Leason, Bears Erupt for 6-3 Win Over Comets

February 25, 2026

Brett Leason scored twice in the first period on his way to a three-point night as the Hershey Bears (23-20-6-2) earned a 6-3 win over the Utica Comets (16-25-5-4) in a rare penalty-free game on Wednesday night at GIANT Center.

The triumph snapped Hershey's winless skid at home at seven games (0-2-4-1) and gave Hershey its first home victory against Utica since Oct. 15, 2022. The Bears concluded their season series with the Comets with a 2-0-0-0 record.

The win reduced Hershey's Magic Number to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs to 35.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Brett Leason opened the scoring with his 10th of the season on Hershey's second shot of the evening at 1:28 of the first period, with Henrik Rybinski and Andrew Cristall receiving assists.
• Leason struck again at 6:13 from Rybinski and Ivan Miroshnichenko to put the Bears ahead 2-0, giving Leason his third multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of his AHL career.
• Nathan Légaré buried Utica's first of the night at 16:10.
• The Bears scored twice in a 12-second blitz in the middle frame - their fastest two-goal sequence of the season - to extend their lead to 4-1, as Kaden Bohlsen scored his second goal in as many games at 5:02, and on the ensuing faceoff, Ilya Protas netted his team-leading 20th goal of the campaign at 5:14. Hershey's fourth goal of the game prompted the Comets to replace Jakub Málek in net with Nico Daws.
• After Kyle Criscuolo trimmed Hershey's lead to 4-2 at 17:42, Andrew Cristall restored the three-goal lead for the Bears with 0.1 seconds left on the clock with his 10th of the season.
• Corey Schueneman added an empty-net goal at 18:10 of the third period, and Utica's Josh Filmon closed out the scoring at 18:58.
• No penalties were called in the game, the first penalty-free contest involving Hershey since March 3, 1990 at the Utica Devils.
• Leason (2g, 1a), Cristall (1g, 1a), Schueneman (1g, 1a), Miroshnichenko (2a), and Rybinski (2a) all recorded multi-point games for Hershey.

SHOTS: HER 27, UTC 40

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 37-for-40; UTC - Jakub Málek [L], 9-for-13 & Nico Daws, 12-for-13

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-0; UTC - 0-for-0

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on what led to the win tonight and Hershey's puck management in the game:
"I think we had a plan that we wanted to come out and jump on them, and we got a goal right off the bat, and I think that just gave us some momentum and some energy. [Puck management was] much better. We can clean some things up. In the second period we kind of got hemmed in our end. It's going to happen, but I think it's what you do once you make that one turnover. We got to get back into habits where we're ending the play right away."

King on coaching a game without a single penalty called:
"I couldn't recall the last time I've seen something like that. I just think it was a good game. The refs let them play. It wasn't anything crazy. I didn't have to scream at the refs at all today, so it was nice, saved my voice. But I just think everybody was playing a good, hard, honest game. We were moving. [Utica's] a good skating team, so you start reaching on teams like that, that's when you draw, take penalties."

King on Brett Leason's performance and what leads to his offensive production:
"I just think when he's going north-south with the puck and he's driving the net, stuff like that, like his first goal. The second goal wowed everybody on the bench. He threw some toe drags there and some dipsy-doodles and roofed it, so it was good for him. But I just think he works. You saw him on the backcheck, you saw him being physical and managing the puck a lot better. And when he plays like that, he, he plays like he should be in the NHL."

Brett Leason's on what he saw on his goals:
"I think we were just playing quick today. Some good plays by [Henrik Rybinski] there, and just being in the right place at the right time. On the second one, it was a good chip by Ryby, kind of worked some magic and some space opened up, but I thought we played a fast game today."

Leason on what contributed to the win:
"I think a lot of the games we've been just playing from behind. We scored early and that got us the lead, playing with some confidence. It was nice playing with the lead for the change and to give the fans what they deserve."

Leason on the penalty-free game:
"I think that was the result of two teams playing hard, playing fast, playing smart, and simple. We were just working hard, always in the right position, never reaching, just playing hard."

Leason on the recent play of Clay Stevenson:
"He's been a game-changer for us. Obviously we can't be letting up that many shots, and a lot of them were Grade-A chances and we have to sharpen up defensively here, but there are some saves that he shouldn't be making and the score could be easily out of hand, but he's kept us in these games,but  he's playing well and deserves all of the praise he's getting."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Rockford IceHogs on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET at the BMO Center. Hershey returns home to host the Charlotte Checkers on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hometown Heroes: First Responders Night, featuring first responders-themed activities throughout the evening, and American Sentry Solar Yard Flag Night, where the first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a yard flag, courtesy of American Sentry Solar. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.