Atlantic Division First Round Game 1 Preview: Bears at Islanders, 7 p.m.

April 21, 2026

The Hershey Bears open the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs with Game 1 of their best-of-three Atlantic Division First Round series against the Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena.

#5 Hershey Bears (0-0) at #4 Bridgeport Islanders (0-0)
April 21, 2026 | 7 p.m. | Total Mortgage Arena | Series tied, 0-0
Referees: Liam Maaskant (45), Hayden Verbeek (61)
Linespersons: Nick Briganti (58), Kevin Briganti (39)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY-100.1-FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey 
LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears closed out the regular season on Sunday with a 5-4 overtime win over the Rochester Americans that featured multiple lead changes after the first period, as Hershey trailed 1-0, led 2-1, trailed 3-2, and led 4-3 before Carson Meyer tied the game for the Amerks at 12:45 of the third frame, and Ivan Miroshnichenko netted the decisive goal in sudden death for Hershey to cap the home finale. Bridgeport wrapped up their season the night before with a 2-1 win over the Bears at GIANT Center, as Henrik Rybinski scored the lone goal for Hershey to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period before Calle Odelius netted his first of the season at 17:14 of the third period, while former Bears goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves for the Islanders.

THE ROAD TO THE CALDER CUP:
If Hershey is to live up to aspirations of a 14th Calder Cup championship, it will require a minimum of 16 wins across five total playoff series this spring, starting with this week's best-of-three Atlantic Division First Round versus Bridgeport. The two teams have previously met twice in the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the Bears winning the best-of-seven 2010 East Division Semifinals 4-1 en route to claiming their 11th Calder Cup championship, and topping Bridgeport 3-2 in the best-of-five 2019 Atlantic Division Semifinals. Bears defenseman Aaron Ness is the only returning player from that 2019 matchup to be on either teams' roster, while Bears assistant coach Brent Thompson was the head coach for Bridgeport in that series.

THREE'S COMPANY:
Overall, Hershey has played a total of 14 best-of-three playoff series in its postseason history, owning a series record of 10-4. The Bears have a lifetime record of 59-19 when winning the first game of a playoff series and are 8-2 in best-of-three series when winning the opening contest. Hershey's last best-of-three series victory came in 1964, a 2-1 quarterfinal series victory over the Providence Reds.

HIT THE ROAD:
The Bears have started a total of 70 out of 141 playoff series on the road, with Hershey posting a 32-38 record in the opening game of those series. During the regular season, Hershey owned an 18-15-1-2 record on the road, with a 1-1-0-1 performance against the Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena.

EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER:
The current playoff roster for the Bears contains 353 games of experience in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Defenseman and captain Aaron Ness leads the way with 75 Calder Cup Playoff games, including 70 with the Bears, which ranks fourth in playoff history and only four back of Ralph Keller for the most among defensemen in club history. The Islanders roster boasts 166 games of Calder Cup Playoff experience, led by veteran forward Chris Terry's 44 contests.

BENCH BOSSES:
First-year Bears head coach Derek King will be making his first postseason head coaching appearance, after previously serving as an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies and helping the club make four consecutive playoff appearances from 2012-15 - including a run to the 2012 Calder Cup Finals on Dallas Eakins' staff - and a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2018 as an assistant coach with the Rockford IceHogs under Jeremy Colliton. Islanders head coach (and former Bears player) Rocky Thompson is also in his first season at the helm of Bridgeport, but previously served as head coach of the Chicago Wolves from 2017-20, whom he led to an appearance in the 2019 Calder Cup Finals before bowing out to the Charlotte Checkers, and previously served as an assistant coach for Oklahoma City from 2010-14 under Todd Nelson.

BRIDGEPORT BON VOYAGE:
This playoff series will mark the final meetings between Hershey and Bridgeport before the Islanders franchise relocates to Hamilton, Ontario for the 2026-27 season. The Bears and Islanders/Sound Tigers met a total of 134 times in the regular season since Bridgeport was admitted to the AHL as an expansion team in the 2001-02 season, with Hershey sporting a lifetime 78-37-3-5-11 record.

FIRST BUT NOT FINAL:
While getting the all-important first goal of the game is often critical in establishing a path to victory, that is not necessarily the case in tonight's matchup. Hershey's 42 first goals (25-10-4-3) in the regular season finished tied with Grand Rapids for the fourth-most first goals in the league this year, while Bridgeport led the AHL with 45 first goals (27-13-1-4). Despite both team's tendencies to be the first team to get on the board, maintaining that lead was not necessarily secure; Bridgeport's 18 defeats when scoring first also led the league, while Hershey's 17 were tied with Calgary and San Diego for second.

BEARS BITES:
The Washington Capitals re-assigned 2025 second-round draft pick Milton Gästrin to Hershey last Thursday. If the 18-year-old forward does play in this series, he will be the first Bear to make his North American professional debut in the Calder Cup Playoffs since Bogdan Trineyev suited up for Hershey during the 2022 postseason...The Bears announced earlier today the recall of defenseman Connor Mayer from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, while the Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Patrick Thomas to Hershey from South Carolina...Goaltender Clay Stevenson posted a 3-1-0 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage in four appearances with Hershey since returning to game action on April 11 at Charlotte after sustaining a lower-body injury on March 8 at Providence. The netminder also made 27 saves in a 2-1 win for Washington at Columbus on April 14.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
April 21, 1995 - The Bears established a franchise and league playoff record in Game 5 of the Southern Division Semifinals, racking up 186 penalty minutes in a 6-3 home victory over the Cornwall Aces, who were coached by future Bears coach Bob Hartley. Jason Bowen accrued 27 penalty minutes to lead the way for Hershey, a figure matched by Cornwall goaltender (and future New York Islanders goaltender and executive) Garth Snow.