Phantoms Top Bears 4-2. Can Clinch Series on Friday
May 4, 2025
Allentown, PA – Veteran goaltender Cal Petersen was ready when needed. He just didn’t know when that would happen. As it turned out, the Phantoms turned to the lefty backstop midway through the second period in Game 3 of the Atlantic Division semifinals. Petersen was perfect, and occasionally incredible, in his 15-save relief performance in a 4-2 victory over the Hershey Bears on Sunday night at PPL Center as Lehigh Valley took control of the series with a 2 games to 1 lead. The Phantoms have a chance to eliminate the Bears on home ice on Friday, May 9 in Game 4 of the Best-of-5 Series.
“Team effort. Was it perfect? No,” head coach Ian Laperriere said. “It’s a helluva team we’re playing. They’re going to have their push whic they did. I like our response. We went down a goal. We didn’t panic. WE stayed with it. Cal (Petersen) came in. Parker went down. We talk about using everybody. Well, Cal was ready to go. He’s a great pro and a great leader. I wasn’t even worried about that. And he came out big and made a couple huge saves and we found a way to beat a helluva team.”
Jacob Gaucher (SH), Garrett Wilson (PP), Nikita Grebenkin and Olle Lycksell all scored for the Phantoms while Emil Andrae and Anthony Richard had two assists apiece before a raucous and electric crowd on another Orange Out Night in downtown Allentown. The Phantoms penalty kill also came through when it needed to once again holding the Bears to 0-for-6 on the power play. Hershey has been limited to just 1-for-16 in the three games of the series.
And, like Game 2, the penalty kill also helped drive some of the team’s offense. Jacob Gaucher pursued a puck near the Hershey line while the Bears were on the power play and, when he stole it from Mike Sgarbossa, was able to rush in at Hunter Shepard and toss in a backhander for a 1-0 lead at 11:23 into the first. It was the third shorthanded goal for the Phantoms in the series along with the two shorties Zayde Wisdom scored in Game 2 at Hershey on Friday.
The Phantoms were outshot in the first period 7-5 and Hershey was ready to stay on the attack. The Bears came out with a 17-shot attack in the second period and took a 2-1 lead on consecutive goals early in the frame. Defenseman Andrew Perrot’s shot from center point squeaked through a screened Parker Gahagen at 3:03 to tie the game at 1-1. And first-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko scored on the rush and off the fingertips of Gahagen’s glove at 4:27 and suddenly the Chocolate and White took the lead.
Hershey was still coming on strong and Gahagen made some more nice stops to keep Lehigh Valley within one. Until Mike Sgarbossa’s backhander. Gahagen impressively lunged out with the right pad to make another key save but it was also one that he might have felt. At the next break, Gahagen went off with an injury and Cal Petersen had to come in relatively cold wioth 8:48 remaining in the second period.
Petersen had backstopped the Phantoms through their 2024 Calder Cup Playoff run and gave Lehigh Valley a strong chance in last year’s Division Semifinals against Hershey. He was up for the challenge again. And so was the team in front of him with several nice blocked shots while Petersen got squared away in the contest.
“Yeah, just like honestly any other game,” Petersen said. “I think you prepare the same way regardless if you’re playing or not. So whenever a situation like that happens you can kind of just step in and be ready when you can. It’s obviously hard to stay engaged when you’re just watching the game on the jumbotron. But I was lucky to get a few early and get into the game and the boys played well in front of me.
A few minutes later, it was Lehigh Valley’s chance to turn on the offense. Right off a power-play faceoff win, Garrett Wilson found Jett Luchanko on the backdoor who was denied on a sterling right-pad save by Hunter Shepard. But the Phantoms’ captain muscled his way into the slot to jab home the rebound past Shepard at 13:09 and tie the game at 2-2.
It would take less than three minutes for the Phantoms to go back on top. The energetic Nikita Grebenkin was ready to unload from the right dot after the Phantom collected a rebound of a shot by Emil Andrae that was blocked to the endboards. Grebenkin roofed it to the upper-left corner at 15:51 for a 3-2 lead. Having joined the Phantoms in March in a trade from Toronto, Grebenkin wasn’t sure what to expect as a member of the Orange and Black but he was ready to thank the crowd with his enthusiastic waving to the fans when he came back out as the night’s #1 Star of the Game.
“The people at the rink today and nice energy,” Grebenkin said. “Thank you people who stay at the rink who like my team and (they cheer) ‘Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go Phantoms’ and thank you, guys!”
The Phantoms pushed through the third period with a one-goal lead but eventually got more offense rolling at the Hershey Bears. With Lehigh Valley attacking in waves, Shepard was barely keeping his team in the game. A steal by Elliot Desnoyers out in front was repelled and a try for Richard on an almost-breakaway on an impressive, long pass down ice by Grebenkin were somehow fought off.
Lycksell zoomed up the right wing and shot to the short-side of Shepard past his glove hand with 5:51 left after a lead pass by Emil Andrae for a 4-2 lead.
Petersen saved his best for last as Hershey had a 6-on-4 and 6-on-5 at the end. He dove across to his left to get a paddle on Alex Limoges’ try from the right of the cage. And he scrambled across for a spectacular blocker save off the left arm just a couple minutes later.
Game 4 at PPL Center is Friday, May 9 at 7:05 p.m. The winner of the series will take on the winner of the Charlotte vs. Providence series. The Charlotte Checkers have a 2-0 series lead in the other Atlantic Division Semifinal.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 11:23 – LV, J. Gaucher (Unassisted) (SH) (1-0)
2nd 3:03 – HER, A. Perrott (M. Strome, A. Limoges (1-1)
2nd 4:27 – HER, I. Miroshnichenko (L. Philp) (1-2)
2nd 13:09 – LV, G. Wilson (J. Luchanko, A. Richard) (PP) (2-2)
2nd 15:51 – LV, N. Grebenkin (E. Andrae, A. Richard) (3-2)
3rd 14:09 – LV, O. Lycksell (E. Andrae) (4-2)
Shots:
LV 29 – HER 32
PP:
LV 1/4, HER 0/6
Goaltenders:
LV – P. Gahagen (ND) (15/17)
LV – C. Petersen (W) (1-0) (15/15)
HER – H. Shepard (L) (22/26)
Phantoms lead series 2-1
Calder Cup Playoffs – Atlantic Division Semifinals
Best of 5 Series
Game 1 – Wednesday, April 30 – Phantoms 0 at Hershey Bears 3
Game 2 – Friday, May 2 (7:00) – Phantoms 3 at Hershey Bears 1
Game 3 – Sunday, May 4 (5:05) – Hershey Bears 2 at Phantoms 4
Game 4 – Friday, May 9 (7:05) – Hershey Bears at Phantoms
Game 5 – Sunday, May 11 (5:00) – Phantoms at Hershey Bears
