The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before returning home for a pair of weekend games against the Belleville Senators.
2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (24)
Assists: Andrew Cristall (31)
Points: Ilya Protas (48)
PIMs: Justin Nachbaur (110)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (9)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank (4)
Game-Winning Goals: Andrew Cristall (4)
Plus/Minus: Brett Leason (+12)
Shots: Ilya Protas (116)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (12)
Shutouts: Garin Bjorklund, Mitch Gibson (1)
GAA: Mitch Gibson (2.65)
SV%: Mitch Gibson (.913)
Only includes players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, March 9
DAY OFF
Tuesday, March 10
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center
Wednesday, March 11
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center
Thursday, March 12
Practice, 11 a.m., GIANT Center
Friday, March 13
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m., Hersheypark Arena
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Monday, March 2 - Hershey 3 vs. Charlotte 2 (OT)
Tuesday, March 3 - Hershey 1 vs. Charlotte 4
Saturday, March 7 - Hershey 2 at Hartford 5
Friday, March 8 - Hershey 4 at Providence 5
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 13 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 vs. Belleville, 7 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Sunday, March 15 vs. Belleville, 5 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
All times Eastern.
Television Coverage: WPMT-TV FOX43.2 Antenna TV (March 13); 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 15 games remaining, the Bears will require a combination of 25 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.
NHL TRADE DEADLINE COMES AND GOES:
The Bears saw the National Hockey League trade deadline come and go last Friday with the Washington Capitals acquiring Wyatt Bongiovanni from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Graeme Clarke. Bongiovanni joined the Bears on their recent road trip and appeared in two games, collecting an assist in his Hershey debut at Hartford on Saturday. Hershey also gained the services of goaltender Jesper Vikman from the Capitals via the Nic Dowd trade with the Vegas Golden Knights last Thursday; Vikman is currently week-to-week with an injury after appearing in 18 contests this season with the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights.
PUSHING THE PENGUINS:
Hershey will play the penultimate game of its season series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this Friday. The Bears seek their first road win of the campaign against the Penguins after going 0-3-0-0 in their previous three tries. Since the Penguins first took the ice in northeast Pennsylvania in 1999-00, the Bears have earned at least one victory on the road against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in each season of competition between the two clubs. Hershey's rookie duo of Ilya Protas (5g, 2a) and Andrew Cristall (2g, 5a) are tied for the team lead against the Penguins with seven points apiece.
SHEPARD AND THE SENS:
The Belleville Senators round out Hershey's slate of opponents they will face at home this season with a pair of visits to GIANT Center this weekend. One familiar face who could be making his return to GIANT Center ice this weekend with the Senators is two-time Calder Cup champion goaltender Hunter Shepard, who signed with the Ottawa organization this past summer as a free agent. The former Hershey netminder enjoyed a run of five seasons in Chocolatetown, highlighted by back-to-back postseason titles in 2023 and 2024 that also included the 2023 Jack Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP and the 2023-24 Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding goaltender. 2023 Calder Cup champion Garrett Pilon and recently-traded forward Graeme Clarke are also members of the Senators roster. The Bears split a pair of games at Belleville in mid-February.
THE FINISH LINE IS IN SIGHT:
The Bears have just over a month remaining and under a quarter of their games left in their 72-game regular-season campaign. The breakdown of Hershey's remaining 15 games is five home games and 10 road contests, with 11 against Atlantic Division opponents and four games against the North Division. 10 games also feature opponents that are behind the Bears in the overall conference standings.
STINGRAYS REPORT:
The South Carolina Stingrays went 2-0-0-0 last week with wins over Atlanta and Savannah to increase their winning streak to six consecutive games. Hershey's ECHL affiliate has now won nine of its last 10 contests and sits in second place in the South Division (75 points) and third in the league behind the Kansas City Mavericks (91 points) and Florida Everblades (82 points).
BEARS BITES:
Hershey is 16-0-2-1 when leading after two periods...Brett Leason saw his nine-game assist and point streak (3g, 10a) snapped on March 8 at Providence, but carries a five-game home assist streak (5a) into Saturday's contest versus Belleville...Ilya Protas (48 points) and Andrew Cristall (44 points) rank second and third in AHL rookie scoring behind only Bakersfield's Quinn Hutson (49 points)...Louie Belpedio's five first goals rank first among AHL defensemen...Grant Cruikshank's four shorthanded goals are tied for the league lead with Bakersfield's James Hamblin.
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