Game Preview: Bears at Islanders, 3 p.m.

March 21, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they visit the Bridgeport Islanders in the first game of a home-and-home weekend set.

Hershey Bears (27-25-6-2) at Bridgeport Islanders (24-27-3-5)
March 21, 2026 | 3 p.m. | Total Mortgage Arena
Referees: Stephen Hiff (46), Rob Hennessey (87)
Linespersons: Bill Lyons (27), Brent Colby (7)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch 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 2:30 p.m.; television coverage starts at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears faced the Belleville Senators on Sunday and fell behind 2-0 in the first period on goals by Graeme Clarke and Olle Lycksell. Although Sonny Milano scored to get Hershey on the board in the second, the Senators added three more goals in the middle frame, as the Bears ultimately fell by a 5-2 score. Bridgeport is coming off back-to-back shutout losses at Charlotte, including last Saturday's 2-0 decision that saw the Checkers' Kirill Gerasimyuk outduel Henrik Tikkanen in saves 28-16.

BOGEY'S BOOMING:
Bears winger Bogdan Trineyev enters today's game against Bridgeport riding a four-game point streak (3g, 5a), and with 13 goals on the season, he is one goal away from matching his previous career high of  14 during the previous campaign. The fourth-round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2020 NHL Draft is also coming off his largest shot output of the season after firing seven shots on net in Hershey's last game against Belleville. Trineyev has produced four points (3g, 1a) in 12 career games against the Islanders.

BRIDGEPORT BOUND:
A third of Hershey's remaining 12 games will take place against the Bridgeport Islanders, including this weekend's pair of games; the Chocolate and White enter the weekend with a six-point edge on the Islanders with one more game played. The Bears will look to build on a 2-0-0-0 record against Bridgeport this season after earning a 3-1 road win over the Islanders on Oct. 29 and picking up a 4-1 win at home on Dec. 20. Both of Hershey's two healthy goaltenders, Garin Bjorklund and Mitch Gibson, have earned the wins against Bridgeport. Earlier this week, the parent New York Islanders organization announced their intent to relocate the AHL franchise to Hamilton, Ontario for the 2026-27 season, pending approval from the league's board of governors. Following this week's home-and-home set, Hershey is slated to visit Total Mortgage Arena one final time in the regular season on April 1, and Hershey will conclude the season series at GIANT Center on April 18 in the penultimate contest of the campaign.

POTENTIAL PRO DEBUT FOR ISLANDERS' EISERMAN:
The Bridgeport Islanders have signed forward Cole Eiserman to an amateur tryout contract after he inked his entry-level deal with the parent New York Islanders. Eiserman, 19, recorded 18 goals and 10 assists in 32 games at Boston University this season. He ranked tied for third in the Hockey East conference in goals, and finished second on the Terriers in points. In two seasons at BU, Eiserman registered 38 goals and 19 assists for 57 points in 64 games and helped the team reach the Frozen Four as a freshman in 2025, scoring the winning goal in the national semifinal against Penn State. The native of Newburyport, Mass., has also represented the United States at the last two IIHF World Junior Championships, winning a gold medal in 2025. Eiserman was a first-round pick (20th overall) by New York in the 2024 NHL Draft. 

BEARS BITES:
As a result of Laval's 4-1 win over Springfield last night, the magic number for the Bears to secure a spot in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs has been reduced to 19 points...The Bears signed defenseman Romain Rodzinski to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) earlier this week. The 23-year-old Rodzinski had been leading the blue line for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays in scoring with 32 points (9g, 23a) in 51 games...Hershey's 14.55 penalty minutes per game are the seventh most in the league...Hershey is 17-0-2-1 when leading after two periods, while Bridgeport is 19-2-1-1...Hershey's six wins when trailing after the second period are tied for the third-most wins by any AHL club...Hershey's 40 shots on goal against Belleville on Sunday marked a new season high.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
March 21, 1996 - The Bears announced the signing of a five-year affiliation agreement with the Colorado Avalanche, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup later that spring. The announcement was made jointly by Bears President/General Manager Jay Feaster and Avalanche General Manager Pierre Lacroix in a press conference at The Hotel Hershey. The agreement called for Colorado to supply Hershey with 10-15 players in the first season. Success would follow in the inaugural year of the new affiliation, as the Chocolate and White claimed their eighth Calder Cup championship in the first season of the new affiliation in 1996-97.