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East Division Semifinals Preview - Philadelphia Phantoms vs. Hershey Bears

April 15, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release


PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phantoms and the Hershey Bears will open up the East Division Semifinals of the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs this Thursday night with Game 1 at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Phantoms are making their second consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs and 10th in their 13-year history. Hershey is going to the Calder Cup Playoffs for an astounding 60th time in their 71 seasons of play, and for the fourth year in a row.

Games 1 and 2 will feature a block party outside the Wachovia Spectrum beginning at 5:00 each night. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy great entertainment and get ready for the game. Tickets are still available at the extraordinary prices of $10 for adults and $5 for kids 14 and under.

SEASON SERIES

The Phantoms and Bears played a 12-game season series in the 2008-09 regular season. Full game recaps can be found later in this document. The Phantoms posted a record of 4-7-1-0 on the season. From Hershey's perspective, its record was 8-2-0-2. The two teams met seven times between October 17 and November 29, and after that did not play again until January 17. The clubs played a pair of games in February, and then did not meet until the season-ending home-and-home series of last weekend. Both of Philadelphia's regulation wins were in the form of 5-2 victories, one in each building. Of the other 10 games, six of them were decided by one goal, and five of those six were won by Hershey.

SERIES SCHEDULE

As the division champions, the Bears hold home ice advantage over the fourth-place Phantoms, but the series will open up with Games 1 and 2 at the Wachovia Spectrum while the GIANT Center hosts Disney on Ice from April 15-19. The series returns to Hershey for up to three games - Games 3 and 4, and then Game 5 if necessary. The series would then shift back to the Spectrum for Game 6 and then to Hershey for Game 7, both if necessary.

Traditionally, the Spectrum has been occupied by the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus for 10 days following the conclusion of the AHL season, but this year the circus doesn't come to Philadelphia until May 13. As a result, the first-round games at the Wachovia Spectrum will be the first playoff games in the building since the 2002 Western Conference Qualifier against the Rochester Americans.

Dates and times are as follows:

Game 1: Thu, April 16 - Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05 - Click Here For Tickets Game 2: Sat., April 18 - Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05 - Click Here For Tickets Game 3: Wed., April 22 - Philadelphia at Hershey, 7:00 Game 4: Fri., April 24 - Philadelphia at Hershey, 7:00 *Game 5: Sat., April 25 - Philadelphia at Hershey, 7:00 *Game 6: Sun., April 26 - Hershey at Philadelphia, 5:05 *Game 7: Tue., April 28 - Philadelphia at Hershey, 7:00

TEAM LEADERS

Philadelphia

C Jared Ross - 29 G, 40 A, 69 pts in 64 games, +17... 2009 AHL All-Star MVP (currently called up to Flyers)

C Jonathan Matsumoto - 29 G, 34 A, 63 pts in 78 games, -12

D Danny Syvret - 12 G, 45 A, 57 pts in 76 games, +7... 1st Team AHL All-Star

LW Patrick Maroon - 23 G, 31 A for 54 pts in 80 games, +2

RW David Laliberte - 28 G, 20 A for 48 pts in 70 games, +3, AHL Player of the Week for April 5, 2009

LW Boyd Kane - 17 G, 26 A for 43 pts in 58 games, +5

D Nate Guenin - +14 in 62 games

D Lasse Kukkonen - +11 in 29 games

LW Jonathon Kalinski - 10 G, +11 in 46 games

RW Jeff Szwez - 12 G, +8 in 69 games, 6 GWG

RW Matt Clackson - 263 PIM, 33 fights in 80 games

G Scott Munroe - 31-19-4 in 56 GP, 2.46 GAA, .926 sv%, 4 shutouts

G Jean-Sebastien Aubin - 10-10-1 in 23 GP, 3.36 GAA, .896 sv%

Hershey

C Alexandre Giroux - 60 G, 37 A for 97 pts in 69 games, +23 - 2009 AHL MVP, leading goal scorer, first-team all-star

C Keith Aucoin - 25 G, 71 A for 96 pts in 70 games, +28 - league leader in assists, first-team all-star

LW Chris Bourque - 21 G, 52 A for 73 pts in 69 games, +10

RW Graham Mink - 32 G, 27 A for 59 pts in 68 games, +26 - typically plays on line with Giroux and Aucoin

C Kyle Wilson - 28 G, 30 A for 58 pts in 80 games, +13

D Patrick McNeil - +24 in 46 games

D Sami Lepisto - +24 in 70 games

D Karl Alzner - +23 in 48 games

D Greg Amadio - 163 PIM in 51 games

D Grant McNeil - 137 PIM in 25 games

G Daren Machesney - 19-12-1 in 36 GP, 3.24 GAA, .876 sv%, 3 SO

G Michal Neuvirth - 9-5-2 in 17 GP, 2.70 GAA, .913 sv%, 1 SO

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Phantoms were trailing Binghamton by 12 points in the East Division standings with four games in hand on March 14 when they arrived in Albany to play the River Rats. The Phantoms won that night, starting a 17-game stretch in which they went 11-3-0-3. Over the same stretch, Binghamton posted a record of 5-7-0-1 in their 13 games that were remaining from that point. As a result, the Phantoms overtook the Senators on April 5 after a win over Norfolk. The Sens pulled even on April 8 with a thrilling overtime win over Syracuse, but the Phantoms clinched on April 10 with a 5-2 win over Hershey coupled with a 6-1 Binghamton loss to Norfolk.

The Bears came flying out of the gates early in the regular season, putting together a record of 18-5-0-1 by the end of November, which ended with the club's second 9-0 win of the month - first over Binghamton, and then over the Phantoms on Novmeber 29. During those first 24 games, the Bears racked up an astounding 107 goals, and finished with a league-leading 296 tallies - 22 more than Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the next closest team. Hershey was briefly overtaken by Bridgeport in mid-March for the division's top spot, and continued to jockey with the Sound Tigers for the rest of the season. The Bears wrapped up a playoff spot on March 27, but it wasn't until the April 11 game against Philadelphia that they clinched the division title. Hershey actually ended up with the same number of points (106) and wins (49) as Bridgeport, but won the division by virtue of their head-to-head record against the Sound Tigers.

PLAYOFF HISTORY

The Phantoms and Bears have met in the playoffs three times before, but the last time was nine years ago, during the 2000 Calder Cup Playoffs.

1997 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS - MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION FINALS

Hershey wins 4 games to 3

Being Philadelphia's first season, it was the first playoff matchup between the two teams, but probably ended up being one of the most important series in the history of each franchise, as it derailed Philadelphia's playoff run and propelled Hershey to a championship. The Phantoms were the AHL's regular season champions in that first season, posting a record of 49-18-3-10 for the best record ever by an AHL first-year franchise to that point. After easily dispatching the Baltimore Skipjacks in a three-game sweep of the division semifinals, the Phantoms met up with Hershey, for which many of the team's players had suited up just one year earlier when the Bears were the AHL affiliate of the Flyers. Hershey had taken a four-game series win over the Kentucky Thoroughblades. Philadelphia held home ice advantage, but Hershey stole it with a 5-3 win in Game 1. The Phantoms managed a split by taking Game 2 by a 7-4 count, a meeting that was legendary for a line brawl that featured a center-ice bout between goaltenders Neil Little and Sinue Wallinheimo. The Phantoms then lost 4-2 in Game 3 at Hersheypark Arena. But Philadelphia charged back, winning Game 4 3-2 in overtime and then returning to Philadelphia to win Game 5 3-0 behind a shutout from Little. Needing just one more victory to move on to the conference finals, the Phantoms returned to Hershey and lost a heartbreaking Game 6 when Blair Atcheynum scored 42 seconds into the third overtime to give the Bears a 3-2 victory. The series returned to Philadelphia for Game 7, which the Bears won 3-2 on a goal by Mike McHugh. The Bears went on to win their eighth Calder Cup championship.

1998 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS - WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Philadelphia wins 4 games to 0

The name of the series was different but it was another second round series between the clubs, again with the Phantoms coming off a regular season championship. This time, it wasn't as close. The first game, a 3-2 win, was the only one-goal contest. The Phantoms won Game 2 5-3, including an empty-net goal, and then went to Hersheypark Arena for two more wins - 4-2 in Game 3 and 3-0 in Game 4 behind another Neil Little shutout. Little had a 1.75 goals-against average in the series. The Phantoms went on to defeat Albany in six games and Saint John in another six to claim their second Calder Cup championship.

2000 MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Hershey wins 3 games to 2

This time, the Bears finished a point ahead of the Phantoms in the regular season and held home ice advantage, but the deciding Game 5 was held at the Wachovia Center because of scheduling issues in Hershey. The Phantoms threatened to get revenge for the series three years earlier - Hershey won the first two games to take a 3-2 lead, but the Phantoms fought back with wins in Games 3 and 4 to knot the series going into Game 5. But the Bears shut out the Phantoms 4-0 in Game 5 to take the series. It's the first one-round playoff exit for the Phantoms in their young history.

CONNECTIONS

The Bears were the AHL affiliate of the Flyers for 12 seasons, from the sale of the Maine Mariners in 1984 until the Phantoms were founded in 1996. Several current members of the Flyers organization played for the Bears during that period - pro scouts Ross Fitzpatrick and Al Hill, Flyers head coach John Stevens, Flyers assistant coach Craig Berube, Flyers radio color commentator Chris Therien, and Phantoms goaltending coach Neil Little.

The 1987-88 season was the best season in Hershey's franchise history at that point, with the team reaching 50 wins for the first time and winning its seventh Calder Cup championship. Current Phantoms head coach John Paddock was the coach of that team, and was named the AHL Coach of the Year that season for his efforts. Flyers scouts Al Hill and Ross Fitzpatrick and Flyers coaches John Stevens and Craig Berube were all members of that team.

Phantoms captain Boyd Kane is in his second tour of duty with the Phantoms. He captained Philadelphia to the Calder Cup in 2005, and then did the same thing with the Bears in the 2006. Kane's championship in Hershey was the team's ninth in franchise history.

Phantoms defenseman Danny Syvret joined Hershey late last season and was part of the Bears' playoff run that ended in the first round against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Bears forward Darren Reid was with the Phantoms last season before signing with Hershey this past summer.

STORYLINES

Phantoms winger James van Riemsdyk is in his first professional postseason after completing a two-year career at the University of New Hampshire. van Riemsdyk appeared in Philadelphia's final six regular season games and recorded his first professional goal on April 8 in Albany. He was the second overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

The Phantoms are playing their 13th and final season in Philadelphia. The team has been sold to The Brooks Group out of Pittsburgh and will be relocating over the summer. A season ticket drive is currently underway in Glens Falls, NY, where the team could be placed temporarily while a new arena is built in the Allentown, PA area.

Philadelphia's current roster features 13 rookies. The average age of the team is 23 years, five months.

In addition to their four playoff series, the Bears and Phantoms played 154 regular season games against one another. The Phantoms sold out the Spectrum 20 times during the regular season over their history, and 11 of those sellouts were against Hershey. A 21st sellout came on June 8, 1998 when the Phantoms won their first Calder Cup over the Saint John Flames.

GAME RECAPS

Friday, October 17 - Hershey 5, Philadelphia 4 (boxscore)

Dean Arsene scored with 2:24 left in regulation to give the Bears a come-from-behind, 5-4 win over the Phantoms at the Wachovia Spectrum. The Bears outshot the Phantoms 43-25 on the evening, but still needed Arsene's late heroics to remain undefeated on the young American Hockey League season. Danny Syvret led the Phantoms with a three-point night, while Jonathan Matsumoto tallied a pair of goals. The teams went back and forth throughout regulation, with the Phantoms holding a 4-3 lead at the second intermission. But Mathieu Perreault scored at 13:32 of the third period, paving the way for Arsene's game winner. Jean-Sebastien Aubin turned away 38 of the 43 shots the Bears fired at him. At the other end, Simeon Varmalov stopped 21 of 25 Phantoms chances. Philadelphia finished the night 2-for-9 on the power play while Hershey was shut out in seven opportunities on the man advantage.

PP: 2-for-9 PK: 7-for-7 SOG: 25 SOGA: 43

Saturday, November 1 - Philadelphia 5, Hershey 2 (boxscore)

Boyd Kane recorded the first Phantoms hat trick in almost a year and his team went 3-for-6 on the power play en route to a 5-2 win over the Bears at the GIANT Center. The Bears were the beneficiary of a fortunate bounce when a shot by former Phantom Darren Reid bounced off the end boards and back in front of the net, where Kyle Wilson was waiting to put it home. Things turned around for the Phantoms in the second period and they left the middle frame with a 3-2 lead after three goals by Kane, Claude Giroux added an insurance goal and the third power-play marker of the evening with 4:19 gone in the third period, and Patrick Maroon then finished off the scoring with an empty-netter with 1:48 remaining. J.S. Aubin recorded his first win as a Phantom with 30 saves on 32 Hershey shots, while Daren Machensey faced 25 of Philadelphia's 26 shots and turned away 21 of them.

PP: 3-for-6 PK: 6-for-6 SOG: 26 SOGA: 32

Sunday, November 2 - Philadelphia 4, Hershey 3 (SO) (boxscore)

The Bears erased a three-goal deficit with less than 10 minutes to play, but the Phantoms finished things off in the shootout and took a 4-3 victory at the Wachovia Spectrum. David Laliberte netted two goals in regulation and one in the shootout to pace the Phantoms attack. Boyd Kane also scored for the Phantoms, and Patrick Maroon secured the deciding goal in the sixth round of the shootout. Oskar Osala scored twice and Mathieu Perreault tied the game with less than two minutes to play. Both Aubin and Goepfert made 31 saves on 34 shots. PP: 2-for-7 PK: 8-for-8 SOG: 31 SOGA: 31

Friday, November 14 - Hershey 3, Phantoms 2 (boxscore)

The Bears fired 39 shots at Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe and the three that found the back of the net were enough for a 3-2 in the first game of a home and home series between the two clubs. The Bears took an early 1-0 lead just 2:04 into the first period on a goal by Francois Bouchard off a Phantoms turnover. Philadelphia answered back at the 11:15 mark on a bang-bang play where Claude Giroux directed a faceoff win to Boyd Kane in front of the Hershey net, who slid it through the fivehole of Bears goaltender Simeon Varmalov before he could even react to the play. Hershey regained the lead 7:36 into the second period on Graham Mink's rebound conversion of a Chris Bourque shot, and it became a two-goal lead just over three minutes later when Bourque bounced a puck in on a power play at 10:42. The Phantoms cut the lead to one on a shorthanded tally at 12:41 of the second period when Jonathon Kalinski stole the puck at center ice and raced towards the Bears net on a 2-on-1 with Matt Clackson. Kalinski called his own number and wristed a shot through Varmalov to make the score 3-2. The Phantoms had opportunities to even the score in the third period, but could not convert late in the game, and ended up with just their second loss in their last nine games.

PP: 0-for-2 PK: 5-for-6 SOG: 24 SOGA: 39

Saturday, November 15 - Hershey 7, Phantoms 3 (boxscore)

The Phantoms held a 3-2 lead after playing a spirited second period, but the Bears erased those sentiments with a five-goal third period as they roared to a 7-3 win at the GIANT Center. Oskar Osala posted a hat trick against the Phantoms, who picked up two goals from Jonathan Matsumoto in a losing cause. Hershey took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission after Osala's first goal, but the Phantoms scored three in the second period - one each on the power play from Danny Syvret and Matsumoto, along with a successful Matsumoto penalty shot. Kyle Wilson scored for Hershey in the second period to keep the Bears within a goal. But they outshot the Phantoms 23-6 in the third period and received two goals from Osala and one each from Chris Bourque, Keith Aucoin and Quintin Laing. J.S. Aubin took the loss with 34 saves on 41 shots, while Simeon Varlamov recorded the win by stopping 22 of 25.

PP: 2-for-11 PK: 4-for-8 SOG: 25 SOGA: 41

Friday, November 21 - Hershey 5, Phantoms 2 (boxscore)

The Bears brought the AHL's top offense into the Wachovia Spectrum, scored three goals in the second period and left with a 5-2 win over the Phantoms. The Bears were leading 2-0 late in the first period after Graham Mink and Andrew Gordon scored 1:11 apart near the frame's midpoint. With 1:36 to play, Patrick Maroon scored on the power play after being sprung onto a breakaway with a long outlet pass from Jason DeSantis. But Hershey answered with two goals just over 90 seconds apart in the first 3:03 of the second period, coming from Kyle Wilson and Francois Bouchard. Claude Giroux scored another power play goal on a slapshot at the 12:10 mark, but it was all the Phantoms would collect on the evening, and Wilson finished things off with his second of the night with just over two minutes left in the second period. Scott Munroe absorbed the loss with 19 saves on 24 shots over the first two periods, while J.S Aubin turned aside 12 in the third period. Simeon Varlamov made 30 saves on 32 Phantoms shots.

PP: 2-for-7 PK: 5-for-5 SOG: 32 SOGA: 36

Saturday, November 29 - Hershey 9, Phantoms 0 (boxscore)

The Bears brought the league's best record into the evening and left with their eighth consecutive win by handing the Phantoms a 9-0 loss at the GIANT Center. The Bears became the first team ever to score nine goals on the Phantoms in a single game, doing so less than three weeks after they beat Binghamton by an identical 9-0 score. The Bears roared out for four goals in the first 14 minutes of the game. The line of Graham Mink, Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux was out on the ice for all four, with Giroux getting two of the goals, Mink one and defenseman Greg Amadio picking up the fourth. Aucoin had assists on three of the goals and Mink had assists on two. The Bears grabbed three more in the second period - one from former Phantom Darren Reid, one on a shorthanded breakaway by Amadio, and the third from Andrew Joudrey. Quintin Laing and Kyle Wilson jumped on the wagon with third period goals. Scott Munroe started for the Phantoms and allowed seven goals on 26 shots before giving way to Michael Teslak, who stopped 13 of 15 in his first action for the Phantoms this season. Daren Machesney earned the shutout win by steering aside the 13 Phantoms bids. In addition to setting a Phantoms franchise record for most goals allowed in a game by an opponent, the defeat also set a Phantoms franchise record for largest margin of defeat, which previously was six goals, done five times before. The 13 shots tied the franchise record for fewest shots on the road, previously done at Manitoba on Oct. 13, 2006.

PP: 0-for-4 PK: 7-for-10 SOG: 13 SOGA: 41

Saturday, January 17 - Phantoms 4, Hershey 3 (SO) (boxscore)

Jonathan Matusmoto scored the tying goal with less than five minutes left in regulation and then posted two goals in the shootout, including the game-winner in the second round, to give the Phantoms a 4-3 shootout win over the Bears in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,688 at the GIANT Center. AHL goal-scoring leader Alexandre Giroux added to his total with two goals in the first period that gave Hershey a 2-0 lead at the intermission, but the Phantoms answered with two goals in the second period that came 40 seconds apart - a power play goal from David Laliberte and a breakaway goal from Jared Ross. Quentin Laing gave Hershey a 3-2 lead with 7:43 to play in regulation, but Matsumoto answered with his marker with 4:19 left to go. The Phantoms quickly took the advantage in the shootout, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after three rounds on goals by Matsumoto and Ross. But the Bears answered with goals by Francois Bouchard and then by Aucoin in the fifth round, which kept the Bears alive after two Phantoms misses. After the goaltenders prevailed in round six, Matusmoto scored opposite a miss by Bouchard to give Philadelphia the win. Munroe stopped 49 shots in regulation and overtime play and then made five of seven saves in the shootout to earn his 17th win of the season. Machesney absorbed the loss with 25 saves during regulation/overtime and four of seven in the shootout.

SOG: 28 SOGA: 52 PP: 1-for-6 PK: 3-for-4

Friday, February 6 - Hershey 5, Phantoms 3 (boxscore)

The Phantoms fought back from a 3-0 first-period deficit to pull within a goal twice, but they couldn't catch the Bears in an eventual 5-3 setback at the Wachovia Spectrum. Hershey had its three-goal lead before the game was 10 minutes old. Andrew Gordon scored just 1:20 into the contest, followed by rapid-fire goals from Kyle Wilson and Graham Mink about two minutes apart at 7:46 and 9:44, respectively. But just about 40 seconds after Mink's goal, Andreas Nodl got deep into the Hershey zone and fed a pass to Jonathan Matsumoto, who roofed a backhander past Daren Machesney to put the Phantoms on the board and trigger a torrent of teddy bears from the Spectrum seats on the building's final Teddy Bear Toss night. The Phantoms then crawled within a goal just 52 seconds into the second period when Nodl fired home a centering pass from Patrick Maroon that originated in the left corner. But Tyler Sloan put Hershey back up by a pair less than three minutes later with a short-side roofer that made it a 4-2 game. Philadelphia continued to fight back and pulled within a goal once again with a power play tally late in the second period from David Laliberte. But as the Phantoms tried to mount a late charge, Andrew Gordon put the game away with a shot from the slot with 1:27 to play. J.S. Aubin saw his first action in over a month and made 30 saves on 35 Hershey chances, while Machesney took the win by turning aside 16 of Philadelphia's 19 shots.

SOG: 19 SOGA: 35 PP: 1-for-2 PK: 5-for-5

Saturday, February 21 - Hershey 5, Phantoms 4 (OT) (boxscore)

Keith Aucoin slid home the game-winning goal as time expired in overtime to give the Bears a 5-4 overtime, come-from-behind win over the Phantoms at GIANT Center. The Phantoms took a 1-0 lead with 4:57 left in the first period on a goal from Jared Ross, with the lead standing through the first intermission. The Bears appeared to seize momentum just 15 seconds into the second period when AHL leading goal-scorer Alexandre Giroux fired a cannon blast past Munroe from the left-wing circle. But less than two minutes later, Jonathan Matsumoto and fed David Laliberte to the right of the net for a deflection that gave the Phantoms a 2-1 lead. Then 37 seconds later, Jeff Szwez found a loose puck high in the Hershey zone and blasted a slapshot that went through a hole in Machesney's armor and into the net, making it 3-1 and ending Machesney's night. Hershey pulled within a goal at 13:41 on a tally from Patrick Wellar right at the end of a Phantoms power play. The Phantoms regained the two-goal advantage during the back half of a four-minute power play on a goal from Patrick Maroon. Hershey started the third period with a power play and pulled within a goal on a shot by Bryan Helmer from the left point. Then with 13:12 left in the period, Hershey equalized the affair on a mad scrum in front of the net. With just 4.7 seconds left in overtime, Aucoin won a faceoff in the Phantoms zone back to Giroux, whose blocked shot slid right to Aucoin. He then tucked it inside the right post as time expired. The goal officially stood at 4:59 of the overtime session. Munroe suffered the loss despite making 31 saves. Mayotte picked up the win in relief with 10 saves, while Machesney stopped 10 in 22:45 of action.

SOG: 24 SOGA: 36 PP: 1-for-3 PK: 4-for-5

Friday, April 10 - Phantoms 5, Hershey 2 (boxscore)

Rob Sirianni posted a hat trick to lift the Phantoms into the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 5-2 win over the Bears in front of a sold-out Wachovia Spectrum crowd of 17,380. Following a rousing ceremony celebrating the final regular season game at the Spectrum, the Phantoms rode that momentum to blow the game open with a three-goal first period. Jonathan Matsumoto posted the first marker 7:44 into the game on a wraparound goal from behind the net. It was followed up by two from Sirianni, both on the power play and off feeds from Danny Syvret. One came at 16:11 and the other at 18:43. Hershey got on the board at 8:13 of the second on a goal by Andrew Joudrey that game one second after a power play ended. But Jonathon Kalinski got it back when an innocent-looking shot from the left wing boards got through Michal Neuvirth at 14:47 for an unassisted goal. Hershey scored again 6:03 into the third period, this time actually during a power play when Alexandre Giroux potted his league-leading 58th of the year. But Sirianni wrapped up the game and his hat trick with an empty-netter with 1:04 remaining. Norfolk beat Binghamton 6-1 in the regular-season finale at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, which allowed the Phantoms to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division.

SOG: 27 SOGA: 22 PP: 2-for-5 PK: 4-for-5

Saturday, April 11 - Hershey 3, Phantoms 2 (boxscore)

Kyle Wilson scored twice and Michal Neuvirth played an outstanding game to power the Bears to a 3-2 win over the Phantoms in the Purple's regular season finale at GIANT Center. The Bears clinched the East Division title with the win and Norfolk's victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, setting the stage for the first-round matchup between the teams. The Bears got on the board first with a goal from Wilson on their third power play at 13:25 of the first period. Wilson made it a 2-0 lead just 1:43 into the second period when his shot from close range on the right side got past J.S. Aubin. But the Phantoms got on the board just over a minute later during a 5-on-3 power play when Luca Sbisa scored his first professional goal, firing a slapshot from the right side of the slot that beat Neuvirth. Staffan Kronwall scored what would end up being the game-winner with just over five minutes left in the third period. Philadelphia rallied to get a goal back with 1:26 to play when Patrick Maroon banked a puck off a skate in front and through the pads of Neuvirth during a 6-on-4 situation, but the Phantoms could not find the equalizer. Aubin stopped 35 shots in the loss, while Neuvirth turned aside 29.

SOG: 31 SOGA: 38 PP: 2-for-8 PK: 5-for-6

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