Atlantic Division Semifinals Game 2 Preview: Bears at Penguins, 6:05 p.m.
AHL Hershey Bears

Atlantic Division Semifinals Game 2 Preview: Bears at Penguins, 6:05 p.m.

Published on May 2, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Wilkes-Barre Township, PA) - The Hershey Bears take the ice tonight looking to level their best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at a game apiece after dropping the opening match by a 4-2 score on Thursday.

#5 Hershey Bears (2-1) at #2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1-0)

May 2, 2026 | 6:05 p.m. | Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leads, 1-0

Referees: Ben Betker (42), Adam Tobias (16)

Linespersons: Brandon Grillo (75), Chris Martenet (92)

Broadcast Information

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski on the call

TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)

RADIO: WFVY-100.1-FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey

LISTEN LIVE: Froggy Valley 100.1-FM Stream, Fox Sports 1460-AM Stream

Radio pre-game coverage starts at 5:35 p.m.; Television coverage starts at 6 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears and Penguins opened their series with Game 1 on Thursday, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Atley Calvert scored just 3:01 into the first period. Aidan McDonough and Owen Pickering added goals in the second to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead, before Ilya Protas got Hershey on the board at 10:48 of the middle frame. Henrik Rybinski tallied his first of the playoffs at 1:09 of the third period to pull the Bears to within a goal, but Avery Hayes capped the scoring with an empty-net goal for the Penguins to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 4-2 final.

BOUNCING BACK:

Despite dropping Game 1, the Bears have a 6-12 series record when losing the opening contest in a best-of-five series. The last occurrence of this was in the 2019 Atlantic Division Semifinals, when Hershey fell 3-2 in double overtime to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, before winning the next two games and eventually taking the series in five games. Bears captain Aaron Ness was a part of Hershey's roster in that series, dressing in Game 1 before returning from injury in the series-clinching Game 5. Hershey's all-time win-loss record in Game 2s after dropping the opening game of a playoff series is 31-32.

NESS TO TIE KELLER:

Aaron Ness (73 GP) is slated to tie Bears Hall of Famer Ralph Keller (74 GP) for the most postseason appearances by a defenseman - and third overall - in team history should he dress tonight. Ness' 18 playoff points (2g, 16a) are tied with Rich Brennan (2g, 16a) for 12th among defensemen in team history.

PENGUINS GAIN REINFORCEMENTS:

Two players will be available for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tonight after each serving one-game suspensions. 2024 Penguins draft pick Tanner Howe was suspended for a cross-checking incident in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's season finale against Rochester on April 18, and Bokondji Imama received an automatic one-game suspension as a consequence from the same game under the provisions of AHL Rule 23.4 after accumulating his second game misconduct in the "abuse of officials" category this season. During the regular season, Howe scored one goal in three games against Hershey, while Imama paced Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 21 penalty minutes in nine games against Hershey while contributing two points (1g, 1a).

POWER PLAY PRIMER:

Hershey's power play is still seeking its first goal of the 2026 postseason. The Bears enter today's game 0-for-5 through the first three games of the playoffs on the man-advantage. Hershey went 6-for-35 (17.1%) on the power play in 10 matchups with the Penguins in the regular season, with Ilya Protas and Ivan Miroshnichenko serving as Hershey's lone goal scorers in that scenario, with each recording three tallies. Only one of Hershey's power play goals versus the Penguins this season came at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, with Miroshnichenko tallying in a 5-1 win on April 15. Overall in the 2025-26 regular season, Hershey went 18-10-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal, including a 12-4-0-0 mark on the road.

BEARS BITES:

Forward Milton Gästrin made his AHL debut in Hershey's Game 1 loss. He is the first Bear to debut for Hershey in the postseason since Bogdan Trineyev skated in Game 2 of the 2022 Atlantic Division First Round matchup with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...Trineyev (1g, 3a) and Ilya Protas (2g, 1a) both carry three-game point streaks into today's contest...Defenseman Leon Muggli made his Calder Cup Playoffs debut in Game 1, recording an assist...In all six of the games this season (five regular season, one playoff) between Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, the team that has scored first has went on to win the game.

ON THIS DATE IN BEARS HISTORY:

May 2, 2009 - The Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opened the East Division Finals with a 5-3 Hershey victory. Staffan Kronwall and Chris Bourque gave the Bears a 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Penguins countered in the second stanza with a pair of goals. Before the frame ended, however, Andrew Gordon scored with 17 seconds left to put Hershey ahead 3-2, and Kyle Wilson and Alexandre Giroux added goals in the third to seal the win.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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