After a successful road trip that saw Hershey take three of a potential four points in a weekend swing through Charlotte, the Bears are looking to continue their momentum tonight against Hartford.
Hershey has yet to lose in regulation since the calendar switched over to 2026, as the Bears are 4-0-3 since the new year started.
Hershey would once again roll with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen, which they did in both Charlotte games. Brett Leason is officially back after a short stint with the Capitals and he returned to the lineup tonight. Spencer Smallman joined the unavailable list though, with an upper body injury after being shaken up last game.
Henrik Rybinski and Louie Belpedio also returned, with Belpedio coming in for the now released Nicky Leivermann. Clay Stevenson got the start in net.
Postgame Takeaways
- For the second straight time against the Wolf Pack, the Bears came out flat. Hershey has struggled with starts all season, but they’ve seemed particularly off their game in their two recent performances against Hartford.
- Clay Stevenson pulled off some miraculous saves six days ago to keep Hartford off the board in period one last time out. The same magic was not in action tonight. Hershey was down a deserved 2-0 after the first.
- Trey Fix-Wolansky has been a problem player for the Bears since his Cleveland days. He had both first period goals for Hartford, and both came in the first 3:30 of the period as well.
- Hershey seemed slightly improved in the second period, and had their best chances to score in the latter half, but two hit posts later it looked like it was going to be one of those nights for the Bears. An immediate Hartford counterattack bore fruit for the Wolf Pack, as McConnell-Barker made it 3-0.
- Puck luck would finally benefit the Bears only a 1:26 later though, as Brett Leason got a lucky deflection off the back glass on a dump in that allowed him to get right in on Dylan Garand and bury Hershey’s first of the night.
- Fans saw a penalty shot tonight and sadly it was for the Wolf Pack. Even more problematic was that it was Trey Fix-Wolansky who got the chance. He made no mistake on the free breakaway, and Hartford seemed clear with a 4-1 lead.
- Fix-Wolansky’s hat trick was the first by a Hartford player ever in Hershey. Not a record you want to see made.
- Hershey was clearly bolstered by the return of Brett Leason though, as he created his own chance by forcing a turnover and burying a shot to cut the Bears deficit back to two and giving them a fighting chance heading into the third.
- Leason now has 17 points in 21 games this year and has been a major veteran presence for this forward group. His three points tonight, especially his two second period goals, kept Hershey in the game.
- Two goals in 22 seconds early in the third is the fastest pair of goals from Hershey so far this season. Protas and Clarke get the tallies that suddenly tied the game up for the Bears.
- It did not feel like 22 seconds in real time. A prolonged delay on the Protas goal occurred after the referees had to come review whether his goal completely crossed the line.
- Another OT loss is though, but after three games in four days that all went into the extended period, I think Coach King will take the point, especially after being down 4-1 at one point tonight.
- Hershey now has points in eight straight, and while they haven’t all been wins, it’s been a critical stretch for this Bears team that was languishing in late December.
Postgame Comments
Derek King: https://youtu.be/5SrB9gO2plo?si=Iov3KVhgg_WFzzfX
Brett Leason: https://youtu.be/iQsohejr2qo?si=mZPKReT6dYl6wN1l
The Chocolate Roar 