Game Preview: Bears at Americans, 7:05 p.m.

January 30, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they play their second of two games this week against the Rochester Americans after earning a 3-1 victory over Rochester on Wednesday. Following tonight's battle with the Americans, the Bears will remain in the Empire State, continuing on to Utica for a Saturday matchup with the Comets.

Hershey Bears (19-14-5-2) at Rochester Americans (20-15-4-2)
Jan. 30, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | Blue Cross Arena
Referees: Jordan Deckard (14), Alex Lepkowski (44)
Linesperson: Anthony Lapointe (58), Owen Robertson (50)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY-100.1-FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in-progress)
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:35 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears and Americans squared off on Wednesday night, and Hershey took a 1-0 lead off of Grant Cruikshank's shorthanded breakaway goal at 9:59 of the first period. Justin Nachbaur tallied his second of the season 24 seconds into the middle stanza to give Hershey a 2-0 lead, and after Anton Wahlberg scored Rochester's lone goal of the evening at 6:55, Henrik Rybinski added his fifth of the season at 1:14 of the third to close out the scoring. Clay Stevenson made 27 saves to pick up his 11th victory of the season with the Bears. 

GOALIE CAROUSEL:
Following his win on Wednesday, Clay Stevenson was recalled from the Bears by the Washington Capitals the following day, and in a corresponding move, Hershey recalled Mitch Gibson from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Gibson has gone 4-1-2 in seven outings with the Bears this season, earning his most recent win on Jan. 3 vs. Rockford. With Stevenson up in the NHL, Gibson will form a platoon with Garin Bjorklund for this week's remaining games against Rochester and Utica; Bjorklund is seeking his first victory with Hershey since Nov. 15 at Lehigh Valley.

J-MAC ATTACKS THE AMERKS:
Jon McDonald collected a pair of assists on Wednesday for his first career multi-assist game in his American Hockey League career, and his second multi-point outing, which coincidentally occurred just over a year ago against the Americans, registering his first career AHL goal and an assist on Jan. 19 vs. Rochester in a 5-4 victory. McDonald has five career points (1g, 4a) in three games against Rochester, representing his largest career offensive output against a single AHL opponent. 

SHORTHANDED BANDITS:
Forward Grant Cruikshank's shorthanded tally on Wednesday gave Hershey its league-leading eighth shorthanded goal of the season, and the club's first of the campaign on the road. For his part, Cruikshank has accounted for half of Hershey's shorthanded goals this season with four, the most by a Bear in a single season since Chris Bourque collected five in the 2011-12 campaign. The club's single-season record by an individual player is six, set by Don Seiling during the 1973-74 season. With five career shorthanded markers as a Bear, nearly half of Cruikshank's 12 career goals with Hershey have come with the team playing down a man.

FROM THE HARD-TO-BELIEVE DEPARTMENT:
It's not often this season that opponents have managed to hold both of Hershey's rookie duo of Ilya Protas (33 points) and Andrew Cristall (32 points) - who are first and second respectively in team scoring - off the scoresheet. That has only occurred on nine occasions, in which the Bears have posted a record of 3-5-1-0. Incredibly, Rochester is the only team that has prevented the pair from recording a point in multiple games, both of which have been won by the Bears.

BEARS BITES:
The Bears are 5-4-2-0 against North Division opponents this season, with a record of 3-1-0-0 on the road...Louie Belpedio is tied for ninth in league scoring among defensemen with 23 points (6g, 17a)...Hershey's road power play is seventh at 23.1% (9-for-39)...The Bears are 15-4-4-2 when scoring first...Hershey will be wearing its 1938-inspired throwback jerseys tonight, will Rochester - which is celebrating its 70th season - will be wearing throwback jerseys for its Hall of Fame Night that celebrates the Americans teams of the 1980s and 44 years of affiliation with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres...Tonight's game marks the first time ever in the regular season that Hershey has played back-to-back road games in Rochester.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Jan. 30, 2011 - The Bears opened the two-day 2011 AHL All-Star Classic at GIANT Center, with the Eastern Conference topping the Western Conference 19-7 in the All-Star Skills Competition. Bears defender Brian Fahey captured the Reebok Hardest Shot competition in the final round with a blast clocked at 96.9 miles per hour, edging Worcester rookie defenseman Justin Braun's opening-round standard of 95.6 miles per hour.