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

The Hershey Bears continue their seven-game homestand to open the 2026-27 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they face the Texas Stars for the first time in regular-season competition. 

Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) vs. Texas Stars (1-0-0-1)
Oct. 10, 2026 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Luke Stork (54), Brendan Schreider (20)
Linespersons: Josh Cleary (45), John Rey (16)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS VIA TICKETMASTER

Promotions:

• B-E-A-R-Sapalooza Country Night – Play somethin’ country! Get ready to have a yee-hockey good time at Country Night!
• Pepsi Straw Cowboy Hat – The first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a straw cowboy hat, courtesy of Pepsi.

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 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears earned a split of last weekend’s series against the Charlotte Checkers with a 3-2 win on Sunday, as Eriks Mateiko, Petr Sikora, and Josh Dunne scored, while Garin Bjorklund made 27 saves to help Hershey earn its first win of the season. The Stars earned a point on Sunday in a 4-3 shootout defeat to the Iowa Wild, as former Bear Mike Sgarbossa scored twice and Texas held a 3-0 lead less than two minutes into the third period, but the Wild scored three straight to tie the game and Gerry Mayhew scored in the fourth round of the shootout to complete the comeback.

TEXAS TURNOUT:
Hershey will play its first-ever regular-season contests against the Texas Stars this weekend at GIANT Center. The two teams previously faced each other in the 2010 Calder Cup Finals, which saw the expansion Stars take the first two games of the series in Hershey before the Bears rattled off three straight road wins before returning home to clinch their 11th Calder Cup in franchise history in a 4-0 Game 6 victory. Current Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer was the captain of that championship squad, while Texas assistant coaches Maxime Fortunus and Travis Morin competed for the Stars in that playoff run; Morin previously played a combined five games with the Bears between 2007-09. The Bears will visit the Stars for a pair of games in March at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

SGARBOSSA SLATED TO MAKE RETURN:
This weekend’s series against the Stars will mark the first opportunity for Hershey to face longtime former Bear Mike Sgarbossa. The forward played 297 regular-season games for the Chocolate and White from 2018-25, recording 268 points (93g, 175a) in that time, leading the club twice in scoring during the 2018-19 (65 points) and 2022-23 (58 points) seasons. Additionally, Sgarbossa earned a Calder Cup ring with the team in 2023, scoring three points (1g, 2a) in Hershey’s four-game series with Charlotte before being sidelined for the remainder of the postseason with an injury. Sgarbossa’s 93 goals are tied for 46th in team history, while his 175 assists rank 26th. Last season, Sgarbossa played in Switzerland’s National League with Lugano and Bern before returning stateside, signing with Texas on July 8. The veteran forward has produced three points (2g, 1a) in two games this season with the Stars.

WESTERN FLAVOR:
A handful of Bears players come with experience of playing in the Western Conference against the Texas Stars with some regularity. Bears captain Louie Belpedio leads the pack with 30 games played against Texas, the majority of which was while he played for the Iowa Wild; the defenseman has logged seven points (2g, 5a) against the Stars. Goaltender Cal Petersen has a 4-0-0 career record versus Texas, while forward Jonny Brodzinski has produced nine points (3g, 6a) in nine games against the Stars, and defenseman Jacob MacDonald has nine points (4g, 5a) in eight contests. Other players with experience against Texas include:

Joey Anderson – 12GP, 3g, 6a

Josh Dunne – 6 GP, 2g

Justin Holl – 7 GP, 1g, 3a

Spencer Smallman – 18 GP, 3g, 4a

Dalton Smith – 8 GP, 0g, 2a

PARASCAK POISED FOR SEASON DEBUT:
Terik Parascak is set to potentially suit up for the Bears tonight for the first time since making his professional debut on April 19, 2025 versus Lehigh Valley. The 20-year-old forward is slated to skate on line with veteran Spencer Smallman and fellow rookie Lynden Lakovic.

BEARS BITES:
Bears defenseman David Gucciardi celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday…Bears assistant coach Brent Thompson previously coached Texas defenseman Kyle Burroughs with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers from 2015-20…Texas’ Dylan Hryckowian was awarded a penalty shot in overtime of last Sunday’s game but failed to score…Texas has produced the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award recipients to the AHL’s outstanding rookie in four of the last 12 seasons…Stars goaltender Brandon Halverson has a 3-7-1 record against Hershey with a 3.36 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:
Oct. 10, 1969 – The Bears re-acquired Jeannot Gilbert from the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Gene Ubriaco. Gilbert had suited up for Hershey in the previous two seasons as a farmhand of the Boston Bruins, but with the NHL doubling in size, Pittsburgh had claimed Gilbert from Boston in that June’s expansion draft. With Gilbert back in the fold for the Chocolate and White, he would go on to play six more seasons with the Bears, winning the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL’s top scorer in 1969 while helping Hershey win the Calder Cup against the Quebec Aces.