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

The Hershey Bears open their 2026 preseason schedule with an exhibition contest against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. 

Hershey Bears (0-0) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-0)
Sept. 26, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | PPL Center
Referees: Robert Hennessey (87), Mason Riley (79)
Linespersons: Josh Cleary (45), John Rey (16)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch on the call
RADIO: No radio coverage (GIANT Bears Radio Network to resume coverage during regular season)
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
Coverage begins approximately at 7:15 p.m. with puck-drop

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears have not taken the ice since a 4-1 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 4 of the best-of-five 2026 Atlantic Division Semifinals, eliminating Hershey from that spring’s Calder Cup Playoffs. The Phantoms were originally slated to open their preseason schedule last night against the Penguins at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, but mechanical issues at the venue forced the game’s cancellation.

RENEWING THE I-78 RIVALRY:
Tonight’s game marks the lone preseason meeting between Hershey and Lehigh Valley. The two teams squared off in a pair of games during the 2025 preseason, with Hershey winning 5-1 and 3-2. The Bears ultimately posted a 4-5-1-0 record against the Phantoms during the 2025-26 regular season, with Brett Leason and Ilya Protas tying for the team lead in scoring versus Lehigh Valley with 10 points apiece, while Tucker Robertson’s eight points paced the Phantoms. Hershey ultimately finished the regular season in fifth place in the Atlantic Division standings, while Lehigh Valley missed the playoffs by finishing in seventh place.

FROM THE OTHER SIDE:
Bears forward Matt Strome played the first three full seasons of his AHL career with the Phantoms before joining the Bears in 2022, and is the longest-tenured member of Hershey’s preseason roster with 198 career games in Chocolatetown. Phantoms defender Andrew Perrott previously played with Hershey during the 2024-25 season.

HOMECOMING FOR SANDELIN:
Forward Ryan Sandelin is currently attending training camp on a tryout. The fourth-year pro has 149 games of AHL experience with Colorado and Iowa, and his father Scott was a defenseman for the Bears in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during which time he met his eventual wife (and Ryan’s mother) Wendy, a Penn State University alumnus and at the time an employee at the Penn State Hershey medical center.

BEARS BITES:
Hershey has added defenseman Miles Gendron to its training camp roster on a tryout basis. Gendron last played in the AHL during the 2020-21 campaign with the Colorado Eagles…The Washington Capitals placed forwards Josh Dunne and Bogdan Trineyev, defenseman Jacob MacDonald, and goaltender Mitch Gibson on waivers yesterday for the purpose of loaning them to the Bears. Those players must clear waivers by 2 p.m. today in order to be loaned to Hershey…Hershey concludes its slate of preseason games tomorrow at GIANT Center at 3 p.m. against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Sept. 26, 1953 – Hershey hosted the Boston Bruins in a preseason game at Hershey Sports Arena and skated to a 1-1 tie against their NHL parent club. Don McKenney gave Hershey a 1-0 lead early in the first period, while former Bear Dave Creighton netted a power-play goal for Boston in the second period to tie the score.