Game Preview: Bears at Crunch, 7 p.m.

March 27, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they open up an eight-game road trip tonight against the Syracuse Crunch at Upstate Medical University Arena.

Hershey Bears (27-26-6-3) at Syracuse Crunch (38-19-3-2)
March 27, 2026 | 7 p.m. | Upstate Medical University Arena
Referees: Damian Figueira (32), Alex Joubert (63)
Linespersons: Jason Brown (44), Trevor Davis (24)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1-FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey 
LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears fell to the Bridgeport Islanders at home on Sunday, as the Islanders broke a 1-1 tie in the second period with four straight goals on their way to dealing Hershey a 6-3 loss. The Crunch blitzed the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday as they raced out to a 4-0 lead on their way to a 6-3 win, with Jakob Pelletier leading the way with two goals and Brandon Halverson making 26 saves.

HITTING THE ROAD:
The Bears enter their longest stretch of consecutive road games for the 2025-26 season when their road trip gets underway tonight. Hershey will play eight straight road contests through April 15 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to conclude the road portion of their schedule for their 88th AHL campaign, before returning home to GIANT Center for the final two games of the season. Hershey has gone 14-11-1-2 in away contests this season, and is 6-6-1-2 in road games against the opponents it will face during this road trip.

CRUISING INTO 'CUSE:
Hershey has won its last three meetings with the Syracuse Crunch at Upstate Medical University arena, including a 2-1 victory over Syracuse on Nov. 14 that saw Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall both find the back of the net against the Crunch. Cristall's three points (1g, 2a) in three games leads the Bears in scoring in the season series, while the AHL's leading scorer Jakob Pelletier has managed four points (2g, 2a) in two games to lead the Crunch, and carries a 13-game point streak (6g, 13a) into tonight's meeting. Bears goaltender Mitch Gibson has yet to face Syracuse in his AHL career.

PROTAS PROWESS:
Bears forward Ilya Protas carries a five-game point streak (4g, 4a) into tonight's contest. The 19-year-old has played in all but one game this season, and his team-leading 53 points (26g, 27a) are tied for the league rookie scoring lead with Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson (27g, 26a). When Protas has recorded at least a point this year, the Bears have posted a 20-7-2-3 record, with Hershey's 20 wins representing the most earned when an individual player on the team's roster makes their way onto the scoresheet. The club is also 13-5-4-2 when Protas finds the back of the net. If Protas can collect four more goals over the team's final 10 games, he will become just the seventh under-20 player in league history to reach 30 goals in a season.

BEARS BITES:
Grant Cruikshank is in a four-way tie (including with Syracuse's Jakob Pelletier) for second in the league in shorthanded goals with four...Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall are just the third Bears rookie duo to reach at least 50 points in a season since Hershey restarted its affiliation with the Washington Capitals in 2005-06, joining Riley Barber and Travis Boyd in 2015-16, and Eric Fehr and Joey Tenute in 2005-06...Hershey's 14.32 penalty minutes per game ranks eighth in the league, while Syracuse is in ninth at 14.31...Defenseman Leon Muggli scored his first career AHL goal on Sunday for Hershey.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
March 27, 1981 - Trailing 3-1 after the first period in Springfield, the Bears rallied with three goals in the second period on their way to a 6-5 win over the Indians to earn their 42nd win of the season to tie a then-franchise mark first established in 1972-73. Bears captain Claude Noël scored twice, including the eventual game-winner at 3:52 of the third period to give Hershey its first win at the Springfield Civic Center in over a year.