Atlantic Division Semifinals Game 3 Preview: Bears at Phantoms, 5:05 p.m.

May 3, 2025

The best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals shifts to PPL Center for the next two games, starting with today's Game 3 contest between the Hershey Bears and Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After opening the series with a 3-0 win in Game 1, the Bears dropped Game 2 to the Phantoms on Friday by a 3-1 score.

Hershey Bears (1-1) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-1)
May 4, 2025 | 5:05 p.m. | PPL Center | Series tied 1-1
Referees: Morgan MacPhee (43), Liam Maaskant (45)
Linespersons: Jud Ritter (34), J.P. Waleski (14)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY 100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio 
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:35 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
Hershey and Lehigh Valley squared off in Friday's Game 2, which did not see a goal until Anthony Richard struck for the Phantoms at 18:41 of the second period. A third period power play for the Bears initially gave up a shorthanded goal to Zayde Wisdom at 2:05 before Alex Limoges converted to get Hershey on the board 45 seconds later, but Wisdom collected another shorthanded tally at 6:34 to cap the scoring and give Lehigh Valley the win to even the series at a game apiece.

IF YOU'RE NOT FIRST...:
During the regular season the Bears scored the first goal of the game 34 times, posting a record of 25-4-5-0 when scoring first. Ivan Miroshnichenko led Hershey with five first goals, while Brad Hunt led the team's blue line with two. Including results from the regular season and this series, the Bears are 5-0 against the Phantoms when scoring first.

SUPER SUNDAY:
Today's contest marks Hershey's first of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs to be held on a Sunday. The Bears played 15 games on Sunday in the regular season, going 11-4-0-0, and won all three of their road contests. Hershey's last playoff win on a Sunday was Game 2 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, a 5-2 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds to tie that series at 1-1. Hershey's last road Sunday playoff game was Game 5 of the 2017 Atlantic Division Finals at Providence, which was won by the Bears 3-2 in overtime via a Madison Bowey goal. Hershey has won its last nine straight Sunday playoff contests, dating back to Game 3 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Hartford Wolf Pack, a 2-1 win played at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Hershey picked up Sunday wins at home over Lehigh Valley on Dec. 8 (5-4) and March 2 (4-0).

SENSATIONAL SHEPARD:
Since making his postseason debut for the Chocolate and White at the opening of the 2023 playoffs, Hunter Shepard has started each of Hershey's last 42 playoff contests, which puts him fourth in franchise history for playoff games by a goaltender. Shepard's next playoff victory will move him into a tie with Michal Neuvirth (30) for second in franchise history.

INCLINE ROE:
Following Friday's Game 2 loss, head coach Todd Nelson indicated there may be some lineup changes for Game 3. One potential option for Hershey could be the insertion of Garrett Roe into the lineup to provide a spark. In a bit of synchronicity, after suffering their first loss in Game 3 of last year's series against Lehigh Valley, the Bears added Roe to the lineup for Game 4, and though he did not score in that game, the Bears were able to achieve victory. As Hershey continued through the 2024 playoffs, the club went 7-1 in games when Roe produced a point. The Bears continued to benefit from Roe's offensive contributions during the 2024-25 campaign, as Hershey went 13-0-1-0 during the regular season when Roe produced at least a point.

CLIMBING THE LADDER:
After earning his 29th playoff victory behind the bench for Hershey in Game 1, Todd Nelson's next win will move him past Bruce Boudreau and tie John Paddock for second in franchise history. His .690 postseason win percentage (29-13) with Hershey is third in franchise history, behind only Boudreau (.725, 29-11) and Doug Gibson (.750, 12-4). Nelson's 71 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).

BEARS BITES:
The Bears have an all-time postseason record of 18-13 against the Phantoms...Hershey is 5-3 in Game 3s over the past two postseason runs...The Bears have an all-time record of 5-8 in best-of-five series which begin with a 1-1 split...Hershey's penalty kill has gone 14-for-14 over its last five postseason games dating back to Game 4 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals...Forward Alex Limoges' goal in Game 2 gives him six points (1g, 5a) over his last four games in the Calder Cup Playoffs dating back to last year...Aaron Ness' next game will be his 65th playoff contest with the Bears, allowing him to pass Andrew Joudrey for seventh in franchise history...Wednesday night was the first time the Bears had allowed two shorthanded goals to an opponent in a postseason contest since Game 1 of the 2017 Atlantic Division Finals against the Providence Bruins, when Colby Cave and Jake DeBrusk scored for Providence while teammate Tommy Cross sat in the penalty box for high-sticking. Hershey would lose that game 3-1.

ON THIS DATE:
May 4, 2007 - With the Bears trailing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-0 in the second period in Game 2 of the East Division Finals, Alexandre Giroux took over for Hershey, assisting on Matt Hendricks' goal midway through the stanza to get the Bears on the board. After David Steckel pulled the Chocolate and White to within a goal early in the third period, Giroux found the tying marker at 12:31 and capped the night by scoring on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Nolan Schaefer at 5:57 of the second overtime to lift Hershey to a 4-3 double-OT win, giving the club a 2-0 lead in the series.