The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they endure their first three-in-three weekend of the season, as Hershey visits Syracuse on Friday before returning to the Keystone State for a home-and-home set with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms beginning Saturday in Allentown, before concluding on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.
2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Graeme Clarke (4)
Assists: Louie Belpedio, Andrew Cristall, Henrik Rybinski (5)
Points: Henrik Rybinski, Matt Strome (7)
PIMs: Justin Nachbaur (32)
Power-Play Goals: Graeme Clarke (2)
Shorthanded Goals: Ryan Chesley, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Game-Winning Goals: Ryan Chesley (2)
Plus/Minus: Henrik Rybinski (+4)
Shots: Graeme Clarke (40)
Wins: Garin Bjorklund, Clay Stevenson (3)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund (1)
GAA: Garin Bjorklund (2.17)
SV%: Garin Bjorklund (.915)
Only includes qualified players
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Nov. 10
Day off
Tuesday, Nov. 11
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center
Wednesday, Nov. 12
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center
Thursday, Nov. 13-Saturday, Nov. 15
No practice, team is on the road
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Friday, Nov. 7 - Hershey 2 vs. Toronto 5
Sunday, Nov. 9 - Hershey 2 vs. Rochester 1
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday, Nov. 14 at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15 at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 16 vs. Lehigh Valley, 3 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
All times Eastern.
Television Coverage: WPMT FOX 43.2 Antenna TV (Friday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
THREE OF A KIND:
This weekend's slate of games against Syracuse and Lehigh Valley marks Hershey's first three-in-three set of the season. Hershey will play two additional three-in-three slates of games, cycling through Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lehigh Valley, and Charlotte the weekend of Jan. 23, and facing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and a pair of games against Belleville the weekend of March 13. Last season, the Bears swept both three-in-three sets (Oct. 25-27, April 4-6) they faced.
LEASON EXPECTED TO DRAW INTO LINEUP:
After his loan to Hershey on Oct. 28 from Washington, forward Brett Leason was forced to miss five games while awaiting the receipt of a visa; that issue has been resolved, and Leason is expected to suit up for his first game as a Bear this weekend since scoring in Game 3 of the Atlantic Division First Round on May 9, 2022. The 6'5", 220-pound winger's last regular-season game as a Bear was on April 24, 2022 against Syracuse, in which he scored against the Crunch. Leason appeared in 114 regular-season games with Hershey from 2019-22, tallying 47 points (18g, 29a).
DYNAMIC DUO:
Hershey's netminding tandem of Clay Stevenson and Garin Bjorklund represent one of nine AHL goaltending pairs that have each recorded at least three wins apiece, along with Grand Rapids, Henderson, Laval, Lehigh Valley, Providence, Rockford, Syracuse, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Bjorklund's 2.17 goals-against average is tied for 10th among AHL netminders, while Stevenson's 45 wins since the start of his first full AHL campaign in 2023-24 rank eighth among all goaltenders in that time.
NESS TO PASS MARSHALL WITH NEXT GAME:
Aaron Ness enters the week with 439 regular-season games played with the Chocolate and White, which ties the defenseman with the late Willie Marshall for 23rd in franchise history. The 35-year-old blueliner is in his eighth season with the Bears over the course of two separate stints, and his 184 points (32g, 152a) as a Bear also makes him the highest-scoring American-born defenseman in club history. Ness has accumulated two assists in 11 games with the Bears this season; he is one of four players to have appeared in every game for Hershey this season, along with Graeme Clarke, Andrew Cristall, and Ilya Protas.
BITS AND PIECES:
Sam Bitten's acquisition last week from the Springfield Thunderbirds has paid immediate dividends for Hershey. The forward recorded a point on his first shift with the Bears, assisting on Matt Strome's goal 18 seconds into last Friday's contest and adding his first goal as a Bear later in the contest. Bitten then tallied the opening goal for Hershey in Sunday's 2-1 win over Rochester, making him the first Hershey player to light the lamp in each of his first two games with the club since Mike Sgarbossa at the start of the 2018-19 season.
POTENT POWER PLAY AND PENALTY KILL ON THE ROAD:
Through four road games this season, Hershey's special teams have done some considerable heavy lifting. The club's road power play is third in the AHL, going 4-for-13 (30.8%), while its road penalty kill also sits in third in the AHL at 12-for-13 (92.3%).
SWINGING THROUGH SYRACUSE:
Hershey makes its first of two visits to Syracuse this season after previously hosting the Crunch for a pair of games during opening weekend. While the Bears did drop both home games to Syracuse, picking up a point in a 3-2 overtime loss on Oct. 12, Hershey carries a two-game road win streak at Syracuse into Friday's meeting, and has won its last three road games overall this season.
PHANTOM POWER:
Through two prior meetings this season, the Bears and Phantoms have each earned a win, with Hershey going 3-for-8 (37.5%) with the man advantage and 5-for-6 (83.3%) on the penalty kill against Lehigh Valley. Former Phantom Matt Strome leads the Bears against Lehigh Valley with three points (1g, 2a), including his first AHL power-play goal since Dec. 27, 2019, when he was a member of the Phantoms.
STINGRAYS REPORT:
Bears-contracted goaltender Mitch Gibson - currently on loan to the South Carolina Stingrays - was named the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week after going 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and a save percentage of .958 in two appearances last week. The Stingrays are second in the South Division and third overall in the 30-team circuit.
BEARS BITES:
Matt Strome (1g, 2a) and Graeme Clarke (2g, 1a) lead Hershey with three power-play points...Justin Nachbaur is tied for the league lead with four major penalties...Ryan Chesley's two game-winning goals are tied for the league lead among defensemen...Hershey is 3-0-0-0 when leading after the first period and 4-0-1-0 when leading after the second period...The Bears are tied for fourth in the league in allowing the fewest shots against per game (26.45)...Corey Schueneman is three assists away from his 100th professional assist (ECHL, 1; AHL, 91; NHL, 5).
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