The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they close out a stretch of three games on the road with a clash against their I-81 rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Hershey Bears (26-23-6-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-14-5-2)
March 13, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza
Referees: Adam Tobias (16), Mason Riley (79)
Linespersons: John Rey (16), Richard Jondo (55)
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
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.; TV coverage starts at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears rallied from a 3-1 deficit to the Providence Bruins with a three-goal outburst in a span of less than nine minutes in the third period to take a 4-3 lead, but Hershey would not be able to maintain its hold, as Jake Schmaltz and Riley Tufte both scored within the final three minutes of regulation to send Hershey to a 5-4 loss to the Bruins. The Penguins have been idle since facing the Syracuse Crunch last Friday, as Melvin Fernström's goal with 23 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 2-2 to send the contest to overtime, where the Penguins ultimately fell by a 3-2 final and dropped their third straight.
FRIDAY THE 13TH HISTORY:
Hershey played its first Friday the 13th game on Jan. 13, 1956, a 2-2 road overtime tie with the Cleveland Barons. Since then, the Bears have posted a lifetime record of 11-24-1-1-0 on the supposedly unlucky date, most recently falling earlier this year by a 6-1 score on Feb. 13 at Laval. The Bears are 3-3-0-0 in Friday road games this season.
PUSHING THE PENGUINS:
Hershey will play the penultimate game of its season series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tonight. The Bears seek their first road win of the campaign against the Penguins after going 0-3-0-0 in their previous three tries. Since the Penguins first took the ice in northeast Pennsylvania in 1999-00, the Bears have earned at least one victory on the road against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in each season of competition between the two clubs. Hershey's rookie duo of Ilya Protas (5g, 2a) and Andrew Cristall (2g, 5a) are tied for the team lead against the Penguins with seven points apiece, while rookie defender David Gucciardi sits immediately behind them with six points (1g, 5a).
GIBBY'S A GO:
After missing six games from Feb. 25 - March 7 with an upper-body injury, goaltender Mitch Gibson was ruled available for Hershey's March 8 game at Providence, though he did not dress until Clay Stevenson suffered a lower-body injury and Garin Bjorklund had taken over in net for the Bears. With Stevenson currently out week-to-week, both Gibson and Bjorklund will split netminding duties for the Chocolate and White. Last month before his injury, Gibson was signed by the Washington Capitals to a two-year, two-way NHL contract through the 2026-27 season, and the 26-year-old's .913 save percentage is tied for ninth in the AHL among goaltenders who have made at least 12 appearances this season.
BEARS BITES:
Hershey is 16-0-2-1 when leading after two periods...Dalton Smith's goal last Sunday at Providence was his first of the season and his first since March 12, 2025 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...Ilya Protas (48 points) and Andrew Cristall (44 points) rank second and third in AHL rookie scoring behind only Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson (49 points)...Louie Belpedio's five first goals rank first among AHL defensemen and his 29 points are tied for 16th among blueliners...Grant Cruikshank's four shorthanded goals are tied for the league lead with Bakersfield's James Hamblin...Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Sergei Murashov ranks fourth among goaltenders with a save percentage of .922...The Bears have faced the most penalty shots this season with three, including one against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Boko Imama on Nov. 26 which resulted in a goal.
ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
March 13, 2022 - Bears goaltender Zach Fucale became the first Hershey netminder to record three consecutive shutout wins, as the netminder turned in a 29-save performance in a 2-0 home win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Marcus Vela and Mike Sgarbossa scored for the Bears, and Fucale's shutout streak ended four days later in a road loss to Toronto at 210:13, a mark that is second in franchise history to Nick Damore's 221:02, posted during the 1939-40 campaign.
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