Bears Earn Point in 3-2 OT Loss to Monsters

January 11, 2026

Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ilya Protas scored for the Hershey Bears (17-14-2-0), but the home team ultimately fell in overtime by a 3-2 score to the Cleveland Monsters (17-12-4-1) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.

Despite seeing a season-high three-game home winning streak snapped, the overtime point secured by the Bears extended the team's home point streak at home to a season-high four games (3-0-1-0). Hershey completed its season series against Cleveland with a record of 2-1-1-0; the overtime point earned secured the season series against the Monsters for the seventh consecutive campaign, excluding the 2020-21 season in which the two clubs did not face each other. The Bears are now 4-4-2-0 against North Division clubs. The victory extended the Bears' winning streak on home ice to a season-high three games.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Ivan Miroshnichenko collected his own rebound and banked his sixth goal of the season off the leg of Zach Sawchenko 1:37 into the first period to give Hershey an early 1-0 lead, with assists to Bogdan Trineyev and Leon Muggli, who was playing in his first game back with Hershey since returning to the club from the World Junior Championship.
• Luca Del Bel Belluz tied the game with a power-play goal at 11:25.
• Dalton Smith earned a five-minute fighting major for scrapping with Cleveland's Caleb MacDonald at 14:14, increasing the veteran forward's career American Hockey League penalty minute totals to 1,001.
• Ilya Protas put Hershey up 2-1 with his team-leading 14th goal of the season at 16:16 of the second period on a wrap-around shot at the right post. Protas improved to 26 points (14g, 12a) to tie with fellow rookie Andrew Cristall (5g, 21a) for the team scoring lead.
• Tate Singleton leveled the game at 2-2 for Cleveland at 1:29 of the third period; Jack Williams sealed the game for the Monsters at 2:57 of the overtime period after assisting on Singleton's game-tying marker.
• Bears forward Eriks Mateiko exited the game midway through the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.

SHOTS: HER 30, CLE 36

GOALTENDING: HER - Mitch Gibson, 33-for-36; CLE - Zach Sawchenko, 28-for-30

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-5; CLE - 1-for-3

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on countering Cleveland's speed:
"Well, any team that you see score that first goal, it helps. It gives us a little confidence and we feel good about ourselves. It was a tight game - I don't think we played our best hockey. That's a team that's fast, got some skill, they play hard. So you need to be on your game. For us to get three out of the four points this weekend, we'll take that and get some rest."

King on the importance of Dalton Smith's role on the team:
"Well, it just makes it a lot safer on the ice. Guys don't want to mess with him. That's his game, that's why he's been successful and been able to play this long in the league. But he's been playing tremendous hockey for us and hopefully continues that."

King's immediate reaction to the loss of Eriks Mateiko in the game:
"Yeah, you miss him. He gives you that third-line forecheck, plays hard defensively, great penalty killer. He's really taken on that penalty-killing role and has done a good job with it. I'll have to see what's happening with him and see how long he's out for."

King on what he's looking for from the team to clean up heading into Hershey's next game against Hartford:
"I think a lot of the mistakes we made were just mental mistakes from being tired. We've got some guys that are not used to playing this kind of hockey, this grind, day-in, day-out, and the scheduling. So I really just want these guys to be smart and rest, and then have a nice little practice and get ready for Hartford."

Dalton Smith on the importance of his role as a player known for his physicality and fighting ability, and how his role has evolved since first coming into the league:
"I think it's still an important part of the game, especially with our group. We've got a lot of young guys, so my job's to make sure that no one's taking liberties on those young guys, and they feel comfortable using their skill and if something happens, I've got their back. I've always kind of liked the physical part of the game with throwing big hits and stuff like that; you've got to learn how to fight, especially when I was coming into the league, it was a pretty tough league, and also my family always kind of played that style, so that was kind of always the thing for me. I think definitely through the years you can't just have that; you need to add more things, so for me it's continuing to build speed and be good on the forecheck, and be reliable in other areas, and have that in my back pocket as well - you kind of need more than just one tool."

Smith on what led to his fight with MacDonald:
"From my point of view, I know [Henrik Rybinski] had that big hit, so they were kind of looking to get retribution, and he was on the ice, and I think the guy who I ended up going with was kind of giving [Andrew Cristall] some shots, so I stepped in there."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Berks Dollar Dog Night, featuring $1 Berks hot dogs available for purchase on the concourse at select locations. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.