Bears Open Preseason with 4-1 Loss to Phantoms

The Hershey Bears (0-1) opened their preseason schedule with a 4-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-0) on Saturday night at PPL Center.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Dalton Smith opened the scoring for Hershey at 1:45 when he redirected Nick Andrews’ shot from the right point; Aidan Hreschuk earned the secondary assist.
• Braeden Kressler knotted the score for Lehigh Valley at 8:33 with a power-play goal.
• The Phantoms added three more goals in the second period to take the lead. Following Noah Powell’s goal at 17:53, Mitch Gibson exited the game for Hershey; Gibson was replaced in net by Garin Bjorklund.

SHOTS ON GOAL: HER – 12; LV – 28

GOALTENDING: HER – Mitch Gibson [L], 17-for-20 and Garin Bjorklund, 7-for-8; LV – Carson Bjarnason, 11-for-12

POWER PLAY: HER – 0-for-1; LV – 1-for-4

The Bears will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their final preseason contest on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. at GIANT Center. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game. Hershey opens the 2026-27 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at GIANT Center. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.