Ivan Miroshnichenko scored his first two playoff goals as a pro to send the Hershey Bears into the Atlantic Division finals with a 5-3 win over Lehigh Valley on Saturday night.
The Bears eliminated the Phantoms, three games to one, and will next take on the Hartford Wolf Pack beginning Thursday evening in Hershey.
Miroshnichenko’s first goal came at 9:18 of the first period, 17 seconds after the Phantoms had grabbed a 1-0 lead. His second goal was the go-ahead tally 2:36 into the second period, giving Hershey a 3-2 lead that they would never relinquish.
Pierrick Dubé registered a goal and an assist, Ethen Frank notched his third goal of the series, and Hardy Häman Aktell provided an insurance tally with 5:08 to play.
Hunter Shepard turned aside 29 shots as Hershey earned its fifth consecutive series win.
Rhett Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Tanner Laczynski scored for Lehigh Valley. Cal Petersen stopped 22 shots in the loss.
(Hershey wins series, 3-1)
Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – HERSHEY 2, Lehigh Valley 1
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – HERSHEY 5, Lehigh Valley 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – LEHIGH VALLEY 2, Hershey 0
Game 4 – Sat., May 11 – Hershey 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 3