Weekly Release: Bears Battle Phantoms and IceHogs

December 30, 2025

The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, by closing out the 2025 calendar year on Wednesday at Lehigh Valley, before returning home to GIANT Center to ring in the New Year with a pair of games against the Rockford IceHogs, including Sunday's world-famous GIANT Teddy Bear Toss.

2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (12)
Assists: Andrew Cristall (17)
Points: Ilya Protas (23)
PIMs: Justin Nachbaur (41)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (4)
Shorthanded Goals: Ryan Chesley, Grant Cruikshank, Ilya Protas, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Game-Winning Goals: Ryan Chesley (2)
Plus/Minus: Ilya Protas (+8)
Shots: Graeme Clarke (68)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (7)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund, Mitch Gibson (1)
GAA: Mitch Gibson (1.51)
SV%: Mitch Gibson (.944)
Only includes players on active roster

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Monday, Dec. 29
Practice canceled

Tuesday, Dec. 30
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center

Wednesday, Dec. 31
Travel to Lehigh Valley

Thursday, Jan. 1
Day Off

Friday, Jan. 2
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center

Saturday, Jan. 3
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m., GIANT Center

Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

Saturday, Dec. 27 - Hershey 2 at W-B/Scranton 5
Sunday, Dec. 28 - Hershey 2 vs. Charlotte 3

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, Dec. 31 at Lehigh Valley, 3:05 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 3 vs. Rockford, 7 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS

• PSECU Knit Hat Night - The first 5,000 fans will receive a Bears knit hat, courtesy of PSECU.
• Washington Capitals Night - Join us as we celebrate the previous 20 years of affiliation with the Washington Capitals.

Sunday, Jan. 4 vs. Rockford, 3 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS

• GIANT Teddy Bear Toss - During the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, all fans are encouraged to bring new, stuffed items to the game to toss onto the ice when the Bears score their first goal. All items collected will be donated to local charities.

All times Eastern.

Television Coverage: WPMT FOX43.2 Antenna TV (Sunday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

TEDDY BEAR TOSS TIDBITS:
The Bears will host their world-famous GIANT Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday against Rockford, as Hershey looks to supplant its own ice hockey world record. Last season's Jan. 5 game against Providence saw Mike Sgarbossa score Hershey's Teddy Bear Toss goal at 14:45 of the first period, prompting fans to throw a club-record 102,343 teddy bears and stuffed animals to the ice that were ultimately collected and donated to children in need across Central Pennsylvania through 35 local organizations as part of the team's Hershey Bears Cares initiative. The event has grown in scale each year since it was first held by the Bears in 2001, and the club has collected in total 566,640 stuffed animals since then. Since 2001, Hershey has posted a record of 15-3-0-2 along with two ties in Teddy Bear Toss games hosted by the club. The organization also hosted a drive-thru event in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bears forward Bogdan Trineyev scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal for the club against Lehigh Valley in 2024.

ROOKIE DUO LEADING THE WAY AGAINST THE PHANTOMS:
The I-78 rivalry resumes Wednesday as Hershey visits Lehigh Valley for a 3:05 p.m. matinee. Hershey leads the season series with a 4-1-0-0 record, splitting the two games played at PPL Center. Ilya Protas (2g, 4a) and Andrew Cristall (1g, 5a) lead the Bears in scoring against the Phantoms this season, while all three of Hershey's goaltenders have earned a win against Lehigh Valley.  Hershey sits five points back of Lehigh Valley for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand.

MUGGLI AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP:
Leon Muggli is serving as captain of Switzerland's roster at the 2026 World Junior Championship in Minnesota; the Swiss entered today in fourth place in the five-team Group A, with preliminary round games remaining against Germany and Slovakia.

CLARKE AT SPENGLER CUP:
Graeme Clarke was re-assigned to Team Canada for the 2025 Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland on Dec. 23. The forward produced one assist in three games for Canada, which fell in its quarterfinals matchup with HC Sparta Praha. Clarke is expected to re-join Hershey in time for its games this weekend.

GOING HOG-WILD:
The Bears will welcome the Rockford IceHogs to GIANT Center this weekend for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when Hershey's current head coach Derek King was behind the Rockford bench. Hershey is a lifetime 1-2-1-0 against Rockford; Hershey's lone win was a 3-2 shootout victory on Feb. 23, 2019. Defenseman Aaron Ness is the lone Bears player from that game who is still with the club. Current IceHogs defenseman Andrew Perrott played 19 games for the Bears last season, while head coach Jared Nightingale was the head coach of Hershey's ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, during the 2024-25 campaign. The Bears will visit Rockford for a pair of games in late February.

POTENTIAL FATHER VS. SON MATCHUP:
After coaching his son D.J. King earlier this year with the Bears when the South Carolina Stingrays defenseman signed a professional try-out (PTO) agreement with Hershey, Bears head coach Derek King may actually coach against his son this weekend. The younger King was signed to a PTO by Rockford on Dec. 27.

STINGRAYS REPORT:
The South Carolina Stingrays sit third in the South Division and had three games postponed last week as a result of the strike initiated by the Professional Hockey Players' Association on Dec. 26; the PHPA and ECHL announced the ratification of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement earlier today, with the Stingrays slated to play their next game on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at Greenville.

BEARS BITES:
Andrew Cristall leads the Bears in the month of December with eight points (2g, 6a) in nine games...Ilya Protas' 23 points are tied for fifth in league rookie scoring...By virtue of his two relief appearances in net this past weekend for Hershey, Clay Stevenson has now appeared in 88 career games with Hershey, moving into a tie with Dany Sabourin for 24th in franchise history among goaltenders. His next victory will move him into a tie with Marc D'Amour (53) for 18th in the club record book...Nicky Leivermann has earned an assist in each of his two appearances this season...Corey Schueneman is two assists away from reaching 100 career AHL helpers.