Weekly Release: Bears Continue Road Trip with Three Games in New England

March 31, 2026

The Hershey Bears (28-27-6-3, fourth in Atlantic Division) continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they make their way through New England for three road games this week at Bridgeport, Springfield, and Hartford.

2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (27)
Assists: Andrew Cristall (36)
Points: Ilya Protas (55)
PIMs: Dalton Smith (85)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (10)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank (4)
Game-Winning Goals: Andrew Cristall (4)
Plus/Minus: Ilya Protas (+11)
Shots: Ilya Protas (132)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (15)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund, Mitch Gibson (1)
GAA: Clay Stevenson (2.70)
SV%: Clay Stevenson (.909)
Only includes players on active roster

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Monday, March 24
Travel to Bridgeport

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

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

Friday, March 27 - Hershey 4 at Syracuse 3
Saturday, March 28 - Hershey 2 at Lehigh Valley 4

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, April 1 at Bridgeport, 10:30 a.m.

Friday, April 3 at Springfield, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, April 4 at Hartford, 6 p.m.

All times Eastern.

Television Coverage: WPMT-FOX43 (Wednesday), WPMT-FOX43.2 Antenna TV (Friday and Saturday); Video Coverage:  AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

PLAYOFF PRIMER:
Each morning for the remainder of the regular season the AHL will publish an update to its Playoff Primer. With eight games remaining and currently at 65 points in the standings, the Bears will require a combination of 11 points either earned by their performance or lost by the team with the highest possible total outside of the playoff picture in order to qualify for the 2026 postseason.

PROTAS REMAINS IN NECK-AND-NECK HEAT FOR SCORING RACE:
Ilya Protas enters the weekend riding a seven-game point streak (5g, 5a). The 19-year-old has played in all but one game this season, and his team-leading 55 points (27g, 28a) are tied for the league rookie scoring lead with Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson, who boasts an identical statline; both are tied for 15th in overall league scoring. Protas' 20.5% shooting percentage is also tops among rookies with at least 36 games played. While 26 of Hutson's points have come with his team on the man advantage compared to Protas' 16, Protas' has generated 38 points at even strength and has added a shorthanded goal, both of which are superior to Hutson. When Protas has recorded at least a point this year, the Bears have posted a 21-8-2-3 record, with Hershey's 21 wins representing the most earned when an individual player on the team's roster makes their way onto the scoresheet. The club is also 13-6-4-2 when Protas finds the back of the net.

BRIDGEPORT BON VOYAGE:
Hershey will play its final road regular-season game against the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday morning at Total Mortgage Arena. The New York Islanders announced their intention earlier this month to relocate their American Hockey League franchise to the renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario for the 2026-27 season, receiving approval from the league's Board of Governors earlier today. In 66 lifetime regular-season contests at Total Mortgage Arena, the Bears are 33-23-2-3-5 against the Sound Tigers/Islanders franchise; the Bears are 1-0-0-1 this season at Bridgeport. Hershey will host the Islanders in the penultimate game of the 2025-26 campaign on April 18.

T-BIRDS TURNOVER:
Hershey will face the Springfield Thunderbirds for the first time since Oct. 31, when the Bears earned a 3-2 overtime win over the T-Birds with a goal from defenseman Calle Rosén. Three days later, Rosén was traded by the Washington Capitals to Springfield's affiliate, the St. Louis Blues, in exchange for Corey Schueneman; the Bears also acquired Sam Bitten from Springfield in exchange for future considerations. Since their fall meeting, Springfield has also changed coaches, as St. Louis relieved Steve Konowalchuk and replaced him with interim head coach Steve Ott in January. The Bears own a 2-1-0-0 record against the Thunderbirds this season, with Henrik Rybinski (2g, 2a) and Bogdan Trineyev (1g, 3a) pacing Hershey in scoring; Springfield's leading scorers against the Bears, Nikta Alexandrov and Matt Luff, were traded to Los Angeles and the New York Islanders, respectively, and captain Matthew Peca was traded to the Syracuse Crunch. Hershey has earned points in 10 of its last 11 visits to the MassMutual Center (8-1-2-0) dating back to Jan. 24, 2020.

MAKING HAY IN HARTFORD:
The Bears return to PeoplesBank Arena for the final time this season on Saturday, as Hershey looks to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Hershey is 0-1-2-0 against Hartford, after dropping a pair of overtime losses at home in January and falling 5-2 on the road in early March. Brett Leason's five points (2g, 3a) in two contests paces the Chocolate and White against Hartford. The last time the Bears went winless against the Wolf Pack in a season series was the 2013-14 campaign, in which Hershey went 0-1-0-1. Hershey's last road win over the Wolf Pack came on March 30, 2024, in a 2-1 shootout victory; the Wolf Pack are tied with the Calgary Wranglers for the fewest home wins this season with 10.

STINGRAYS REPORT:
The South Carolina Stingrays began a five-game road trip by earning three points in three games in Boise, Idaho this past week after an overtime win on Friday night before falling in a shootout on Saturday evening. Hershey's ECHL affiliate sits in third place in the South Division, a point behind the Atlanta Gladiators in second place and nine points behind first-place Florida.

BEARS BITES:
Hershey is 22-8-4-3 when scoring first...Ilya Protas' power-play goal at Lehigh Valley last Saturday snapped a four-game stretch for Hershey without a goal on the man advantage, while the Bears have been held off the scoreboard in the first period of each of their last three games; both such streaks tied season highs for the team...Hershey is 11th in road power play at 20.2% (17-for-84); Hershey's 84 chances with the man advantage on the road is the fewest in the league.