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

February 7, 2026

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they return home to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to complete this week's home-and-home set after dropping a 4-1 decision to the Penguins on Wednesday at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

Hershey Bears (20-16-5-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (31-12-2-2)
Feb. 7, 2026 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Alex Lepkowski (44), Mike Dietrich (15)
Linesperson: Dylan Blujus (57), Tommy George (61)

PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THIS GAME 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
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 visited the Penguins on Wednesday and entered the third period tied 0-0 before Aaron Huglen opened the scoring for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1:39 into the frame. After Grant Cruikshank answered for the Bears with an unassisted strike at 4:08, Avery Hayes netted a power-play goal at 7:55 that stood up as the game-winner, and Tanner Howe and Aidan McDonough tacked on insurance goals to deal Hershey a 4-1 loss. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton extended its winning streak to four games last night with a 6-5 win at Lehigh Valley, as defenseman Matt Dumba recorded a hat trick and added an assist to lead the way for the Penguins.

FINAL HOME GAME OF I-81 SEASON SERIES:
Tonight's game marks the final match at GIANT Center between the Bears and Penguins this season. Hershey has posted a record of 1-2-0-1 at home against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton through the first four home games of the series; the last time the Bears only managed one home win through the entire season series was during the 2017-18 campaign, when the Bears went 1-4-1-0 at GIANT Center. Hershey will visit Wilkes-Barre/Scranton two more times this season, with the next meeting taking place on March 13.

STROMER STRENGTH:
Matt Strome began the 2025-26 campaign with 10 points in his first 15 games before sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 22 at Cleveland; as a result, he missed the next 13 games - including the first five contests of this season's series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - before returning in early January. Since joining the Bears in the 2022-23 season, Strome has managed eight points (2g, 6a) in 25 career games against the Penguins.

MEMORABLE PENGUINS DEBUT:
It has been an eventful week for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Avery Hayes, who scored the game-winning tally for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday against Hershey, then made his NHL debut on Thursday night against Buffalo, becoming just the seventh player in NHL history to score a pair of goals in the first period of their major league premiere. With the NHL on its Olympic break, Pittsburgh loaned Hayes back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday. Undrafted out of the Ontario Hockey League, Hayes is in his third pro season and has 16 points (11g, 5a) in 20 career games against the Bears.

BEARS BITES:
Tonight's game marks the final contest for Hershey before the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford; rookie forward Ilya Protas will represent the organization at the league's mid-season showcase...Several players who previously appeared in at least one regular-season or playoff game with the Bears will be participating in the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy, beginning next week: Tom Wilson (Canada), Michal Kempný (Czechia), Tomáš Kundrátek (Czechia), Mathias Bau (Denmark), Dustin Gazely (Italy), Philipp Grubauer (Germany), Martin Fehérváry (Slovakia), Marcus Johansson (Sweden), Damien Riat (Switzerland), and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland)...The Bears are 16-4-4-2 when scoring first and 11-2-2-1 when leading after the first period...Hershey is 12-11-3-2 against Atlantic Division opponents this season...Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Sergei Murashov is fourth among goaltending wins with 17 and is third in save percentage (.926).

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Feb. 7, 1981 - Hershey winger Mark Lofthouse tied the team's single-game scoring record when he recorded eight points in the club's 11-4 win versus Rochester, a game also marked by a club-record nine goals in the second period. Lofthouse notched four goals and four assists in the victory, and went on to lead the Bears with 103 points that season.