Miroshnichenko Lifts Bears to 4-3 OT Win Over Comets

January 31, 2026

Ivan Miroshnichenko recorded the fifth three-point night of his American Hockey League career to lead the Hershey Bears' (20-15-5-2) to a 4-3 comeback win in overtime against the Utica Comets (12-20-5-3) on Saturday night at Adirondack Bank Center.

The victory marked an end to Hershey's five-game winless skid against the Comets, and gave the Bears their first triumph over the Comets since Oct. 15, 2022 (3-1 W) and their first win at Utica since Feb. 25, 2022 (4-0 W). The two teams will meet again on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Hershey.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Ilya Protas was awarded Hershey's first penalty shot of the season - and first since Nov. 20, 2024 at Toronto (Brennan Saulnier, goal) - just 67 seconds into the first period, but was denied on his attempt by Nico Daws.
• Henrik Rybinski, playing in his 200th career professional game - all with the Bears - netted Hershey's first goal at 4:04 of the first period with his sixth of the season from Ryan Chesley and Graeme Clarke.
• The Bears nearly took a 2-0 lead when Louie Belpedio appeared to score with the man advantage at 13:49, but the goal was waved off for apparent goaltender interference.
• After Utica's Brian Halonen tied the game with a power-play goal at 16:08, the Bears restored their lead with Corey Schueneman's second goal of the season and his first with Hershey at 16:46 from Protas and Ivan Miroshnichenko.
• Cam Squires leveled the game at 2-2 at 7:31 of the second period. A giveaway to Evan Edwards resulted in the Utica skater tallying an unassisted goal at 14:27 to put the Comets ahead 3-2.
• Miroshnichenko knotted the score on the power play before the intermission with his seventh of the season at 19:06 from Protas and Andrew Cristall.
• Miroshnichenko tallied his second goal of the night - and his first career overtime-winner for Hershey - at 3:42 of the extra frame, with assists from Brett Leason and Leon Muggli. Miroshnichenko's performance capped his first multi-goal game of the season and his first three-point game since Feb. 1, 2025 vs. Bridgeport.
• Mitch Gibson made 30 saves to earn his fifth win of the season, while his team was outshot 33-18; Hershey's 16 shots in regulation matched the team's season mark for fewest shots taken in regulation.
• Hershey finished the month of January with a record of 6-1-4-2 (.692), its best record of the campaign by points percentage.

SHOTS: HER 18, UTC 33

GOALTENDING: HER - Mitch Gibson, 30-for-23; UTC - Nico Daws, 14-for-18

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-3; UTC - 0-for-2

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the Bears bouncing back with a win after suffering their first regulation loss of January the previous night at Rochester:
"I think they responded. I think the rest helped them. It wasn't a perfect game, but we battled through, and we had enough energy to do that."

King on the team forging ahead after a missed penalty shot and a waved-off goal in the first period:
"It's the guys on the bench, it's not as much the coaches. Obviously we're in their ear, but the guys on the bench were rooting each other on and had each other's backs."

King on what needs to happen structurally to avoid seeing goals against such as Utica's third goal of the game:
"You've got to keep it out of the middle. If there's nothing on the wall for the forwards to hit, then usually it's hard off the glass, and that's something we'll have to work on."

King on the play of Ivan Miroshnichenko:
"You know what? He played a good 200-foot game. He played hard, he was battling for pucks, and I think when guys are known to score goals or get points, when they get that first goal during the game, it makes them relaxed and feel better about themselves, and I thought his game took off."

King on the play of Mitch Gibson after bouncing back following Friday night:
"He was solid. We played well enough to help him out, but he helped us out more than we helped him out, let's put it that way."

Ivan Miroshnichenko on his performance and the team's success tonight:
"Good moment for me and my linemates. They played a strong game. But most important is the win. We get a couple of points. We need points to make the playoffs. But it was my first overtime goal here - good moment."

Mitch Gibson on navigating the weekend and getting the win in the second game of back-to-back starts in as many nights:
"Just being in the moment, and I think it was good to be on my toes at times and just going out there and playing, keeping the mindset really simple. The guys played great. Tough being on the road for five, six days now. They did a lot of good stuff in front of me, blocking shots. Definitely had to make some saves when I had to, but I think overall, it was a very good road trip, 2-1 on the week - we've got to be happy with that."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Hershey returns home to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.