The Hershey Bears' quest to be the second ever team to win three straight Calder Cups begins tonight Apr. 30 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Here is everything you need to know about the matchup:
The Bears earned a first round bye after winning the Atlantic Division and finishing second in the AHL with 96 points. They had a record of 44-20-7-1 while the Phantoms finished fifth in the division with 80 points and a 36-28-6-2 record.
The record between the two was 5-4-1 in the regular season.
The Phantoms upset the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Atlantic Division first round, defeating them two games to zero.
The Bears will begin the series without leading scorer Ethan Bear who is serving as a black ace with the Washington Capitals.
Hershey head coach Todd Nelson sits third all-time in Calder Cup Playoff wins with 70, sitting five wins behind Bun Cook (75) and John Paddock (77).
Key Players
Jett Luchanko (F) - Lehigh Valley
After wrapping up his OHL season Luchanko joined the Phantoms for nine games at the end of the season and led Lehigh Valley in scoring with four assists in two games against the Penguins.
Hendrix Lapierre (F) - Hershey
Last season's Calder Cup Playoff MVP, Lapierre recorded 32 points in 32 games this season and will be relied upon for offense this series.
Hunter Shepard (G) - Hershey
Last season's Baz Bastien Memorial winner as the AHL's best goaltender and 2023 Calder Cup Playoff MVP, Shepard had a subpar season by his standards, posting a record of 23-11-4 with a 2.80 GAA and .891 SP.
The 29-year-old is essential the Bears' playoff run and will look to find his form from last season.
Parker Gahagen (G) - Lehigh Valley
The 31-year-old stopped 59 of 63 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and will need a similar performance to keep pace with the Bears.
He had a 12-4-3 record with a .916 SP and 2.39 GAA this season.
Alex Bump (F) - Lehigh Valley
Another addition to the Phantoms' youth movement, Bump captured the NCAA National Championship with Western Michigan University and jumped right into the Lehigh Valley lineup.
The 21-year-old recorded three points in two regular season games and added two goals in two playoff games to eliminate the Penguins.
The best-of-five series gets underway tonight in Hershey.
Chase Priskie (D) - Hershey
With Bear up with the Capitals Priskie will be the primary recipient of more ice-time and be tasked with more difficult matchups.
The 29-year-old recorded 12 goals and 35 points in 61 games this season.
Check out The Hockey News' Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers teams sites for more updates on the series.
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