Game Preview: Bears vs. Bruins, 6 p.m.

The Hershey Bears host the Providence Bruins for the first of two games this weekend as they continue the 2026-27 season, presented by Penn State Health. 

Hershey Bears (3-1-0-0) vs. Providence Bruins (1-4-0-0)
Oct. 17, 2026 | 6 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Bobby Jo Love (51), Damian Figueira (32)
Linespersons: Dominic Moore (59), John Rey (16)

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Promotions:

Penn State Health Pink the Rink Night – Join the Bears and Penn State Health in the fight against breast cancer.

Penn State Health gel phone light cover – All fans are encouraged to light up their phones and join us in the fight against breast cancer, using a Pink the Rink gel phone light cover, courtesy of Penn State Health.

Broadcast Information:
Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch, AHL Hall-of-Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and radio ice-side reporter Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY 100.1-FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, In-arena on 88.9-FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage begins at 5:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears picked up a 6-1 win over the Texas Stars on Sunday, as Bogdan Trineyev notched shorthanded and power play tallies, Jonny Brodzinski recorded his first two goals with Hershey, Spencer Smallman had a goal and two assists, and Andrew Cristall dished out three helpers to pace the Chocolate and White to victory. Providence is coming off a 6-2 home loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday, in which the Bruins scored when trailing 5-0 and 6-1 in the third period.

PLAYING PROVIDENCE:
Providence makes its lone visit to Hershey this season with a pair of games this weekend. Last season the Bears went 1-4-0-0 against Providence, winning the opening meeting on Nov. 1 at Amica Mutual Pavilion against the eventual Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners. Of returning players, Ryan Chesley (1g, 2a), Bogdan Trineyev (1g, 2a), Louie Belpedio (3a), and Andrew Cristall (3a) shared the team scoring lead against the Bruins. Providence signed former Bear Wyatt Bongiovanni during the offseason after Bongiovanni finished last season with Hershey following a trade between Washington and the Ottawa Senators organization, recording five points (3g, 2a) in 11 games with Hershey. The Bruins are in their first year under new head coach Trent Whitfield.

SUCCESSFUL START:
This is the 27th time in franchise history that the Bears have opened a season with three wins through its first four games. The most recent instance occurred during the 2023-24 campaign, when Hershey dropped its home opener to Belleville 3-0 before winning its next three games by a combined 13-8 score. That club went on to set a franchise record by finishing with a .771 points percentage. The Bears have also won three straight games at home, something they just did once all last season. 

VETERAN DEFENSE SUCCESS:
Hershey captain Louie Belpedio has been a steady performer in his AHL career vs. the Bruins, scoring 10 points (1g, 9a) in 19 head-to-head meetings with Providence. Fellow rearguard Jacob MacDonald has also had success vs. Providence, striking for 13 points (6g, 7a) in his 21 career games vs. the Black and Gold. 

SOMETHING’S BRUIN’:
Tonight’s contest is the fifth straight home game for Hershey amid a seven-game homestand to start the campaign. For the Bruins, it’s the club’s first road game of the new season after they opened with five straight games at Amica Mutual Pavillion, going just 1-4-0-0 in a building they went 27-9-0-0 last season. The Bruins have allowed the first goal in all five games this season and they are 1-for-23 (4.3%) on the power play. Forward Mikey Eyssimont did have a hat trick in Providence’s lone win over Charlotte on Oct. 10, but overall, Providence has scored just nine goals so far this season. Despite the slow start, the Bruins have many experienced players on the roster who make them a formidable opponent in the Atlantic Division, including veteran forward Brendan Gaunce, who has scored 301 points in 431 career AHL games.

BEARS BITES:
Joey Anderson’s next point will be his 200th in the AHL…Josh Dunne is two points away from his 100th AHL point…Spencer Smallman matched his AHL single-game career high with a three-point outing (1g, 2a) in Sunday’s win over Texas…The P-Bruins’ assistant coach is Ryan Bourque, a forward who played for the Bears from 2016-17…Providence’s Šimon Zajíček became the first Bruins goaltender ever to be credited with scoring a goal on Oct. 10 vs. Charlotte. Hershey has never had a goaltender directly score or be credited with a goal in franchise history, 

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Oct. 17, 2008 – Riding a three-game road winning streak to open the season into the Spectrum, the Bears took on the Philadelphia Phantoms in their first of 12 meetings that season. What followed was an instant classic featuring multiple lead changes, as Hershey fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period, then jumped ahead 3-2 in the second before falling behind 4-3 by the end of the frame. In the third period Oskar Osala tied the game at 4-4, and Dean Arsene, who had earlier scrapped with Matt Clackson and assisted on a Quintin Laing goal, notched his first goal since April of 2006 with less than two and a half minutes remaining in regulation to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick and lift the Bears to a 5-4 win over the hated Phantoms.