Bears Open Weekend with 2-1 Win Over Crunch

November 14, 2025

Ilya Protas recorded two points and Andrew Cristall's third-period goal stood up as the game-winner as the Hershey Bears (7-4-1-0) opened the weekend with a 2-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch (9-5-0-0) on Friday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.

The win was Hershey's first of the season against Syracuse, improving the Bears to 1-1-1-0 against the Crunch, and gave the Bears their fourth consecutive road win. The Bears snapped a four-game winless skid against Syracuse, while simultaneously extending Hershey's road win streak against the Crunch to three games.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Ilya Protas opened the scoring for Hershey with a power-play goal from Graeme Clarke at 11:47 of the second period for his third tally of the season.
• Cristall netted his second of the season at 12:45 of the third period from Protas and Bogdan Trineyev.
• Declan Carlisle got Syracuse on the board with Brandon Halverson pulled during a power play to create a 6-on-4 man advantage at 18:13.
• Clay Stevenson made 22 saves for his third consecutive win and his fourth victory of the season.
• The game marked the season debut for winger Brett Leason, playing in his first regular-season contest for Hershey since April 24, 2022 vs. Syracuse.
• Bears captain Aaron Ness appeared in his 440th game with the Chocolate and White, passing Willie Marshall for 23rd on the franchise list.

SHOTS: HER 21, SYR 23

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 22-for-23; SYR - Brandon Halverson, 19-for-21

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-4; SYR - 1-for-6

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on starting the weekend with a win on the road:
"Obviously, coming into this building, it's a tough one, but we found a way to win. We don't make it easy on ourselves, but we grind it out. We looked a little tired, I must say, but it's a long bus ride and what have you, so we'll get ready for tomorrow."

King on the team's defensive effort:
"Well, [Syracuse] moved the puck around pretty good. And when they get you hemmed in, we kept everything to the outside, which we've been working on. We've still got to get better tracking back and coming into D-zone coverage, but we'll keep working on it. And I just like the way our guys got in the lanes."

King on the play of Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall and special teams:
"Well, they were just playing a simple road game. They weren't overthinking it. They got pucks in when they needed to, and if the play was there, they made it. Special teams were great. Power play was moving it around, and I liked our PKers."

Andrew Cristall on scoring what stood up as the game-winning goal:
"Really unselfish change by [Matt Strome] in the O-zone, and I kind of came flying in and [Trineyev] made a really good play to [Protas], and I was kind of yelling for it and I know Pro was going to find me and try to have some patience and then put it back in the net."

Cristall on the team's defensive play, particularly a critical block by Grant Cruikshank:
"It's unreal. I mean, it obviously starts with Clay in the net. He was outstanding. So I think he deserved to get those blocks in front of him and credit to Cruiky - he was a warrior kind of getting in front of that, so it was pretty cool."

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center. Hershey returns home to host the Phantoms on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. at GIANT Center for their first Washington Capitals Night of the season, celebrating 20 continuous seasons of partnership with our NHL affiliate. Sunday's game is also the first Hersheypark Pass Night of the campaign - all fans in attendance will receive a 2026 Hersheypark Ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2026. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.