The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they make their first visit to Rockford since the 2018-19 season to take on the IceHogs in the opening contest of a two-game weekend road set at the BMO Center.
Hershey Bears (23-20-6-2) at Rockford IceHogs (19-28-2-2)
Feb. 27, 2026 | 8 p.m. ET | BMO Center
Referees: Beau Halkidis (48), Adam Tobias (16)
Linespersons: Luke Pye (42), Jameson Gronert (95)
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, 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
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 7:30 p.m.; television coverage starts at 8 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears snapped a seven-game home winless skid on Wednesday when they doubled up the Utica Comets 6-3. Brett Leason scored twice in the opening frame on his way to a three-point night, and Kaden Bohlsen and Ilya Protas tallied in a 12-second span in the middle stanza to pace Hershey to its first home win over Utica since Oct. 15, 2022. The IceHogs have been idle since a 2-1 win over San Diego on Sunday, as former Bear Andrew Perrott scored his first of the season for Rockford to tie the game at 1-1, and Brett Seney netted the game-winner with less than two and a half minutes left in regulation.
VIVA ROCK-VEGAS:
This weekend's pair of games at Rockford marks Hershey's first visit to the Screw City since the 2018-19 season. The road trip is head coach Derek King's first visit as an opposing coach to Rockford since moving on from the Chicago Blackhawks organization this past summer to take the reins behind the bench for the Chocolate and White. Hershey is a lifetime 0-2-0-0 at the BMO Center, but won both of its home games against the IceHogs this season in early January, highlighted by Graeme Clarke's four-point performance including a hat trick in Hershey's 5-2 Teddy Bear Toss victory on Jan. 4. Current Bears television color commentator Garrett Mitchell previously captained both Hershey and Rockford, closing out his professional career with the IceHogs during the 2022-23 campaign; he is making his return after previously serving as part of the NHL Network broadcast crew for the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic, hosted by Rockford earlier this month. The IceHogs lead the AHL in penalty minutes per game (17.94) while ranking 19th on the penalty kill (159-for-196, 81.1%), and are tied with Hershey for the second-most shorthanded goals (8), while also allowing the most shorthanded goals (12).
ALWAYS SONNY IN HERSHEY:
Forward Sonny Milano was loaned to the Bears by the Washington Capitals on Thursday after clearing waivers at 2 p.m. Milano previously suited up with Hershey in the 2022-23 season, when he collected two goals and an assist in five games with the Bears. The winger was a member of the 2016 Calder Cup champion Lake Erie Monsters and has 118 points (47g, 71a) in 171 career AHL games.
RODRIGUE REDUX:
Rockford's NHL affiliate, the Chicago Blackhawks, recently signed Olivier Rodrigue to a two-way NHL contract for the remainder of the season, and loaned him to the IceHogs on Feb. 22. A sixth-year pro with 131 games of AHL experience, Rodrigue is the son of current Charlotte Checkers goaltending coach and former Bears netminder Sylvain Rodrigue. The elder Rodrigue's lone appearance with Hershey came during the team's playoff run to the 1997 Calder Cup title in Game 2 of the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals against the Philadelphia Phantoms. After Hershey's J-F Labbé was pulled in favor of Sinuhe Wallinheimo, who in turn was ejected for participating in a massive brawl and scrapping with Phantoms netminder Neil Little, Rodrigue saw 26 minutes of action and made 17 saves in relief, his lone AHL action.
BEARS BITES:
The Bears are 2-3-0-0 this season in Friday road games...The Bears are 11-7-2-0 against non-divisional opponents this season...Grant Cruikshank's next game will mark his 100th AHL contest; the forward leads the AHL this season with four shorthanded goals...Graeme Clarke is two goals away from his 100th pro goal...Brett Leason has six assists over his past seven games for Hershey and carries a four-game point streak (2g, 4a) streak into tonight's contest...Kaden Bohlsen is the first Hershey player to score in each of his first two games as a Bear since Sam Bitten earlier this season, and the second since Mike Sgarbossa during the 2018-19 campaign...Hershey's Magic Number to secure a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs currently sits at 35 points...Andrew Cristall is the first Bears rookie to record 30 assists since Travis Boyd had 32 helpers in 76 games in the 2015-16 season.
ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Feb. 27, 2000 - Serge Aubin recorded his second hat trick in as many days as the Bears defeated the Albany River Rats 5-1 in front of 7,007 at Hersheypark Arena. Aubin had tallied three goals the previous night as well in an 8-3 win over the Louisville Panthers. The back-to-back hat tricks allowed Aubin to tie Lorne Ferguson's franchise record for most hat tricks in a single season, with five, and Aubin went on to finish the season with 42 goals before joining the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets full-time the following season.
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