Bears Hang on for 2-1 Win Over Checkers

April 11, 2026

Clay Stevenson returned from a 10-game absence due to injury and turned aside 21 shots to lead the Hershey Bears (30-29-6-3) to a 2-1 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (42-22-5-0) on Saturday afternoon at the Bojangles Coliseum.  

The Bears lowered their Magic Number to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs to four, and Hershey improved to 4-2-0-1 versus the Checkers this season

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Bogdan Trineyev opened the scoring for Hershey just 7:13 into the game, striking on a backhand for his 16th goal of the season, with assists going to Henrik Rybinski and Andrew Cristall. 
• Louie Belpedio extended Hershey's lead to 2-0 on a slapshot that connected with just 1.7 seconds left in the second period. Matt Strome and Brett Leason provided the assists. 
• Charlotte would cut into Hershey's lead on a Mikulas Hovorka goal at 4:11 of the third period. 
• The Checkers pulled goaltender Cooper Black for an extra skater in the closing minutes looking for a tying goal, but Clay Stevenson stood tall in net for his 16th win of the season.
• Stevenson was playing his first game since suffering a lower-body injury in a loss to Providence on Mar. 8. The goaltender earned his 16th victory of the season and his 61st career win with the Bears, moving him past Dave Parro for sole possession of 15th in franchise history. He improved to 8-1-0-0 lifetime at Bojangles Coliseum with the win. 

SHOTS: HER 19, CLT 22

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 21-for-22; CLT - Cooper Black, 17-for-19

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-2; CLT - 0-for-1

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the team needing to be strong defensively versus Charlotte:
"We needed to play good defense because that team was humming. They have a lot of call-ups but the players that have come up for them have some skill and can move. We kind of got back on our heels a few times but good thing Clay was on his game." 

King on the strong play of Mitch Gibson during Clay Stevenson's absence and Stevenson returning to the net:
"That's the nice thing about Gibby playing as well as he did, he gave us that opportunity, he gave Clay that opportunity to not rush back. Clay knew he was 100% and he told me he was ready, so when Clay's ready we know we can put him in."

King on playing in a tight, playoff style game:
"It's stressful, it is. Like I said, it wasn't pretty for us. We've got to clean some things up, but our guys didn't quit. They work hard. They are trying out there. We didn't quit. We kept at it and our goaltender was on."

Clay Stevenson on coming back from his injury to have the performance he did today:
"I honestly was pretty patient with my injury. I didn't want to be thinking about it in the games and when I was coming back and stuff. We did a really good job with the trainers and stuff like that. I felt good coming back, honestly."

Stevenson on what the team did well tonight in front of him and how Hershey can replicate that tomorrow in the rematch against Charlotte:
"Honestly, just keep playing it simple. I know we say it all the time, but the more we can just get pucks in and wear them down, we create offense that way too and we limit our chances against as well, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. They played a great game in front of me and blocked a lot of shots, and I think that's going to be key for tomorrow as well."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they rematch with the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday, April 12 at 1 p.m. at Bojangles Coliseum. 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.