Bears End Weekend with 3-2 Win Over Phantoms

December 7, 2025

Brett Leason broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period to lift the Hershey Bears (12-8-1-0) past the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-8-1-2) by a 3-2 score on Sunday afternoon at GIANT Center.

The Bears improved to 4-1-0-0 against the Phantoms this season with the victory, and have won their last four consecutive games against their I-78 rival.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Louie Belpedio's slap shot from the right point struck for his second goal of the season at 14:33 of the first period just moments after Hershey's first power play of the game had expired, giving Hershey a 1-0 lead.
• Alex Bump leveled the score for Lehigh Valley at 1:53 of the second period, but Henrik Rybinski was credited with his third of the season at 13:08 to put the Bears ahead 2-1. 
• Jacob Gaucher tied the game at 2-2 for the Phantoms at 2:45 of the third period shortly after exiting the penalty box.
• Brett Leason netted the game-winner at 16:30 after connecting with the puck during a goalmouth scramble.
• Andrew Cristall earned two helpers on the night, extending his assist streak to four games (6a).
• Goaltender Mitch Gibson made his first appearance of the season in net for Hershey (and his first since Oct. 26, 2024) after being recalled from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, making 25 saves to improve to 4-0-0 in his AHL career; forward Kyler Kupka made his Bears debut after being summoned from South Carolina on Sunday morning after playing with the Stingrays the previous two nights.

SHOTS: HER 26, LV 27

GOALTENDING: HER - Mitch Gibson, 25-for-27; LV - Alexei Kolosov, 23-for-26

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

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on how the team addressed the need for consistency in play today after suffering a loss last night:
"Well, I think they got the message. We're not always the prettiest team, but at least we were consistent for three periods tonight."

King on what Brett Leason brings to the team with his experience and size:
"Yeah, we know what he can do and when he's doing it, he's obviously an asset, so it was good to see him get rewarded for his efforts."

King on the season debut of Kyler Kupka:
"[With Kupka] that was tough because that's three [games] in three nights for him, with travel. I thought he came in and played really well for us. I had no worries about putting him on the ice at any time."

King on the play of Gibson and organizational communication between Hershey and South Carolina concerning goaltending support:
"[With Gibson] that was nice to see. There's a lot of communication, actually. I think [associate goaltending coach Juha Lehtola] was going down there next week to visit the goalies, but there's always communication, either Juha with the goalies, or with our staff with [South Carolina head coach David Warsofsky and assistant coach Scott Davidson] down there. They give us who they think should come up, and it was nice to see Gibby get another win - I think that was his second in his last two starts."

King on where the team is at now heading into the upcoming pair of home games against Providence contrasted with the team that beat Providence earlier this season on the road:
"Well it's a different lineup going into Providence with this home stretch here, but there's different names, different guys on the ice, but I don't mind where we are. We're working, we're finding ways. The biggest thing for me is being consistent. We were consistent tonight. It wasn't, like I said, pretty, but we were consistently doing it all three periods, and that's all we have to focus on."

Brett Leason on the play of his line with Henrik Rybinski and Andrew Cristall:
"I think us three as a line work good together. Got the pucks in deep and we switched sides on them quick and that generated some offense, and all three of us were around the net constantly as you could see on the last goal, but I think we just did the right things today."

Mitch Gibson on what went right for him tonight:
"Just staying in the moment. It was a weird week, played a game down [in the ECHL] then hopping on a flight and coming here. But I feel like I was prepared [...] The team played great tonight. I think they knew to try to take care of me especially in the first period, I thought they were pretty shut-down and limited opportunities, and there were a couple along the way that I was lucky enough to get a piece of or get a deflection, but they were great - they were predictable, and I knew where the shots were going to come from and great goal at the end there, and they stayed with it."

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Providence Bruins on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Berks Dollar Dog Night, featuring $1 Berks hot dogs available for purchase at select concourse locations. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.