Bears, Bjorklund Blank Bruins 2-0

November 1, 2025

Behind Garin Bjorklund's first career American Hockey League shutout and Ryan Chesley's power-play goal in the first period, the Hershey Bears (5-3-1-0) rolled to their fourth consecutive win and a 2-0 victory over the Providence Bruins (7-1-0-0) on Saturday night at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

The victory capped a perfect 3-0-0-0 week on the road for Hershey, which dealt Providence its first loss of the season - the lone remaining Eastern Conference team that had yet to suffer a defeat. Hershey's win streak at Providence dating back to Oct. 20, 2023 has been extended to six games, continuing a franchise record against the Bruins.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Bears defenseman Ryan Chesley netted a power-play goal for the Bears at 12:05 of the first period via a shot from the right point to give the Bears a 1-0 and stood up as the eventual game-winner, giving Chesley his second of the season. Alex Suzdalev and Louie Belpedio recorded the assists. The goal marked Hershey's fifth straight game with a power-play marker; the Bears have gone 6-for-18 over that stretch.
• Matt Strome sealed the game with an empty-net tally at 19:11 of the third period from Henrik Rybinski and Belpedio.
• Garin Bjorklund earned his third win of the season with a 25-save performance to record his first career AHL shutout; Bjorklund's clean sheet marked the first Bears shutout at Providence since Feb. 18, 2017 (Vítek Vanecek, 33 saves, 4-0 win).

SHOTS: HER 29, PRO 25

GOALTENDING: HER - Garin Bjorklund, 25-for-25; PRO - Simon Zajicek, 27-for-28

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-4; PRO - 0-for-3

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the team ending the road trip with a big win:
"It's always nice going and winning all three of the road games, but this was a big test for us and I'm proud of these guys. I didn't have to say much on the bench. They spoke within themselves, they talked to each other, and it was nice to see."

King on the development of Ryan Chesley:
"All these kids, and especially him, they might be pulled out of a game, and it's not always based on how their performance was. It's just part of the process. I've dealt with this before where young guys...they play two or three games and then make a couple mistakes, and we'll let them sit and get some video and get some extra work. And he's been great about it, and they learn to be pros, and he's a good player."

King on the play of Garin Bjorklund and his ability to stay composed while scrambling to make saves tonight:
"He's an athlete. He does get all over the place. He makes some great saves. But just his demeanor on the ice and when he comes to the bench talking to the guys and pumping them up, telling them, 'We've got this, we've got this.' I like both of our goalies."

King on how he uses tonight's win and the first nine games of the season so far as a measuring stick going forward:
"Well, that's the thing. These guys ruined it, because they've set the bar a little higher now. So it's up to them to maintain that. And obviously it's up to us as a staff to keep them up to that standard. So I'm happy with them. It's been great getting to know a lot of these guys now and they're getting to know me, so hopefully we can continue."

Bears goaltender Garin Bjorklund on earning his first career AHL shutout:
"It feels great. You know kind of dream to get a shutout before the game starts, and you never know how it's going to go once the puck drops. But the boys made it easy for me. I thought we played really well tonight. We were boxing out, we were hard on the forecheck and I'm proud of these guys. We had a really good road trip - it'll be nice to go back to Hershey and play again in front of our home fans."

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they return home to host the Toronto Marlies on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center, featuring Happy Hour, where fans 21-and-over can enjoy a $5, 16 oz. select beer special, available from doors to puck drop. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.