crowd minutes later when another Phantoms turnover proved costly as Spencer Smallman led a counterattack and laid the puck off for Mike Vecchione who buried the big opportunity to make it 3-0 heading into the second period.
The hosts didn’t go away quietly, racing out of the locker room to score a pair of goals by Zayde Wisdom and Rodrigo Abols separated by just 35 seconds to bring an energetic home crowd of 8,121 fans to their feet.
Wisdom proved to be pivotal in Game 2 as his shorthanded goals were the difference to give the Phantoms a 3-1 road win to tie the series at 1-1. Lehigh Valley continued to make a living on not just killing penalties but also scoring shorthanded goals in the series, tallying more man-down goals (3) than it conceded (1), heading into Friday night’s clash.
It’s hard to make a living that way against a team as talented and experienced as Hershey.
Between Priskie’s snipe in the first, a second-period rebound by Pierrick Dube and a wraparound goal by Ivan Miroshnichenko in the third, the Bears capitalized on three power plays to level the series and regain home ice advantage.
“They’re a pretty good team, as we all know, so it was bound to catch up to us eventually,” Wisdom said. “We’ll go to work tomorrow, we’ll definitely talk about it and we’ll shut them down Sunday.”
The insurance goals from Dube and Miroshnichenko were enough to keep the Bears comfortable, even after Oscar Eklind and Jacob Gaucher netted back-to-back goals late in the third to give the Phantoms four minutes to find two more goals to tie it.
Two controversial penalties, a fight and a 10-minute misconduct penalty for abuse of officials slowed down that pursuit and encapsulated a frustrating night for the Phantoms.
The teams combined for 23 penalties, with Lehigh Valley earning a majority of 10, and while Laperriere didn’t argue any calls in particular, he expressed frustration multiple times with the way the game was officiated.
“It’s embarrassing,” Laperriere said. “It’s playoff hockey; let them play. But, whatever, I’ll stop there.”
Laperriere’s group will look to bounce back on Sunday night, still just one win away from their first Atlantic Division Final appearance since 2018 and just the second since the team moved to the Lehigh Valley a decade ago.
“It’s going to be tough going into that building on Sunday,” Wisdom said. “But our backs are up against the wall, so we don’t really have a choice.”
Derek Bast is a freelance sports reporter who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.
Hershey Bears 6, Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4
Friday, May 9, 2025 – PPL Center
Hershey 3 2 1 – 6
Lehigh Valley 0 2 2 – 4
1st Period-1, Hershey, Trineyev 2 (Sutter), 5:46. 2, Hershey, Priskie 2 (Philp, Smallman), 11:51. 3, Hershey, Vecchione 1 (Smallman, Massie), 14:15. Penalties-McDonald Lv (goaltender interference), 3:17; Richard Lv (high-sticking), 9:51; Roe Her (cross-checking), 13:50; McDonald Lv (roughing), 13:50; Vecchione Her (elbowing), 18:01.
2nd Period-4, Lehigh Valley, Wisdom 3 (Gaucher, Lycksell), 3:56. 5, Lehigh Valley, Ābols 2 4:31. 6, Hershey, Dubé 1 (Hunt, Lapierre), 13:18 (PP). 7, Hershey, Dubé 2 (Limoges, Lapierre), 16:32. Penalties-Dubé Her (tripping), 7:46; McDonald Lv (interference), 12:45; Desnoyers Lv (holding), 16:53; Lapierre Her (hooking), 17:28; Limoges Her (tripping), 18:42.
3rd Period-8, Hershey, Miroshnichenko 2 (Trineyev, Priskie), 10:00 (PP). 9, Lehigh Valley, Eklind 1 (Ginning, Grebenkin), 13:47. 10, Lehigh Valley, Gaucher 3 (Lycksell, Andrae), 15:34.
Penalties-Dubé Her (elbowing), 7:46; Andrae Lv (hooking), 8:09; Perrott Her (fighting), 10:27; Smith Lv (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 10:27; Richard Lv (high-sticking), 16:08; Luchanko Lv (roughing), 17:47; Wilson Lv (misconduct – abuse of officials), 17:47; Smallman Her (cross-checking, fighting), 18:23; Belpedio Lv (fighting), 18:23; Iorio Her (roughing – removing opponent’s helmet), 18:55; Petersen Lv (slashing), 20:00.
Shots on Goal-Hershey 12-9-6-27. Lehigh Valley 3-10-19-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 2 / 8; Lehigh Valley 0 / 7.
Goalies-Hershey, Stevenson 1-0 (32 shots-28 saves). Lehigh Valley, Petersen 1-1 (27 shots-21 saves).
A-8,121
Referees-Stephen Hiff (46), Mike Sullivan (47).
Linespersons-Jud Ritter (34), J.P. Waleski (14).
Source: Berkshire mont