The Hershey Bears (29-29-6-3, fifth in Atlantic Division) continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they travel to the Queen City for a pair of games against the Charlotte Checkers.
2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (29)*
Assists: Andrew Cristall (38)
Points: Ilya Protas (62)*
PIMs: Dalton Smith (85)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (10)*
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank (5)
Game-Winning Goals: Andrew Cristall (5)
Plus/Minus: Ilya Protas (+16)*
Shots: Ilya Protas (141)*
Wins: Clay Stevenson (15)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund, Mitch Gibson (1)
GAA: Clay Stevenson (2.70)
SV%: Clay Stevenson (.909)
Includes players on active roster
* Recalled to Washington Capitals
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, April 6 - Wednesday, April 8
No public practice
Thursday, April 9
Travel to Charlotte
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Wednesday, April 1 - Hershey 1 at Bridgeport 4
Friday, April 3 - Hershey 2 at Springfield 4
Sunday, April 4 - Hershey 8 at Hartford 1
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
Saturday, April 11 at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 12 at Charlotte, 1 p.m.
All times Eastern.
Television Coverage: WPMT-FOX43.2 Antenna TV (Saturday), FOX43 (Sunday); 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 five games remaining and currently at 67 points in the standings, the Bears will require a combination of six 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. A pair of wins against Charlotte this weekend combined with a Lehigh Valley Phantoms regulation loss on Saturday against the Bridgeport Islanders would give the Bears their most immediate route to clinching a playoff berth. If the playoffs were to start today, Hershey would face the Bridgeport Islanders in the Atlantic Division first round.
PROTAS TO MAKE MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT TONIGHT:
The Washington Capitals announced the recall of forward Ilya Protas from Hershey on Monday, and the 19-year-old is expected to make his National Hockey League debut tonight with the Capitals at Toronto. Protas tied for the league lead last week with seven points (1g, 6a) in three games, including a six-point (1g, 5a) outing on Saturday at Hartford that served as the league's first six-point game since Alan Quine (3g, 3a) managed the feat for Stockton at San Jose on Dec. 27, 2019. The 19-year-old leads all rookies in scoring with 62 points (28g, 34a) and ranks sixth in overall league scoring; should Protas be loaned back to Hershey before the conclusion of the regular season, he will need just two more goals to become only the seventh under-20 player in league history to achieve a 30-goal campaign.
CRISTALL HAVING A BALL:
Along with Protas, fellow rookie Andrew Cristall also starred in Hershey's 8-1 win over the Wolf Pack, turning in five points and his first career pro hat trick. Cristall's 57 points ranks third in rookie scoring, and he only needs three more points out of Hershey's remaining five games to give Hershey its first pair of rookies to each record at least 60 points in a season, and the league's first since JJ Peterka (68) and Jack Quinn (61) managed the feat with Rochester during the 2021-22 campaign. The last duo to finish 1-2 in league rookie scoring was Josh Norris (61) and Alex Formenton (53) with Belleville in 2019-20. The Bears have gone 12-2-2-1 this season when Cristall has a multi-point game.
TRICKED OUT TRINEYEV:
Third-year Bear Bogdan Trineyev enjoyed a career outing on Saturday, turning in the first multi-goal performance and the first four-point game of his AHL career; with his two goals, Trineyev reached 15 on the season, topping his previous career high of 14 set last year. With 41 points, the fourth-round selection of the Washington Capitals in the 2020 NHL Draft has nearly doubled his output from last season (22 points in 62 games). Hershey is 15-7-5-2 when Trineyev gets on the scoresheet.
CRUISING WITH CRUIKSHANK:
Grant Cruikshank netted his fifth shorthanded goal of the season on Friday at Springfield, tying him with Grand Rapids' John Leonard and Syracuse's Jakob Pelletier for the league lead in shorthanded goals. Cruikshank's five tallies when his team is shorthanded are the most by a Bear since Chris Bourque managed five during the 2011-12 campaign, and is one off the franchise single-season mark of six set by Don Seiling during the 1973-74 season.
CHECKING IN WITH THE CHECKERS:
The Bears conclude their season series with the Checkers this weekend with a pair of games in Charlotte. Hershey has a 3-2-0-1 record against the defending Eastern Conference champions this season and took three of a possible four points at Bojangles Coliseum in January, including a 4-3 overtime victory that saw Andrew Cristall pot his first career OT-winner. The Checkers boast the league's top home penalty kill, going 105-for-119 (88.2%).
STINGRAYS REPORT:
The South Carolina Stingrays took two out of three contests this past week, with a 5-1 victory at Orlando on Friday night and a 5-3 win over Greenville at home on Saturday. Hershey's ECHL affiliate sits in second place in the South Division, three points ahead of third-place Atlanta; South Carolina is at first-place Florida on Friday and Saturday. Bears-contracted forward Simon Pinard leads all Eastern Conference skaters in scoring with 68 points (28g, 40a) in 66 games and had the game-winner for the Stingrays in Saturday's victory over the Swamp Rabbits.
BEARS BITES:
The Bears are 23-10-4-3 when scoring first; Hershey's 40 first goals are tied with Providence for the second most in the league, behind Bridgeport, Charlotte, and Laval with 42...Hershey is a combined 9-10-1-3 against its remaining opponents...The Bears are 12-0-0-1 on the road when leading after two periods...Henrik Rybinski is four points away from his 100th professional point...Washington announced the recall of goaltender Mitch Gibson on Tuesday.
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