Weekly Release: Bears Face Islanders in Home-and-Home Set

March 17, 2026

The Hershey Bears (26-23-6-2, fourth in Atlantic Division) continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they take on the Bridgeport Islanders in a pair of games this weekend as part of a home-and-home set, with Hershey traveling to Connecticut for Saturday's clash before returning home to GIANT Center on Sunday.

2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (25)
Assists: Andrew Cristall (32)
Points: Ilya Protas (50)
PIMs: Justin Nachbaur (114)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (9)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank (4)
Game-Winning Goals: Andrew Cristall (4)
Plus/Minus: Henrik Rybinski (+10)
Shots: Ilya Protas (120)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (15)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund, Mitch Gibson (1)
GAA: Clay Stevenson (2.70)
SV%: Mitch Gibson (.910)
Only includes players on active roster

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Monday, March 16
DAY OFF

Tuesday, March 17
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center

Wednesday, March 18
Off-Ice Workout, No public practice 

Thursday, March 19
Travel to Bridgeport

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

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

- Friday, March 13 - Hershey 4 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2
- Saturday, March 14 - Hershey 3 vs. Belleville 6
- Sunday, March 15 - Hershey 2 vs. Belleville 5

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

Saturday, March 21 at Bridgeport, 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 22 vs. Bridgeport, 5 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS

• Hersheypark Night - Featuring the perfect combination of hockey and roller coasters. All fans in attendance will also receive a 2026 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2026.

All times Eastern.

Television Coverage: WPMT-TV FOX43.2 Antenna TV; 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 12 games remaining, the Bears will require a combination of 21 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.

BRIDGEPORT BOUND:
A third of Hershey's remaining 12 games will take place against the Bridgeport Islanders, including this weekend's pair of games; the Chocolate and White enter the week with a six-point edge on the Islanders with one more game played. The Bears will look to build on a 2-0-0-0 record against Bridgeport this season after earning a 3-1 road win over the Islanders on Oct. 29 and picking up a 4-1 win at home on Dec. 20. Both of Hershey's two healthy goaltenders, Garin Bjorklund and Mitch Gibson, have earned the wins against Bridgeport. Following this week's home-and-home set, Hershey is slated to visit Total Mortgage Arena one final time this season on April 1, and Hershey will conclude the season series at GIANT Center on April 18 in the penultimate contest of the campaign.

ISLAND BOYS:
The Bears may get to face two of their former players this weekend, as Bridgeport is now carrying forward Pierrick Dubé and defenseman Ethan Bear on its roster, after Bear was loaned to the Islanders on Dec. 29 after beginning the season on the season opening injured reserve for the New York Islanders and Dubé signed with Bridgeport on Jan. 20 after beginning the season overseas in the Kontinental Hockey League. Despite playing only 27 games this season for Bridgeport, Bear - who was named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team during his lone season in Chocolatetown in 2024-25 - ranks third on the club's blue line in scoring with 16 points (2g, 14a). Dubé - who notably scored a hat trick in Hershey's series-clinching Game 6 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals - has generated eight points (4g, 4a) in 13 contests since joining the Islanders.

BELPEDIO'S BEST:
With a pair of assists in Saturday's game versus Belleville, Hershey defenseman Louie Belpedio established a new career-best season with 31 points (7g, 24a) in 57 games. The 29-year-old surpassed his previous personal record of 30 points (11g, 19a) established over 69 games with the Laval Rocket in 2021-22. His 24 assists this year are also a career best, surpassing the 23 helpers he had last season with Lehigh Valley. Saturday was also Belpedio's fourth multi-point game of the season, and he is one of just 19 defenders in the league to record at least 30 points. Belpedio's next goal will mark the 50th of his AHL career.

LAST MAN STANDING:
After Ilya Protas sustained a lower-body injury late in Saturday's game against Belleville, the rookie missed Sunday's rematch, leaving fellow rookie forward Andrew Cristall as the only Bear to have played in every game so far for Hershey this season. The club record for most games played by a rookie in a single campaign is 80, which has occurred four times, most recently by defenseman Johnny Boychuk in the 2004-05 campaign. Since the AHL returned to a unified 72-game schedule in 2022-23, the most games by a Bears rookie in a single season is 63, shared by Vincent Iorio (2022-23) and Bogdan Trineyev (2023-24). Any prolonged absence by Protas could allow Cristall to catch his fellow freshman in the team scoring race, with Cristall's 46 points just four back of Protas' 50, which is tied with Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson for the leaguewide rookie scoring title.

STINGRAYS REPORT:
The South Carolina Stingrays took four of six points this past weekend after beating the Toledo Walleye on Friday night before dropping two consecutive games in a shootout on Saturday to Toledo and Sunday at Atlanta. Hershey's ECHL affiliate sits in second place in the South Division, seven points behind the first place Florida Everblades. 

BEARS BITES:
Bogdan Trineyev carries a four-game assist and point streak into this week's games (3g, 5a)...Hershey's 14.55 penalty minutes per game is the sixth most in the league...Hershey is 17-0-2-1 when leading after two periods...The Bears are also 6-20-2-0 when trailing after two periods, with Hershey's six wins tying for the third-most wins by any AHL club when trailing at the second intermission...Hershey's 40 shots on goal against Belleville on Sunday marked a new season high.