Phantoms shut out in series opener against Bears

Last night saw the Phantoms – riding high after their two-game sweep of their bitter rival Penguins in the play-in round – head into Hershey for Game 1 of the division semifinal round matchup with the Bears and fall flat. A frenetic start to the game, which saw the Phantoms struggling to do much of anything against a very tight forechecking effort from the Bears, opened the door for Hershey to jump ahead with an early lead, and one which they did not relinquish for the whole of the game. Despite the Phantoms’ efforts to settle in and get their offense going as the game went on, they found themselves completely stifled in the end, and came out of that one with a 3-0 loss – and, perhaps, a wak...