The Lehigh Valley Phantoms drew even in their Calder Cup Playoff series with the Hershey Bears. Team USA suffered an upset loss to Sweden in their U18 Worlds semifinal match. The Flyers have a rooting interest in Game 7 of the Western Conference quarterfinal series between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. Here are your Flyers quick hits for May 3, 2025.
Wisdom Lifts Phantoms in Game 2
Zayde Wisdom tallied two shorthanded goals to spur the Lehigh Phantoms to a 3-1 road victory over the Hershey Bears on Friday evening. The best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series between the teams is tied at one win apiece. The scene shifts to Allentown on Sunday (5:05 p.m. EDT).
Coming off a 3-0 loss in Game 1, the Phantoms could ill afford to lose again. The prospects for winning three in a row against Todd Nelson’s team would be daunting at best.
Friday’s game was scoreless for nearly 39 minutes. At 18:41 of the second period, Anthony Richard (3rd goal of the playoffs) provided a 1-0 lead for Ian Laperriere’s club. Taking a feed from Nikita Grebenkin and beat Hunter Shepard (12 saves on 15 shots) for Lehigh Valley’s first goal of the series. Helge Grans received the secondary assist.
The Phantoms and Hershey traded offsetting tallies early in the third period. First, with Elliot Denoyers in the penalty box for cross-checking, Wisdom scored on a backhander for a 2-0 lead at 2:05. Jacob Gaucher carried the puck down the right wing and dished over to Wisdom. Fending off Ivan Miroshnichenko, Wisdom (SHG, 1st) found the net.
Forty-five seconds after play resumed, Alex Limoges (PPG, 1st) solved Phantoms goalie Parker Gahagen to cut the Phamtoms’ lead back to one goal. Miroshinchenko picked up the lone helper at 2:50. This would be the only puck that got past Gahagen (19 saves on 20 shots) all night.
With Emil Andrae in the penalty box for tripping, the Phantoms broke out on another shorthanded rush. Grans sent the puck to Desnoyers. Once again, Wisdom hustled to drive toward the net. The puck went off Wisdom’s skate int the net (SHG, 2nd). After a replay delay, officials ruled the goal legal. There was no kicking motion by Wisdom. Desnoyers and Grans (second assist of the game) collected the apples.
Gahagen and the Phantoms’ penalty killers (5-for-6) took care of the rest. The Phantoms played a man down over nearly the final four minutes (3:57) but managed to slam the door on the back-to-back Calder Cup champions.
Gahagen was outstanding throughout the game. He stayed sharp through long stretches of inactivity interspersed with Grade A chances and special teams. Perhaps most notably, Gahagen stoned former Phantoms forward Matthew Strome on a breakaway. The goalie also robbed Spencer Smallman with a 10-bell glove save while the game was still scoreless.
Stanley Cup Playoffs: Dallas Win Would Benefit Flyers
The Flyers will have vested interest in the outcome of Saturday night winner-takes-all match between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. If the host Stars prevail in Game 7 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series, the Flyers will benefit at the 2025 NHL Draft.
Philadelphia, you may recall, acquired Colorado’s 2025 first-round pick last year. The Flyers sent veteran defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado on March 6, 2024, in exchange for this pick. Best case scenario: Dallas beats Colorado on Saturday and the St. Louis Blues upset the President’s Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. If those two outcomes play out, the Flyers will obtain the 23rd overall selection of the 2025 Draft.
U18 Worlds: Junior Crowns Knock off Team USA in Semis
Team USA came up short in the third period of their semifinal game against Sweden at the 2018 Under-18 World Championship in Frisco, Texas, on Friday evening. The score was tied at 2-2 in the third period before the Junior Crows tallied the next two goals to seize a 4-2 advantage. The Americans drew back within one goal but were unable to find an equalizer.
Tournament leading scorer Filip Ekberg notched a goal and an assist for the Swedes. The shifty little winger has notched 10 goals and 18 points heading into the gold medal match. Sweden will play Team Canada for gold, while Team USA will oppose Slovakia for the bronze medal.
In the other semifinal match, the Canadians defeated the Slovaks, 4-0. Canada held a one-goal edge heading into the third period before talking three unanswered goals.
Dallas knocks off the Aves. Aves’ first round pick belongs to Philly. I love it.