The Hershey Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they face the Providence Bruins and Charlotte Checkers over three games at GIANT Center this week.
2025-26 SEASON LEADERS:
Goals: Ilya Protas (10)
Assists: Andrew Cristall (14)
Points: Ilya Protas (20)
PIMs: Justin Nachbaur (39)
Power-Play Goals: Ilya Protas (3)
Shorthanded Goals: Ryan Chesley, Grant Cruikshank, Ilya Protas (1)
Game-Winning Goals: Ryan Chesley (2)
Plus/Minus: Brett Leason (+7)
Shots: Graeme Clarke (56)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (7)
Shutouts: N/A
GAA: Clay Stevenson (2.54)
SV%: Clay Stevenson (.913)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Dec. 8
Day Off
Tuesday, Dec. 9
Practice, 11 a.m., Hersheypark Arena
Wednesday, Dec. 10
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m., GIANT Center
Thursday, Dec. 11
Practice, 11 a.m., Hersheypark Arena
Friday, Dec. 12
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m., GIANT Center
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Saturday, Dec. 6 - Hershey 1 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
Sunday, Dec. 7 - Hershey 3 vs. Lehigh Valley 2
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Providence, 7 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Friday, Dec. 12 vs. Providence, 7 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Saturday, Dec. 13 vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
All times Eastern.
Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
TEAM STORE HOLIDAY HOURS:
The Hershey Bears team store at GIANT Center will be open for extended holiday hours for the following dates and times:
Friday, Dec. 12, 12-5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 12-5 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 19, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 20, 12-5 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 21, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
PEERING INTO THE CRISTALL BALL:
Forward Andrew Cristall has 11 points (2g, 9a) in his last 10 games, and enters the week riding a four-game assist streak (6a). The rookie is tied for eighth in scoring among AHL rookies with 17 points (3g, 14a), and second on the Bears behind fellow freshman forward Ilya Protas. Cristall's five power-play points (1g, 4a) lead the club, and Hershey has earned nine wins in games in which he collects at least a point, the largest figure generated by any player on the team so far this season.
NEW LEASE ON LIFE:
In his first stint with the Bears from 2019-22, Brett Leason's best statistical season came in the 2020-21 campaign, when the 56th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft collected 20 points (9g, 11a) in 33 games while posting a +9. After visa issues delayed Leason's season debut for several games after being loaned to the club on Oct. 28, the forward has produced nine points (4g, 5a) through 10 games, including just the third multi-goal game of his AHL career after he was retroactively credited with the second goal scored by Hershey in this past Sunday's 3-2 win over Lehigh Valley, after already scoring the game-winning goal in the third period. Five of Leason's 22 career goals with the Bears have been game-winners.
BEARS SWAP GOALTENDERS WITH CAPITALS:
The Washington Capitals announced on Monday the recall of Garin Bjorklund from Hershey, while Clay Stevenson had been loaned back to the Bears. Stevenson's seven wins are tied for 12th in the AHL and all of his victories have come when allowing two or fewer goals.
LEIVERMANN RETURNS:
The Bears recalled defenseman Nicky Leivermann from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday morning, and the defenseman is poised to get into his first action of the season with Hershey after sustaining a lower-body injury during the preseason that resulted in him missing the first 18 games of the regular season on unavailable list. Leivermann appeared in two games with South Carolina, recording an assist in each game.
NESS CLIMBING MULTIPLE GAMES PLAYED LADDERS:
Hershey captain Aaron Ness suited up in his 800th career American Hockey League game last Saturday, moving past Bears and AHL Hall-of-Famer Frank Mathers for 16th in league history for games played by a defenseman. The 35-year-old blueliner has skated in 449 games with the Chocolate and White over the course of two separate stints and should he play in all three games this week, he will move past Bears Hall-of-Famer Michel Harvey for sole possession of 22nd in franchise history for games played.
SOMETHIN' BRUIN':
Providence has been in a neck-and-neck battle with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the top spot in the Atlantic Division; the Bruins had opened the season with a 7-0-0-0 run before Hershey blanked the club 2-0 for its first regulation loss on Nov. 1 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Providence coaching staff has two direct ties to the Bears, as head coach Ryan Mougenel previously served as an assistant coach on Hershey's coaching staff during the 2013-14 season, while assistant coach Ryan Bourque previously skated for the Chocolate and White for two seasons from 2015-17.
CHECKING IN WITH THE CHECKERS:
Saturday's upcoming meeting against Charlotte will be the first time since the defending Eastern Conference champions completed a three-game sweep of the Bears in the 2025 Atlantic Division Finals, ending a league-record streak of nine consecutive playoff series victories for Hershey. The Checkers would go on to fall to the Abbotsford Canucks in six games in the 2025 Calder Cup Finals. Former Bear Brian Pinho is in his first season with Charlotte after previously skating with Hershey from 2018-22. The Checkers are hosting Cleveland for a pair of games tonight and tomorrow before traveling to Pennsylvania to visit the Bears and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this weekend.
STINGRAYS REPORT:
Hershey's ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, went 2-1-1-0 last week, earning wins on Wednesday over Jacksonville and Sunday against Greenville. Despite his recall by Hershey on Sunday, Kyler Kupka's 21 points with the Stingrays this season are still tied for seventh in ECHL scoring, along with teammate Jalen Luypen.
BEARS BITES:
Bears-contracted forward Kyler Kupka made his Hershey debut this past Sunday after being recalled from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays...Dalton Smith is two games away from playing in his 600th pro contest (598 GP: ECHL, 63; AHL, 534; NHL, 1)...The Class of 2025 (Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, Boyd Kane, Mike McHugh, and William W. "Tiny" Parry) were inducted into the Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony prior to last Saturday's game...Graeme Clarke is four points away from his 200th pro point and five points away from his 200th AHL point.
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