HERSHEY, Pa. — It’s been 206 days since the Hershey Bears and Charlotte Checkers last met. That meeting spoiled Hershey’s playoff run, a 6-3 loss in Game Five of the Atlantic Division Finals that silenced GIANT Center in Hershey.

Since then, both teams have changed. The Bears lost longtime veterans like Mike Vecchione, Jake Massie, Chase Priskie, among others. Not to mention a head coaching change to Derek King. But, the fans have not forgotten that feeling last May.

As seconds ticked down in Hershey’s 4-0, dominant win against Charlotte on Saturday night, the roars from GIANT Center reigned down. The “new kids on the block” did all the right things to snap a two-game skid in a loaded week, and do it against a strong Charlotte team.

It all started with Hershey’s first score, which didn’t take long. Just four minutes, 32 seconds into the game, a Cam Allen wrister from the right point off a dish from Nicky Leivermann put the Bears ahead, 1-0. It’s a “first” for both, with Leivermann tallying his first point of the season in his first game of the season off an injury he suffered on October 1 in the preseason.

For Allen, it’s a first professional goal in his first AHL season. The 20-year-old was a fifth-round draft pick in 2023 by the Washington Capitals, but has spent the last four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) until this season. 

“It’s nice for those guys, whether you’re getting called up or you’re coming off an injury or you went down and came up, to contribute like that,” said Bears head coach Derek King. “I think that’s just awesome for those guys, how they stepped in and helped us.”

It was not a first for Hershey’s Andrew Cristall, but instead, a seventh. As in, a seventh game in a row tallying an assist. He has had nine in the seven-game stretch, which ties Ilya Protas’ assist streak earlier this year. Cristall, a first-year Bear, has 17 assists this season, which tops all AHL rookies and ranks sixth in the league.

With 4:27 remaining in the opening period, Bears captain Aaron Ness had the puck and his stick and some open ice to work with along the benches, so he skated with full force into the neutral zone, and ultimately took a check to lose possession on the red line.

But, his skate advanced the puck into the Bears’ attacking end, where it was picked up by Brett Leason. Leason dished a centering pass to Henrik Rybinski, who backhanded a pass to Ivan Miroshnichenko. 

Miroshnichenko won a one-on-one with Charlotte goalkeeper Louis Domingue, to put Hershey ahead 2-0 with 4:17 remaining in the first period.

After the goal, both teams were sent to their locker rooms due to an ice issue in front of the Charlotte bench. A 17-minute impromptu intermission occurred, then both teams came back out to finish the first period, and hop straight into the second.

In that second period, Charlotte peppered 20 shots at Hershey goalkeeper Mitch Gibson. Gibson was playing in just his second game this season for Hershey, and fifth game for the Bears of his career.

Despite being outshot by 16 in the middle period, Hershey was able to extend their lead, and did so in a hurry. 33 seconds into the period, Leason controlled the puck on the right wing. Leason delivered a pass in to Rybinski, who was able to skate right at Domingue and shoot one past him in the upper-right corner just in the nick of time.

For good measure in the final period, Jalen Luypen found himself in the right place at the right time. The first-year Bear found himself right in the middle of a passing lane for Charlotte’s alternate captain Michael Benning, who delivered a slow-moving pass intended for Jake Livingstone.

Luypen couldn’t have found himself in a better place. The interception caught Charlotte’s Domingue so off-guard that he was able to fire a shot right at the net for his first Hershey Bears goal after a two-year stint with the Rockford IceHogs, which included 12 goals.

With five seconds remaining, Charlotte’s Ludvig Jansson fired two more shots at Gibson, who made two final saves for a total of 36 in his first AHL shutout. It’s Gibson’s fifth game with the Bears, spanning back to the 2023-24 season. He’s the first Bears goalie to begin 5-0-0 as a Bear since 1971-72.

“Being a Pennsylvania kid, it’s pretty motivating to come here,” said Gibson. “I was lucky enough to play a teddy bear toss (game) two years ago, that was special. Tonight, specifically, it was (our) guys trying to take care of me the best they can. Just trying to make sure pucks get out when they have to and try to cover them.”