Bears Doubled Up 4-2 by Thunderbirds

April 3, 2026

The Hershey Bears (28-29-6-3) wrapped up their season series with the Springfield Thunderbirds (28-29-6-2) with a 4-2 loss on Friday night at MassMutual Center.

The Bears concluded their season series with Springfield with a 2-2-0-0 record, with each team earning a win at home and on the road.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Grant Cruikshank scored an unassisted shorthanded marker for his 10th goal of the season at 11:22 of the first period to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Cruikshank's goal moved back into a tie Grand Rapids' John Leonard for the league lead in shorthanded tallies this season, and marked the most by a Bear since Chris Bourque recorded five shorthanded goals during the 2011-12 season.
• The Bears took their 1-0 lead into the second period, but the Thunderbirds netted three straight goals in the middle stanza, as Akil Thomas scored at even strength, and Aleksanteri Kaskimäki and Thomas Bordeleau added power-play goals.
• In the third period, Louie Belpedio's eighth of the season at the 12-minute mark pulled Hershey back to within one, but Springfield's Hunter Skinner sealed the game with an empty-net tally.
• Ilya Protas' point streak concluded at eight games (5g, 6a).
• Hershey's Magic Number to secure a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs remains at 12 as a result of the loss.

SHOTS: HER 33, SPR 36

GOALTENDING: HER - Mitch Gibson, 32-for-35; SPR - Vadim Zherenko, 31-for-33

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-4; SPR - 2-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on what led to tonight's outcome:
"Obviously we're not happy with what's going on right now. I've got to figure out and find out what the answers are. When your top players on the other team outplay your top players, it's hard to win a hockey game. Our bottom-six was good, [Mitch Gibson] was outstanding, but special teams were terrible. There's got to be some changes, and we'll address them tomorrow."

King on the team getting away from what seemed like a productive start in the first period:
"We were all over them right off the bat. And when it doesn't go in, it seems like they just changed the way they were going to play. They get bored with it, instead of putting pucks deep, getting bodies to the net, and that's what causes the chaos and why they have success."

King on what the final weeks of the regular season are supposed to be like:
"These games are [supposed to be] like playoff hockey, and I've said it a month ago - we're in playoff hockey mode, and it's supposed to prepare us for these kind of games, and it's kind of backfiring on us right now. I'm not sure what it is, like I said, I'll have to talk to the staff because the next thing you know is your're packing up your bags and going home."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, April 4 at 6 p.m. at PeoplesBank Arena. Hershey returns home to host the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Racing Night and Toyota License Plate Night, featuring a Bears license plate giveaway to the first 6,000 fans in attendance, courtesy of Toyota. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.