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

December 20, 2025

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as the Bears conclude a franchise-record nine-game homestand with a Saturday evening contest against the Bridgeport Islanders.

Hershey Bears (13-10-1-0) vs. Bridgeport Islanders (11-12-1-1)
Dec. 20, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Patrick Hanrahan (52), Rob Hennessey (87)
Linespersons: Kirsten Welsh (10), Tommy George (61)

Tonight's Promotions:

• CPIHL Jerseys - Bears players will wear jerseys of various Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League teams during warm-ups.
• Berks Holiday Ham Shoot - All fans in attendance are welcome onto the ice post-game to participate in the Berks Holiday Ham Shoot.

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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, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in-progress), 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 closed out last week with a 4-0 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday, as Mitch Gibson made 36 saves to earn his first career American Hockey League shutout, defenseman Cam Allen scored his first career goal, and the line of Ivan Miroshnichenko, Henrik Rybinski, and Brett Leason combined to produce two goals and six points. The Islanders are coming off a 5-1 win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last night in Allentown. Veteran forward Chris Terry had three points (2g, 1a) as the Islanders claimed a fourth win over the club's past five games.

HOME COOKING:
Tonight's game marks the conclusion of a franchise-record nine-game homestand. Hershey has gone 3-5-0-0 at GIANT Center since Nov. 26, picking up wins over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lehigh Valley, and Charlotte. Bridgeport represents the lowest-seeded opponent in the standings over the course of this homestand. Over the past eight games the club has gone 5-for-27 (18.5%) on the power play and 23-for-27 (85.2%) on the penalty kill.

ISLE BE SEEING YOU:
The Islanders come to town tonight for their first of two visits this season. Bridgeport entered the week having won three straight games - the longest win streak by the Islanders since a four-game win streak in March of 2024 - before suffering a 5-0 home loss to Syracuse on Wednesday night. Hershey's first road win of the season came against Bridgeport, a 3-1 victory, on Oct. 29. The Bears have gone a combined 9-2-0-1 at home against the Islanders over the previous four seasons, and have won the last four meetings between the two clubs.

FUNK-ADELIC: 
Forward Zac Funk was re-assigned to the Bears on Monday from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays by the Washington Capitals and could draw into the lineup tonight to make his Hershey season debut. The 22-year-old began the 2025-26 campaign as a non-roster player for Washington continuing his rehabilitation from a lower-body injury sustained while with the Stingrays last season, and was originally added to Hershey's roster on Nov. 29, although he did not earn a sweater before being re-assigned to South Carolina on Dec. 1. Funk recorded goals in each of his first three games with the Stingrays and had four multi-point games in his first eight contests. Funk maintains his rookie status in the AHL this season after only appearing in 15 games with the Bears last season. The undrafted forward led the Western Hockey League in goals (67), power-play goals (31) and plus/minus (+56) and ranked second in points (123) in 2023-24, playing in 68 regular-season games with the Prince George Cougars.

BEARS BITES:
Forward Bogdan Trineyev was loaned to Hershey yesterday after skating in his first two NHL games with the Capitals. In a corresponding move, forward Ivan Miroshnichenko was recalled by the Capitals...Bears captain Aaron Ness is slated to suit up in his 453rd game with Hershey tonight, which will tie him with Frank Mario for 21st in franchise history...Forward Andrew Cristall enters tonight's game with assists in seven straight games, the second longest active streak in the AHL, only trailing Laval's Laurent Dauphin who has helpers in 10 straight games...Cristall's 17 assists lead all AHL rookies while teammate Ilya Protas' 11 goals rank tied for third among first-year players and are the most by an active rookie...Rookie defender Leon Muggli was re-assigned to Team Switzerland for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship earlier this week, which will be held Dec. 26, 2025 - Jan. 5, 2026 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Dec. 20, 2006 - The Bears took the ice for their 5,000th regular-season game in franchise history, a 7-4 victory over the Albany River Rats at Pepsi Arena. Quintin Laing led the way with a hat trick, as Hershey became just the seventh professional hockey team in North America to reach the 5,000 game mark.