The Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Hershey Bears kicked off their best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals series in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs last night, April 30, at Giant Center in Hershey. These arch-rivals, with a long history of intense matchups, are very familiar with each other, having faced off 10 times during the 2024-25 regular season, with each team going 5-4-1-0 against the other. The Phantoms averaged 2.8 goals per game, while the Bears averaged 3.0. Their most recent regular-season clash on April 19 saw the Phantoms edge out a 4-3 victory, showing how tight these games can be.
Parker Gahagen saves 24 shots, but the Phantoms lost 3-0. Gahagen kept the team in it and Hershey’s 3rd goal was an empty netter. Gahagen’s performance kept the Phantoms competitive against a formidable Bears team, but Hershey’s Goaltending and timely scoring secured the win, putting the Phantoms down in the series.
The Bears’ strong defense and top-ranked penalty kill likely stifled Lehigh Valley’s offense, which struggled to convert despite generating scoring chances.
Game 2 is tomorrow, May 2, at Giant Center, before the series shifts to Allentown for Game 3 on May 4. Expect physical play and tight special teams battles—Hershey’s top-ranked penalty kill (best in the AHL during the regular season) will be tested by the Phantoms’ dangerous shorthanded attack, which notched 12 goals this season, including three against the Bears
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The London Knights
The London Knights secured their third consecutive Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Western Conference Championship, defeating the Kitchener Rangers 4-2 in Game 4 on April 30, 2025, at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
This victory earned them the Wayne Gretzky Trophy for a record third straight year and a perfect 12-0 playoff record, having swept Owen Sound, Erie, and now Kitchener in the 2025 OHL Playoffs. In Game 4, the Knights rallied from an early 1-0 deficit with four unanswered goals, including power-play tallies from Sam Dickinson and Kasper Halttunen, with Halttunen’s second-period goal proving to be the game-winner. Noah Read and Jesse Nurmi also scored, while goaltender Austin Elliott made 25 saves. Kitchener’s Luke Ellinas opened the scoring, and Jack Pridham added a late goal, with Jackson Parsons stopping 32 of 36 shots in a strong but losing effort.
The Knights now advance to the OHL Championship Final, their third straight appearance, to face the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the Oshawa Generals and Barrie Colts (Oshawa led 3-0 heading into Game 4). This marks London as the third team in OHL history to enter the championship series undefeated at 12-0, joining the 2022 Hamilton Bulldogs and 2019 Ottawa 67’s. Their playoff dominance, led by players like Jacob Julien, Landon Sim, and Elliott, and coached by Dale Hunter, positions them as a strong contender for the 2025 Memorial Cup.
