Staring elimination in the face, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-2-0) are in a must-win situation throughout the remainder of the Atlantic Division Semifinals.
They dropped Game 1 against the Hershey Bears (2-0-0) in regulation, 2-1. The Bears crushed the Phantoms in Game 2, 5-1. The tide has turned on Lehigh Valley, who swept the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Atlantic Division First Round.
But the road to the Calder Cup is never easy. Great teams overcome adversity en route to championships.
The Phantoms must sweep their way into the Atlantic Division Finals. Fans will “Rally the Valley” again, inciting another ‘Orange Out.’ If they force a Game 4, it will happen at the PPL Center on Saturday. However, it all begins with one win versus the Bears.
The Bears are reigning and defending Calder Cup champions. The series isn’t over, and they’ve yet to hammer the final nail in the Phantoms’ coffin. However, Hershey is competing on a higher level. They were one of two AHL teams to break 100 points and the only team to break 50 wins during the 2023-2024 season. Lehigh Valley is the downright underdog in dire straits.
Last Game (Lehigh Valley Phantoms): 5-1 at Hershey Bears, L
Last Game (Hershey Bears): 5-1 vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, W
Last Game Between Opponents: 5/4/2024 at the Giant Center
Series: Hershey Bears lead Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 2-0
When: 7:05pm
Where: PPL Center
Broadcast Info: AHL TV, Phantoms365 App
Projected Lineup (Lehigh Valley Phantoms), per Bob Rotruck:
#28 Olle Lycksell – #9 Tanner Laczynski – #24 Adam Brooks
#13 Brendan Furry – #22 Rhett Gardner – #23 Bobby Brink
#17 Garrett Wilson – #56 Jacob Gaucher – #20 Cooper Marody
#10 Ethan Polei – #91 Elliot Desnoyers – #25 Matt Miller
#37 Adam Ginning – #12 Ronnie Attard
#6 Emil Andrae – #7 Louie Belpedio
#19 Hunter McDonald – #5 Ethan Samson
#40 Cal Petersen
(#35 Alexei Kolosov)
‘Chippy’ isn’t a term that does this series justice. In Game 2, the Phantoms and Bears engaged in a five-on-five brawl. Louie Belpedio and Pierrick Dubé cued the fisticuffs, and everyone else grappled the nearest opponent. Jon-Randall Avon, Brendan Furry, Rhett Gardner, Hunter McDonald, Zayde Wisdom, and Ronnie Attard received ten-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the final three minutes of regulation.
McDonald scored the lone goal for the Phantoms. It was the first professional goal of his career. Adam Brooks shot the puck into traffic, and McDonald swiped the puck past Hunter Shepard. His pairing with Helge Grans was arguably the most effective against the Bears in the 5-1 loss. Ian Laperrière elected to deploy an 11F/7D lineup.
Projected Lineup (Hershey Bears):
#21 Joe Snively – #29 Hendrix Lapierre – #28 Ethen Frank
#12 Alex Limoges – #19 Mike Vecchione – #18 Pierrick Dubé
#10 Ivan Miroshnichenko – #15 Jimmy Huntington – #11 Matthew Phillips
#45 Matt Strome – #38 Henrik Rybinski – #44 Bogdan Trineyev
#27 Aaron Ness – #42 Dylan McIlrath
#5 Lucas Johansen – #22 Chase Priskie
#7 Hardy Häman Aktell – #26 Logan Day
#30 Hunter Shepard
(#31 Clay Stevenson)
The puck drops at 7:05pm from the PPL Center.
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