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

April 3, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they conclude their season series with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Hershey Bears (28-28-6-3) at Springfield Thunderbirds (27-29-6-2)
April 3, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. | MassMutual Center
Referees: Alex Gagné (7), Chad Ingalls (39)
Linespersons: Anthony Lapointe (58), Kevin Briganti (39)

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski, and Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman 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.; Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears took an initial 1-0 lead off a Sonny Milano power-play tally in the second period of Wednesday morning's visit to Bridgeport, but the Islanders reeled off four straight goals en route to dealing Hershey a 4-1 defeat. Springfield is coming off a 4-2 win at Providence on Sunday, as Akil Thomas scored his first as a T-Bird in the opening period, and Springfield added three more goals while Vadim Zherenko made 35 saves to stake the Thunderbirds to their second straight victory.

ATLANTIC PLAYOFF CHASE:
Hershey's loss at Bridgeport on Wednesday dropped the Bears to fifth place in the Atlantic Division, collecting 65 points through 65 games. The Bears now sit one point behind fourth-place Bridgeport and only three points ahead of both sixth-place Springfield and seventh-place Lehigh Valley, the latter of which sits below the playoff line. The AHL league office has corrected its Playoff Primer, which had erroneously calculated Hershey's Magic Number to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs as 11; the correct Magic Number is 12.

T-BIRDS TURNOVER:
Hershey is facing Springfield for the first time since Oct. 31, when the Bears earned a 3-2 overtime win over the T-Birds with a goal from defenseman Calle Rosén. Three days later, Rosén was traded by the Washington Capitals to Springfield's affiliate, the St. Louis Blues, in exchange for Corey Schueneman; the Bears also acquired Sam Bitten from Springfield in exchange for future considerations. Since their fall meeting, Springfield has also changed coaches, as St. Louis relieved Steve Konowalchuk and replaced him with interim head coach Steve Ott in January. The Bears own a 2-1-0-0 record against the Thunderbirds this season, with Henrik Rybinski (2g, 2a) and Bogdan Trineyev (1g, 3a) pacing Hershey in scoring; Springfield's leading scorers against the Bears, Nikta Alexandrov and Matt Luff, were traded to the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders, respectively, and captain Matthew Peca was traded to the Syracuse Crunch. Hershey has earned points in 10 of its last 11 visits to the MassMutual Center (8-1-2-0) dating back to Jan. 24, 2020.

BOGDAN BOOMING:
Bogdan Trineyev has recorded at least a point in eight of his last nine games and has 12 points (3g, 9a) over that span. His next goal will be his 14th of the season and tie his previous career mark, set during the 2024-25 campaign. His 24 assists on the season already exceed his entire point production (22) from the previous season.

BEARS BITES:
Wednesday's game in Bridgeport represented Derek King's 300th career game as a head coach in the professional ranks...Ilya Protas' assist on Wednesday brought his season scoring totals to 56 points (27g, 29a), putting him one point ahead of Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson for first place in the rookie scoring race...Protas' shooting percentage of 20.3% (27-for-133) is second among rookies with at least 36 games played, behind only Springfield's Juraj Pekarcik (20.4%, 10-for-49)...Hershey is 22-9-4-3 when scoring first...Since the December holiday break, the Bears have managed only three wins against Atlantic Division opponents.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
April 3, 1988 - The Bears won their then club-record 50th game of the season, beating the Maine Mariners 4-2 in front of 4,459 at Hersheypark Arena. Captain Dave Fenyves scored twice (including the game-winner), and current Thunderbirds general manager Kevin Maxwell added an empty-net insurance goal. Hershey closed out its 50th AHL season by going on an unprecedented 12-0 run through the postseason to claim the 1988 Calder Cup championship.