Bears Blank Checkers, 4-0
AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Blank Checkers, 4-0

Published on December 13, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


Hershey, PA - Mitch Gibson made 36 saves to earn his first AHL shutout, and the line of Ivan Miroshnichenko, Henrik Rybinski, and Brett Leason generated two goals as the Hershey Bears (13-10-1-0) came away with a 4-0 win against the Charlotte Checkers (12-8-2-0) on Saturday night at GIANT Center in the first of eight meetings in the season series between the two clubs.

NOTABLES:

Cam Allen made his return to the lineup after missing the previous eight games with an upper-body injury, and opened the scoring with his first career goal coming on the power play at 3:32 of the first period. Nicky Leivermann, making his season debut after sustaining a lower-body injury during preseason action, earned the primary assist, while Andrew Cristall earned the secondary helper to extend his assist/point streak to a team-leading seven games (0g, 9a).

Ivan Miroshnichenko scored on a delayed penalty at 15:43 to give Hershey a 2-0 lead after Brett Leason advanced the puck to Henrik Rybinski, who relayed a behind-the-back pass into the slot for Miroshnichenko to bury his fourth of the season. Following Miroshnichenko's goal, an ice issue in front of the Charlotte bench resulted in both teams being sent to their respective locker rooms, with the remainder of the opening frame to be played at the conclusion of the first intermission. Coincidentally, this occurred on the anniversary of a similar incident involving the Bears (Hershey at St. Catharines Saints, on Dec. 13, 1983), in which the ice resurfacing machine broke down at the Garden City Arena after the first period and melted the ice, forcing the suspension of the game until the following evening, when the remainder of the game was completed and resulted in a 2-2 overtime tie.

Following the start of the second period, Rybinski widened the lead to 3-0 with his third of the season at the 33-second mark, with assists from Leason and Miroshnichenko.

Jalen Luypen, playing in just his second game with the club after signing a professional try-out agreement with Hershey earlier this week, netted his first goal as a Bear with an unassisted marker at 9:12 of the third period off a Charlotte giveaway.

Mitch Gibson earned his second victory of the season, and his first AHL shutout with 36 stops, including 20 in the second period. Since making his AHL debut with Hershey in the 2023-24 season, Gibson has improved his AHL record to 5-0-0, becoming the fourth goaltender in team history to begin their Bears tenure with five consecutive wins, joining Harvey Bennett, Bobby Perreault, and Cam Newton.

SHOTS: HER 16, CLT 36

GOALTENDING: HER - Mitch Gibson, 36-for-36; CLT - Louis Domingue, 12-for-16

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-6; CLT - 0-for-5

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the team's work ethic:

"Yeah, that was huge for us. Obviously Gibby was the big reason why, but that's a good hockey team over there. They put some pressure on us in the second and I like to say we kept a lot of the shots to the outside, but I don't know if we did or not. It was good on the guys to rebound like that after two losses."

Brett Leason on the chemistry of his line with Henrik Rybinski and Ivan Miroshnichenko:

"Yeah, we've been working good together. We've got a good mix of skill and speed on there, and Miro was great today, helping us out. We've been flying on the transition and that's opening up some 3-on-2s and being in the right spots."

Mitch Gibson on being able to manage the unusual flow of the game and pressure from Charlotte in the second period:

"Well certainly with the period ending the way it did with a 25-minute second period essentially, so I think that was just a battle that we knew we were going to have to face, just trying to be in the moment, right? They had their chances, we had ours, and we tried to weather the storm - we bent a couple of times but we didn't break, and I think that's the biggest thing."

Cam Allen on how he felt in returning to the lineup after being sidelined with an injury and being able to contribute upon returning:

"The credit goes to the training staff, and [assistant coach Brent Thompson] for keeping me ready in those bag skates - they weren't easy - but I felt ready tonight and that's the goal, just stay ready and be ready when you're able to go."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Berks Holiday Ham Shoot Night. All fans are welcome onto the ice following the game to participate in the Berks Holiday Ham Shoot. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 13, 2025


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