Rapid Reaction: Despite Opening Night Loss, Belpedio Embraces Captaincy with Bears

No team in the history of the American Hockey League has ever gone undefeated.

The 2026-27 Hershey Bears will follow that trend following their 5-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers to open the campaign.

Although the Bears played with speed and jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on the strength of Josh Dunne’s goal in his Bears debut, the Checkers capitalized on several Hershey turnovers in the second and third period to eventually take the lead.

Bears head coach Derek King defended netminder Cal Petersen, making his regular-season debut for Hershey.

“We left him hanging there,” King said. “We coughed up some pucks and gave them some pretty good scoring chances. I thought he played well.”

The game also marked the public debut of defenseman Louie Belpedio as Bears captain, after the team announced his appointment on Friday.

“He’s a gamer. He competes, he’s great with the guys. I have a good relationship with him, so that made it easier to select him,” King said of his captain, while running down the list of other players on the roster who have worn letters at various stages in their career. “You could easily have put it on them too, but it’s just the fact that I think he’s the right fit for us.”

King continued, “He takes it upon himself, he takes pride in his game. I think we made the right decision on that one.”

Belpedio echoed King’s sentiment, and while he’s confident in his own leadership qualities, he added that’s a trait shared by several of his teammates.

“I think that’s what makes our group really special,” Belpedio said. “I’m thankful and grateful that I was chosen to wear it, and I know I’ve got some big shoes to fill, but I’m ready for the task.”

After playing for King last season in his first year with Hershey, Belpedio is looking forward to working with the bench boss as he takes on this new role.

“I think Kinger and I have an awesome relationship. He’s super easy to talk to, whether you’re an older guy, a younger guy,” Belpedio said. “He’s fantastic as a coach and as a person, so it makes it easy.”

The captain made a point in praising the play of several young players on the roster, including rookies Lynden Lakovic and Petr Sykora – who made their AHL debuts tonight – and gave some insight in terms of how he and other veteran players intend to provide a guiding hand in their development and build a winning culture.

“They’re both young and extremely talented. Sometimes less is more, and you learn that quick in this league. Being around such a young group last year, I feel like for someone of my standing, you just try to lead by example,” Belpedio said. “Don’t try to do too much, don’t try to be someone you’re not. They’re both skilled. They’re both going to make plays and we want them to do that. We want them to be themselves and it’s going to take time. There’s a learning curve. I went through it my first year. It’s a lot of ups and downs, but that’s part of hockey. I’m sure they’ll catch on quick and work extremely hard.”

Written by Bears media specialist, Jesse Liebman