Game Preview: Bears vs. Checkers, 7 p.m.

December 13, 2025

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as the Bears host the Charlotte Checkers tonight in the first meeting between the two teams since the Checkers knocked the Bears out of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Hershey Bears (12-10-1-0) vs. Charlotte Checkers (12-7-2-0)
Dec. 13, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Austin Rook (26), Mason Riley (79) 
Linespersons: Dylan Blujus (57), Tommy George (61)

Tonight's Promotions:

90s Night - Let's get jiggy with it! Grunge, neon, boy bands...We're here for all the nostalgic trends. Our first ever 90s Night is going to be rad!

Highmark Fanny Pack Night (first 5,000 fans) - The first 5,000 fans will receive a fanny pack, courtesy of Highmark.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS VIA TICKETMASTER

Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski 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, In-arena on 88.9-FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears fell to the Providence Bruins for the second time this week last night, dropping a 4-1 decision at GIANT Center. Brett Leason had Hershey's lone goal while the Bruins got three assists from captain Patrick Brown and netminder Simon Zajicek turned aside 29 shots. Hershey has now lost four of its past five games and the Bears are just 2-5-0-0 through seven games of the club's franchise-record nine-game homestand. The Checkers last played Wednesday night on home ice, defeating the Cleveland Monsters by a 4-0 score. Kirilll Gerasimyuk picked up his second shutout of the season with 13 saves. 

CHECKING IN WITH THE CHECKERS:
Tonight's matchup with Charlotte is the first time since the defending Eastern Conference champions completed a three-game sweep of the Bears in the 2025 Atlantic Division Finals, ending a league-record streak of nine consecutive playoff series victories for Hershey. The Checkers would go on to fall to the Abbotsford Canucks in six games in the 2025 Calder Cup Finals. Former Bear Brian Pinho is in his first season with Charlotte after previously skating with Hershey from 2018-22. The Checkers have collected points in the club's previous four road games (3-0-1-0) and are paced in scoring by Ben Steeves' 15 points (9g, 6a). This is the first of eight matchups with Charlotte this season, and the Checkers enter tonight's game one point ahead of the Bears in the Atlantic Division standings.

LEASON LEADS THE WAY: 
Forward Brett Leason inked a professional tryout  with the Charlotte Checkers on Oct. 13, and was poised to join Hershey's Atlantic Division foe, but before he could take the ice with the Checkers due to visa issues, the Washington Capitals swooped in and signed Leason to an NHL deal on Oct. 27. He's been one of Hershey's top players since debuting with the Bears on Nov. 14, scoring 10 points (5g, 5a) in 12 games, including striking for four goals over his past four games. Leason has fired 18 shots in that span, and is already halfway to his AHL career-high of 20 points (9g, 11a) in 33 games with Hershey during  the 2020-21 campaign. Leason has scored two goals in 10 career games versus the Checkers.

IN A NICK OF TIME:
Defender Nicky Leivermann is now healthy and is an option to make his season debut tonight for head coach Derek King's squad. The blueliner was injured in Hershey's Oct. 1 preseason game vs. Lehigh Valley and recently returned from a two-game stint with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays where he had two assists in two games. Leivermann recorded 16 points (3g, 13a) in 37 games in his first full season last year with Hershey. He spent the majority of the 2023-24 campaign with the Stingrays, but joined Hershey's roster for the 2024 playoffs, and due to injuries, jumped into Hershey's lineup in the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, helping the team to three straight wins as the franchise claimed its 13th title. 

BEARS BITES:
With an assist in last night's contest, forward Andrew Cristall extended his assist streak to six games (8a)...Goaltender Clay Stevenson logged the second assist of his AHL career last night...Hershey forward Justin Nachbaur is a former Checker, playing the first six games of his career with Charlotte in 2021-22... Injured forward Spencer Smallman is also a former member of Charlotte, playing parts of two seasons for the club from 2018-20...Of all teams in the AHL, Hershey has played the most home games (15) and the fewest road games (8). The Bears are 6-8-1-0 on home ice and 6-2-0-0 on the road...Tonight's promotion is 90s Night and Hershey's roster features 12 players who were born in the 1990s. Hershey's oldest player, captain Aaron Ness, was born in 1990, while the club's youngest player, Ilya Protas, was born in 2006.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Dec. 13, 1942 - Frank Daley knocked in an unassisted rebound goal past Buffalo goaltender Gordon Bell at 16:03 of the third period to tie the game at 3-3, as the Bears and Bisons skated to an eventual overtime tie in front of over 7,000 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Goaltender Nick Damore made seven saves in the third period as well as three more in overtime to help the Bears secure the necessary point to extend Hershey's unbeaten streak to 15 games (11-0-4), a mark that stands to this day as the franchise record.