For the first time all season, the Hershey Bears had their backs to the wall. It looked like, for the first time since 2022, there would be a different champion in the American Hockey League (on the other side of the continent, the Coachella Valley Firebirds were eliminated, assuring a new team will come out of the Western Conference).
The Bears played the way they had all season, only kicking it up a notch. They scored three goals in the first period and six in total against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while hanging on for a 6-4 win in Game 4. Suddenly, the series shifts from Allentown to “Chocolatetown” for Game 5 and a winner-take-all matchup.
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In some ways, Game 4 embodied the season for the Bears. This team’s starting to show the wear and tear many teams experience after multiple deep playoff runs, and it looked like the rest of the league caught up to them. Then, they prove there’s still enough in the tank to survive. Winning three Calder Cup titles in a row appears impossible and unprecedented, yet the Bears keep winning.
The Bears put together their best performance of the season and showed the AHL why they can survive in a league trying to take them down. Now, it’s about confirming they can advance, something they’ve done multiple times in the past. The Bears must do it against a Phantoms team that’s already beaten them twice and given them fits throughout this five-game series. But they have the advantage, with the latest game being the case in point.
Nelson’s Adjustments Turn Series Around
One of the fascinations with coaching hockey in this era is the task of managing the game. Head coaches at the AHL and NHL levels must manage their rosters and particularly handle their goaltending units to win both in the regular season and the playoffs. Teams don’t have that starter they can rely on for 60 games and an entire playoff win (aside from the Winnipeg Jets, that is), and it’s up to the coach to find out when to start their backup or split starts, even in the playoffs.
Todd Nelson always turned to Hunter Shepard, the goaltender who led the Bears to back-to-back Calder Cup titles and started the first three games of this playoff run. Shepard had five days off to come back sharp, yet his Game 3 performance suggested a change was needed. “I just wanted to shake things up, if we’re going down, we’re going down swinging,” Nelson noted after a game where he went with Clay Stevenson as the starter.
With the season on the line, the move paid off. Stevenson outplayed Shepard all season and was the better option. It showed with his play in Game 4. Stevenson helped the Bears win the game and force a Game 5, which he’ll likely start as well. All the pressure is on him to deliver, and after his latest performance, he proved he can do just that.
One lineup decision makes all the difference. Nelson made a few and notably played seven defensemen in Game 4, adding Brad Hunt to the lineup. The veteran defenseman was added to operate the point from the power play and turn around a unit that was hapless in the series. The Bears scored two goals on the power play, with Hunt adding an assist on one of them.
Then there were the on-ice play adjustments, especially late in the game. The Bears usually sit back and cling to the lead, with their chip and chase being the fuel that closes out games. Nelson knew the Phantoms would play with a sense of urgency, and a 5-2 lead wouldn’t be enough, so he had the Bears pressing and ultimately adding another goal to seal the victory. Give Nelson five days to watch the tape and make adjustments, and he’ll have a fine game plan ready for the next game. Game 4 looked like a game where his team was coached up for the big game and prepared to take care of business.
How the Bears Found Offense
The Bears entered Game 4 with only six goals in three games. They scored six in Game 4. The contrast from early on in the series, where Game 1 was a defensive battle, made it seem like they were playing a different opponent. The Phantoms also like to forecheck and slow the game down, yet the recent game was anything but a slow game.
The Bears set the tone with their play on the offensive end of the ice. Sure, it helped that Phantoms goaltender Cal Petersen allowed three goals on his first 11 shots, but the Bears made it a tough night for him. Specifically, they got to the net and finished scoring chances. Perrick Dube isn’t known as a finisher, yet he collected a few rebounds to find the back of the net twice to help set the tone.
It’s easy to blame the Phantoms for those goals, ones where the puck was loose in front of the net, where anyone could come in and knock it in. It’s hard to blame them for the plays the Bears make from the point with their defensemen stepping up and scoring. Chase Priskie, Luke Philp, and Hunt generated shots on the net and made the difference, combining for a goal and three assists. “It’s hard to score goals, so you’re just trying to get the most pucks to the net,” Dube noted after the game, one where the defense set up the offense.
One of the integral qualities of a Calder Cup team is proving they can win in multiple ways. The Bears proved in Game 1 that they can win with defense, shutting out the Phantoms, but in Game 3, they couldn’t keep up with the Phantoms’ offense, scoring only twice in a 4-2 loss.
The latest game was a reminder that the Bears still have that offense in them to run up the scoring. This was a team that won Game 6 of the Calder Cup Final by finding the back of the net five times, and once again, they showed that when they need offense, they can get it.
Bears Play Their Style & Close Things Out
The Bears kept the pressure on in the third period and still looked for shots on the net. Yet, it was their ability to forecheck and defend that stood out. The Phantoms found offense and made the game close, finding the back of the net twice in the final frame. “We just wanted to be ready for the first five minutes of the third for them to make a push, which they did. They came out at us, you have to give them credit that they don’t quit,” Nelson stated after the game.
However, the Bears forced them to go the full length of the ice and work for those two goals. By the time the Phantoms scored their fourth of the night, it was 6-4, and they looked spent while staring at a clock with only five minutes left. The Bears let the forecheck wear down the opposition, and it did to secure the win.
Along with the checking came structure in the defensive zone. The Bears crowded the net and played the shooting lanes, daring the Phantoms to shoot the puck through traffic and try to collect rebounds. “They put their bodies on the line for me,” Stevenson noted after the game, where the defense not only blocked the shots but cleaned up the loose pucks to prevent the second chance shots. “We do a great job of that, the first saves are huge in this league,” Stevenson added, and it’s why the Bears came out on top.
Game 4 was not a great showing on defense from the Bears, considering they allowed four goals. That said, it’s important to look at how they started and finished. The Bears set the tone early on and held the Phantoms to three shots in the first period while they scored three goals. They allowed two quick goals in the second period but they stepped up in the final frame to force a winner-take-all game ahead.
How the Bears Will Advance
Game 5 is on Sunday, and it will be in Giant Center, where a team that sells out during the regular season will come ready to roar. While Game 4 was wild, especially at the end with fights after every whistle, the upcoming game will likely be the opposite. “I think it will be tight, I think both teams will play defense,” Nelson stated after Game 4.
It will be a tight game where one mistake can decide it. One penalty can be the undoing for either team, and in a game where discipline makes the difference, the Bears have the edge. The Bears have 76 penalty minutes in four playoff games, the Phantoms have 131 in six games. This season, the Phantoms had 1,046 penalty minutes, the second-most in the Atlantic Division, while the Bears were the least penalized team with 775. It’s safe to say that discipline is a strength for one team and a weakness for the other.
The Bears will win by playing their style of hockey. It’s what helped them secure the best record in the Atlantic Division and made them the team to beat all season. The Phantoms want to be the next dynasty, but to be that, they’ll have to beat the Bears at their own game. The Phantoms must win with defense and goaltending, which, after the recent game, is a tough ask, especially since they face a team that’s been there before and done it before.
