Bears Escape Late

Phantoms Rally Late but Fall in Final Seconds

November 15, 2025

Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms saw their five-game winning streak end in dramatic and heartbreaking fashion on Saturday night, falling 4–3 to the Hershey Bears at PPL Center after surrendering the deciding goal with just 12.6 seconds left. Despite outshooting Hershey 41–20 and staging a furious third-period comeback, the Phantoms were undone by late mistakes with the puck — including the final turnover that allowed the Bears to steal the rivalry matchup.

“It’s the immature moments that cost us two points,” said head coach John Snowden. “All we’ve got to do is chip the puck out of our zone and live to fight another day. We just need to get ourselves to overtime.”

It was a frustrating end to a game Lehigh Valley controlled for long stretches, particularly territorially. The Phantoms carried the shot clock and tempo from the outset, generating a 13–6 first-period advantage, but Hershey’s tight defensive structure smothered Lehigh Valley’s early rhythm. Carson Bjarnason kept things scoreless with several poised stops, including a point-blank denial on Spencer Smallman late in the frame. Alexis Gendron nearly broke through on a 2-on-1 rush, but Bjorklund shut the door, and the period ended deadlocked at 0–0 despite a strong push from the Phantoms.

The second period brought more pressure from Lehigh Valley and more missed opportunities. Early in the frame, Gendron nearly slipped a sharp-angle shot through, and the Phantoms earned another power play that looked significantly more dangerous than the first, but Hershey survived it. The Bears capitalized shortly afterward when former Phantom Matt Strome found space between the circles and ripped home the opening goal with 7:03 left. A few minutes later, during Lehigh Valley’s first penalty kill of the night, a badly timed line change left the Phantoms exposed on a stunning 3-on-0 breakaway. The Bears executed perfectly, with Bogdan Trineyev finishing a crisp passing sequence sparked by a stretch-pass assist from Bjorklund, and Hershey suddenly led 2–0 despite being heavily outshot.

Snowden acknowledged his team’s push but pointed to the Bears’ opportunistic style: “They feast off of our mistakes. They’re a mature group. They’re never going to go away.”

Lehigh Valley entered the third period needing a spark, and they found it quickly. In transition, Alex Bump threaded a perfect head-man pass to Denver Barkey, who accelerated past coverage and snapped a sharp high-glove finish to spoil Bjorklund’s shutout bid and cut the deficit to 2–1. The building erupted, but Hershey quieted the crowd again ten minutes later when Protas jammed in a rebound off a scramble at the side of the net to restore the Bears’ two-goal advantage.

The Phantoms refused to fold. With 9:07 left, a Hershey penalty opened the door, and Lehigh Valley delivered the precise execution that had eluded them earlier. Gendron used his blazing straight-line speed to split two defenders wide on the entry, then feathered a perfect pass across the crease to Cooper Marody for a tap-in to make it 3–2. Bump picked up the secondary assist for a multi-point night, another strong showing from the rookie.

Just over a minute later, another delay-of-game penalty against Hershey gave Lehigh Valley another golden chance — and they capitalized again. Working from the slot, Lane Pederson settled into soft ice, and Anthony Richard fed him a clean, perfectly timed pass. Pederson buried it with confidence to tie the game 3–3 with 5:02 left, completing the comeback and sending PPL Center into a full roar.

Snowden liked the response: “I liked our resolve toward the end, capitalizing on the power play to get ourselves back into the game.”

But the final minutes unraveled quickly. Hershey took a second delay-of-game penalty with 3:45 remaining, giving Lehigh Valley a chance to take the lead, but just 28 seconds into the opportunity, Pederson was whistled for tripping, forcing 4-on-4 play and slowing momentum. Still, the Phantoms pressed, piling up shots and zone time as they pushed for the go-ahead strike.

Then came the decisive moment. With the final seconds ticking away and the puck on a stick near the defensive wall, the Phantoms attempted a contested play instead of clearing to safety. Hershey pounced immediately, forced the turnover, and Brett Leason connected to Strome for his second of the game, lifting the Bears to a stunning late victory with only 12.6 seconds left.

“It’s a valuable lesson,” Snowden said. “We have to play way more mature against that team.”

The Phantoms outshot Hershey 41–20, posted two power-play goals at key moments, and received strong performances from Bump, Barkey, Richard, and the reunited Barkey-Bump-Pederson trio.

Lehigh Valley (9-4-1) won’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption. The home-and-home series concludes Sunday afternoon in Chocolatetown, where the Phantoms will look to even the weekend against their fiercest rival.