Hershey Bears VS Lehigh Valley Phantoms: Round 2, Game 1 Takeaways
Nothing like playoff hockey on a Wednesday evening in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Hershey Bears earned a first round bye and were able to practice, rest up, and be ready for the playoff road ahead of them. During this round, the Bears take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Prior to last night’s game, Goaltender Mitch Gibson and Defenseman Andrew Perrott were recalled from Hershey’s ECHL Affiliate, South Carolina Stingrays. The Stingrays were eliminated from Kelly Cup Playoff contention in game seven against the Orlando Solar Bears on Tuesday evening. This playoff season is the Bears 72 playoff appearance. During the course of the regular season they went 44-20-7-1, earning their 20th regular season division title. Hershey’s lifetime record against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms is 159-108-8-23-17.
Takeaway One: Goaltending
Both Hershey and Lehigh Valley have phenomenal Goaltending. Hunter Shepard was between the pipes for Hershey, Parker Gahagen for Lehigh Valley. During the regular season, Shepard went 23-11-4-3 and had a 2.80 GAA and a .891 save percentage. Gahagen went 12-4-3-1 during the regular season for Lehigh and had a 2.39 GAA and .916 save percentage. Both netminders are seasoned veterans and have been through playoff appearances before. Shepard already having two Calder Cup Championships under his belt, knows the tenacity and hard work it takes to get through the AHL playoff format.
Takeaway Two: Playing Tired
From the very start of the game, viewers of the game could tell which team was rested and ready to go, and which team had already used some energy. Lehigh Valley had already played Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Round One and swept them in two games. Lehigh came out playing very tired, compared to in the prior series. Gahagen kept the team in the game most of the night, despite allowing three goals.
Takeaway Three: Defending Champions
The Hershey Bears are gunning for the coveted three-peat. Having won the Calder cup in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 season, they are hungry for a third in a row. Lehigh has the young talent coming out of college and junior leagues, like Alex Bump, but Hershey has the seasoned veterans and players that have already been through this once, and in some cases, twice, like veteran Mike Vecchione. In each league players move up, they are playing against older, stronger, and faster players than the league before.
Game Two, Round Two will be held at 7:05 pm at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Friday May 2nd, 2025.
- Samantha Wismer/ Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Leah Hollenbach/Olde City Sports Network