Season Ends for Bears in 4-1 Loss to Penguins

May 7, 2026

The Hershey Bears (3-3) saw their 2025-26 season come to an end following a 4-1 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-1) in Game 4 of the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals on Thursday night at GIANT Center.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton jumped out to a 1-0 lead 1:15 into the first period with a goal from Joona Koppanen on the team's first shot of the game; the goal was the earliest goal allowed by Hershey in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
• Ivan Miroshnichenko knotted the score with a power-play strike at 19:54 with his second goal in as many games. Louie Belpedio and Andrew Cristall assisted on the tally; Cristall extended his point streak to five games (2g, 5a) with the helper.
• Harrison Brunicke put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead 2-1 at 6:20 of the second period with a shorthanded goal after Andrew Cristall's shot attempt made its way through the crease and led to a Penguins counterattack that resulted in Brunicke putting in a rebound past Clay Stevenson.
• Ville Koivunen buried an insurance goal at 3:33 of the third period on a give-and-go rush to extend Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's lead to 3-1, and the Penguins added an empty-net goal from Gabe Klassen at 19:29.
• The defeat marked only the second time in the postseason history between the Bears and Penguins that Hershey lost consecutive home games to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the same playoff series (2001 Western Conference Finals, Games 3 and 4).
• Hershey's 38 shots on goal marked a new high for the team in the current postseason.

SHOTS ON GOAL: HER - 38; WBS - 30

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 26-for-29; WBS - Sergei Murashov, 37-for-38

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-6; WBS - 0-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King's thoughts on the team's effort:
"I'm proud of these guys. They've come a long way. Hopefully they learn from this, that sting. Drives them over the summer. And then when we come back next year - whoever's back with us has that feeling that we've got to take the next step."

King on the group's development this season:
"Well, they need to learn - especially if they're going to go to the next level - they need to learn that every time they step on the ice, the game's on the line. It's pretty simple. That's all they've got to learn. It might be a 20-second shift or a minute shift. It doesn't matter. When you're out there, you have to think that way. The game is on the line right now. And I think for the most part, we did a good job of it this year. But there were times in this series, even in the Bridgeport series, you drop your guard, you kind of get a little complacent, and then it's in the back of your net. Then it's like, oh, wake up again, and then, you know, push back. But I'm real happy with the way we did this year, especially with the young guys. I think they've grown as players, as people. And I'm ready to get next year going."

Bears defenseman Louie Belpedio on the series:
"You know, this game's funny sometimes. Sometimes you get what you deserve, sometimes you don't. I'm not discrediting [Wilkes-Barre/Scranton] at all. That's a really good hockey team. So are we. It was a great series. I thought we played really well. You know, could it have gone either way? In my eyes, yes. But it didn't, unfortunately, and we've got to learn from it and we'll all be better in the future because of it."

Belpedio on serving as part of the leadership group with Aaron Ness and Matt Strome:
"Those two in particular have two things that I don't, and that's two Calder Cups. You don't get those by accident. Nesser's been an absolute pleasure to learn from. Even at my age, I still learn things from him every day. He's been a pleasure to be around. Stromer, same thing. Like, those guys have been through it all. They've played deep into the summer and obviously got the result that you play this game for. So it was a pleasure for me personally to be able to come to the rink every day and just chip in and work hard and try to just be myself and not only lead for everyone else, but learn from our other leaders as well. So I thought it was a lot of fun. And there's a reason that this town has won as much as we have. It's no accident, it's no mistake. It starts within, and Nesser's done a hell of a job. I couldn't even tell you how many years he's been here, but just recently alone, just righting the ship every day."

Bears captain Aaron Ness on his emotions after this series loss:
"Yeah, it's pretty emotional. It's hard when the guys are in there after and stuff too, because you go through a lot with the group and it was a different year, right? It was a lot of ups and downs and I just loved how that team stuck together and battled. There's a lot of good guys in there and a lot of good hockey players are going to have bright futures. So it's always fun to watch and see them grow throughout the year."

Ness on this playoff run and the series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:
"I think Kinger said it - he said it seemed like once the playoffs started in the first game in Bridgeport, it's like something clicked for us as a group and we started really buying in and playing the right way. And I think that's pretty cool to see because you take the selfishness out of the game when guys are trying to produce and do well and get numbers to essentially try to get called up. And I think guys just put everything aside and said, 'I'm going to play for the guy next to me,' and that's what makes this group so special. I think we came together at the right time, and you look at those games and I mean, this series could easily have gone the other way, I think. That's hockey, it's one of those things. They have a good team and, you know, good luck to them on their path here."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears will return for their 89th season of competition in the American Hockey League in October. Check HersheyBears.com for the latest offseason and ticket updates.