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

February 4, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they close a four-game road trip with a visit up I-81 to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as part of a home-and-home set this week.

Hershey Bears (20-15-5-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (29-12-2-2)
Feb. 4, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza
Referees: Andrew Bell (6), Patrick Hanrahan (52)
Linesperson: Jud Ritter (34), Ryan Knapp (73)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports reporter Ryan Ye 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.; Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears got back in the win column last Saturday with a 4-3 overtime win at Utica. Hershey took an initial 2-0 lead before the Comets jumped ahead, but Ivan Miroshnichenko scored a power-play goal late in the second period and tallied the overtime-winner to give Hershey the victory. The Penguins have been idle since visiting the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday afternoon, as six different players found the back of the net and defenseman Matt Dumba generated four assists on the day. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held a 2-1 lead heading into the third period before the Penguins broke the game open with three goals in the final frame's first seven minutes, including two power-play markers, and the club came away with a 6-2 final over the Phantoms.

MIRO MAKING MOVES:
Forward Ivan Miroshnichenko enjoyed his best offensive performance of the season last Saturday, collecting three points (2g, 1a) for the fifth time in his AHL career. The game marked the first multi-goal performance of the season for the 20th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, and his overtime goal marked his first overtime-winner with Hershey. Miroshnichenko has logged nine points (3g, 6a) over his last nine games with the Bears, while missing three games from Jan. 17-20 due to an NHL call-up with Washington. Miroshnichenko has four points (2g, 2a) in five games versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, and has 11 points (7g, 4a) in 22 career matches against the Penguins.

PUTTING OUT THE PENGUIN POWER:
With four games remaining in the season series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - including the final home contest of the series on Saturday - Hershey enters the week with a 1-4-0-1 record against the Penguins this season. A trio of rookies leads the way for the Bears, with Ilya Protas (4g, 1a), Andrew Cristall (2g, 3a), and David Gucciardi (1g, 4a) all collecting five points against the Penguins, although Gucciardi has missed Hershey's last three games with an upper-body injury. Both goaltenders on Hershey's roster - Mitch Gibson and Seth Eisele - have yet to face Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in their respective AHL careers.

WAUGH-T A FIND:
Defenseman Phip Waugh made his Bears debut last week, appearing in all three games for Hershey after signing a professional try-out agreement with the club on Jan. 23. By appearing in a game with the Bears, he becomes the 36th player to appear in a game for both Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, having suited up in three games with the Penguins last season. Also among the list of players to play for both teams is former Bear Alex Alexeyev, who has appeared in 23 games with the Penguins this season.

BEARS BITES:
Henrik Rybinski has four points (2g, 2a) in his last six games...Forwards Ilya Protas (35 points) and Andrew Cristall (33 points) rank second and third in scoring respectively among AHL rookies; Protas' 17 goals and Cristall's 25 assists both rank second in the league for freshmen...Louie Belpedio's 23 points are tied for 13th in scoring among defensemen...The Bears are 16-4-4-2 when scoring first and 11-2-2-1 when leading after the first period...Hershey is 12-10-3-2 against Atlantic Division opponents this season...Hershey's road power play is 10th at 21.3% (10-for-47)...Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Sergei Murashov is tied for fourth among goaltending wins with 16 and is third in save percentage (.924)...The Bears were saddened to learn of the passing of former defenseman Jim Morrison on Tuesday at the age of 94. Morrison was Hershey's oldest living alumnus, and skated in part of his rookie season with the club in 1951-52 before he was traded by the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs and assigned to the Pittsburgh Hornets. Morrison went on to a 22-year career in the pro ranks, appearing in over 700 games in both the NHL and AHL, and was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2013.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Feb. 4, 2000 - Getting his first start in two weeks, goaltender Frederic Cassivi turned aside all 21 shots he faced, backstopping the Bears to a 3-0 road victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for Hershey's first shutout of the season. Serge Aubin led the way with three points, scoring two power-play goals (including the game-winner) and assisted on Christian Matte's second-period tally to cap the scoring.