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

March 28, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the final time this season in critical Atlantic Division matchup. 

Hershey Bears (28-26-6-3) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-30-3-3)
March 28, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | PPL Center
Referees: Damian Figueira (32), Alex Joubert (63) 
Linespersons: John Rey (16), Bill Lyons (27)

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 6:35 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears roared to a 3-0 lead and held on for an eventual 4-3 win over the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night at Upstate Medical University Arena. The win snapped a four-game winless skid as the Bears opened up a season-high eight-game road trip. Wyatt Bongiovanni, Andrew Cristall, and Brett Leason scored in the second period for Hershey, and Alex Suzdalev added the eventual game-winner in the third period. Hershey's penalty kill was strong on the night, going 5-for-6 and scoring a shorthanded goal. The Phantoms dropped their third straight game last night, falling 5-3 to the Springfield Thunderbirds at PPL Center. Lehigh Valley had just 21 shots in the defeat. 

FINISHING THE PHANTOMS:
Hershey closes out its season series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight at PPL Center. Through nine games, Hershey has posted a 4-4-1-0 record against its I-78 rival, with Brett Leason and Ilya Protas leading the Bears in scoring against Lehigh Valley with identical offensive statistics of three goals and five assists for eight points. The Bears are seeking their first road win against Lehigh Valley since Nov. 15, when former Phantom Matt Strome potted his second of the contest for Hershey with 13 seconds remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 tie and lift the Chocolate and White to a 4-3 victory.

ATLANTIC PLAYOFF CHASE:
Hershey enters tonight's game in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, collecting 65 points through 63 games. The three teams directly behind Hershey all have 63 games played as well, with Hershey one point ahead of fifth-place Bridgeport, and five points ahead of Springfield and Lehigh Valley who sit tied for the sixth and final playoff spot with 60 points. Springfield owns the tiebreaker, so if the postseason were to start today, Lehigh Valley and eighth-place Hartford would miss the playoffs. Hershey's Magic Number to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs is 13. 

GIBBY'S THE GUY:
Netminder Mitch Gibson stopped 32 shots to earn the victory in net last night, improving his season record to 8-5-3 over 18 games. In each of Gibson's last four victories, and in five of his eight wins this season, he has recorded 30 or more saves. Gibson netminder is 2-0-0 in his AHL career versus the Phantoms, including winning his 2025-26 season debut versus Lehigh Valley on Dec. 7 with 25 saves.

THE KIDS CAN PLAY:
Hershey was led by contributions from numerous rookies in last night's victory over the Crunch. Ilya Protas recorded an assist to extend his point streak to six games (4g, 5a). Andrew Cristall had a goal and an assist to move his point streak to three games (2g, 4a) and give him his 16th multi-point game of the season. Alex Suzdalev provided the deciding marker, recording his second game-winning goal of the season. Defender Ryan Chesley also added an assist, and he was a +3, the best mark of his AHL career. 

BEARS BITES:
Last night's win was the 100th AHL head coaching victory for Derek King...Kyler Kupka recorded his first point as a Bear last night with an assist on Alex Suzdalev's goal in the third period...Brett Leason recorded his first career AHL fight last night...Leason also scored a shorthanded goal which was Hershey's 10th shorthanded goal of the season, marking the third time in the past five seasons that the Bears had reached double digits for shorthanded goals in a campaign...Both teams enter tonight 3-6-0-1 over their past 10 games.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
March 28, 2015 - Dustin Gazley had a goal and two assists to lead the Hershey Bears to a 6-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs in front of 10,960 fans at GIANT Center. Philipp Grubauer made 40 saves for Hershey, and the Bears chased Manchester goaltender J.F. Berube from the game by scoring five times on 18 shots within the game's first 33 minutes. Defender Cameron Schilling was a +5 for Hershey, and Manchester's Paul Bissonnette posted 22 penalty minutes, including two separate 10-minute misconducts dished out by referee Darcy Burchell. The Monarchs went on to win the 2015 Calder Cup in the club's final season in the AHL before moving to Ontario, California for the 2015-16 campaign.