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

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

Penn State Health Drawstring Bag Night – All fans in attendance will receive a drawstring bag, courtesy of Penn State Health.

Sunday, March 15 vs. Belleville, 5 p.m. – CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Washington Capitals Night – An epic conclusion to our affiliation celebration.

Rally Towel Night – All fans will receive a rally towel, courtesy of Eagle Excavating, GIANT, Elizabethtown College, MI Windows, Members 1st, Hollywood Casino, and Tyson.

Screaming Bear Jersey Auction – Players will be wearing Screaming Bear jerseys that will be auctioned off post-game.

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.

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.