Game Preview: Bears vs. Crunch, 5 p.m.

October 12, 2025

 The Hershey Bears complete the opening weekend of the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they rematch with the Syracuse Crunch at GIANT Center. 

Hershey Bears (0-1-0-0) vs. Syracuse Crunch (1-0-0-0)
Oct. 12, 2025 | 5 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Austin Rook (26), Damian Figueira (32) 
Linespersons:  Anthony Lapointe (58), Tommy George (61)

Tonight's Promotions:

Dark Nights Takeover - Select characters from Dark Nights at Hersheypark Halloween will leave the shadows of Hersheypark and prowl the concourse.

PNC Bank Magnet Schedule Night (all fans) - All fans will receive a magnet schedule, courtesy of PNC Bank.

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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, In-arena 88.9-FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:30 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears opened the franchise's 88th season in the American Hockey League last night with a 5-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at GIANT Center. Ethen Frank scored twice for Hershey, while Charle-Edouard D'Astous (1g, 2a) and Jakob Pelletier (2g, 1a) had three points apiece for the Crunch. Frank's goals came at :28 and 4:29 of the second period to give Hershey a 2-0 lead, but the Crunch rattled off five unanswered goals, going 3-for-6 on the power play. Hershey went 0-for-4 on the man advantage, and the Bears were outshot 39-16 on the evening, including 16-2 in the third period. 

SAVORING SUNDAY:
This marks the fifth consecutive season Hershey has opened the regular season with back-to-back home games on a Saturday and Sunday. Over the past four years, Hershey has gone 3-1-0-0 in the Sunday contest, with the only loss coming last season in a 6-3 defeat to Cleveland, despite a hat trick from Ivan Miroshnichenko. In the 2024-25 campaign, the Bears posted an 8-4-0-0 home record in Sunday games, while they went 11-4-0-0 overall in Sunday contests. 

GOING TO GARIN:
Hershey netminder Garin Bjorklund could make his season debut in tonight's contest. The 23-year-old went 2-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage for the Bears in 2024-25 in his first AHL action. He made his American Hockey League debut with Hershey on March 26, making 26 saves in a 4-1 win at Bridgeport. The Grande Prairie, Alberta native posted a 21-4-3 record with a 2.02 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage, and one shutout in 29 games with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays last year. He ranked second in the ECHL in goals-against average and third in save percentage, helping the Stingrays capture the Brabham Cup championship as the ECHL team with the best record in the regular season.

FRANKY FIRES FIRST:
Forward Ethen Frank recorded the 16th multi-goal game of his AHL career last night, striking for Hershey's first two tallies of the season. He scored on both shots he took in last night's contest, making him one of three players in the AHL to accomplish this feat (Travis Boyd, Toronto and Devin Kaplan, Lehigh Valley). Frank has enjoyed Opening Night success over the past two years, including topping last night's performance in the 2024-25 opener, striking for a hat trick in a 7-3 win over the Cleveland Monsters on Oct. 12, 2024. Frank has posted seven points (4g, 3a) in seven career games versus the Crunch, and has scored in three straight games versus Syracuse, dating back to last season.

CLARKE TO PROVIDE SPARK:
Forward Graeme Clarke made his Hershey debut last night after striking for a 16-goal campaign last year with the Iowa Wild. Earlier in his career, Clarke posted back-to-back 25-goal seasons with Utica, and the Syracuse Crunch were a team that Clarke victimized often. In his AHL career, Clarke has scored more points versus Syracuse than any other opponent, tallying 26 points (12g, 14a) in 37 games. 

BEARS BITES:
Forward Andrew Cristall tallied a pair of assists in his professional debut last night for the Bears...Forwards Eriks Mateiko and Ilya Protas also made their professional debuts for Hershey...In his debut with the Chocolate and White, defender Louie Belpedio recorded an assist...Goaltender Clay Stevenson faced a career-high 38 shots in last night's loss...Forward Spencer Smallman and defenseman Nicky Leivermann missed the season opener due to injury...A win tonight for Hershey would be the 100th victory in the head coaching career of Derek King...Tonight's game is Syracuse's final game in Hershey this season. The Bears will visit the Crunch on Nov. 14 and March 27.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Oct. 12, 1968 - The Bears opened their home schedule for the 1968-69 season with a 5-3 win over the Baltimore Clippers at Hershey Sports Arena. Jeannot Gilbert tallied a hat trick for the home side to kick off a seven-game winning streak for the Bears, who went on to claim the franchise's fourth Calder Cup later that season.