Bears Suffer 5-4 Defeat to Wolf Pack in Fifth Straight Game Past Regulation

January 20, 2026

Brett Leason matched his career high with three points to help the Hershey Bears (18-14-4-1) force overtime for a franchise record-tying fifth consecutive game, but a hat trick performance from the Hartford Wolf Pack's (15-18-4-1) Trey Fix-Wolansky and a sudden-death goal from Bryce McConnell-Barker denied Hershey the victory in a 5-4 overtime loss on Tuesday night at GIANT Center.

Hershey's record in the season series dropped to 0-0-2-0, as the Bears extended their season-high point streak to eight games (4-0-3-1) and to six games on home ice (3-0-3-0). The two teams will resume their season series with games in March and April.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Trey Fix-Wolansky found the net twice in the opening frame to give the visitors a 2-0 lead, scoring on his second shot 32 seconds into the contest and again on his third shot at 3:19. Fix-Wolansky then added a third goal at 17:46 of the second period after a penalty shot was awarded to Hartford when a Bears player covered the puck with their glove in the crease.
• Brett Leason scored twice in the middle frame to pull Hershey back to within a pair of goals by the second intermission. Leason then assisted on the tying goal from Graeme Clarke at 3:13 of the third period.
• Ilya Protas netted his team-leading 15th goal of the season at 2:51 of the third period, which was awarded after a video review confirmed the puck had fully crossed the goal line. Protas' goal along with Clarke's represented the fastest two goals scored by the Bears (22 seconds) this season.
• McConnell-Barker won the game for Hartford with a power-play goal at 3:27 of the extra period while Hershey had five seconds remaining in a tripping minor to Henrik Rybinski.
• Hershey dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the third consecutive game. While Louie Belpedio and Rybinski made their return to the lineup, forward Spencer Smallman was unavailable due to an upper-body injury.
• By extending the game to overtime for a fifth consecutive game, the Bears matched their previous franchise mark, after previously going 2-0-2-1 from Oct. 23-Nov. 5, 2021. Hershey has gone 1-0-3-1 during the current stretch.

SHOTS: HER 22, HFD 39

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 34-for-39; HFD - Dylan Garand, 18-for-22

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

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the team rallying to earn a point:
"Yeah, that's awesome that they can do that, but we can't afford to play like that every night where we just ease into a game or [go] 'We're not into it yet, oh, we'll just turn it up in the third.' - you can't do that. Not in this league. It's too good of a league. Hopefully we can get these guys some rest and work on a few things, and some video, and then maybe correct those."

King on the play of Brett Leason and his adjustments coming back to Hershey after a brief recall to the NHL:
"Well, I think everybody, but especially Leas, I think he's not used to that pace and the sloppiness of play. He's used to passes on the tape and everybody in position. But once we started to play better after he scored his goal there, he kind of raised it up and I thought he had a real solid two periods for us."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Halfway to Summer Night. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.