Bears Dealt 5-4 Loss to Phantoms on Late Goal
Published on October 24, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Allentown, PA) - Graeme Clarke scored twice but a late goal against in the final minute of regulation handed the Hershey Bears (1-3-1-0) a 5-4 loss in their first meeting of the season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-2-0-0) on Friday night at PPL Center.
NOTABLES:
Both teams netted their first goals of the game via the power play in the first period, as Karsen Dorwart lit the lamp at 5:02 for Lehigh Valley, while Graeme Clarke scored Hershey's first goal of the campaign with the man advantage at 12:26 to tie the score.
The Phantoms opened a two-goal lead late in the frame with strikes from Zayde Wisdom and Tucker Robertson, with Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson assisting on both tallies.
Hershey's 16 shots on goal in the first period represented a season-high for shots in a single period.
Spencer Smallman scored 24 seconds into the middle frame to trim Lehigh Valley's lead to 3-2, but Jacob Gaucher responded for the hosts at 13:28. Before the period ended, Matt Strome beat Aleksei Kolosov for another power-play goal at 16:40 to pull the visitors to within a goal.
Calle Rosén assisted on both of Hershey's power-play goals, while Protas collected a pair of assists on Hershey's final two goals.
Clarke scored to tie the game at 4-4 at 10:39 from Ludwig Persson and Protas, but Wisdom tallied the game-winner for Lehigh Valley with 44 seconds remaining in regulation.
Bears forward Luke Toporowski sustained an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return following the intermission; additionally, Bears forward Dalton Smith sustained an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return for the third. Forward Henrik Rybinski also left the game late in the third period with an injury.
SHOTS: HER 29, LV 20
GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 15-for-20; LV - Aleksei Kolosov, 25-for-29
POWER PLAY: HER - 2-for-3; LV - 1-for-4
THEY SAID IT:
Bears head coach Derek King assessing tonight's loss:
"I liked our effort, I liked how we stayed with it, we didn't change the way we played, we didn't get bored with it. I wish we had a better result, because the guys deserved it, but it's a learning curve in this game, and the good thing is we go at it again [tomorrow]."
King on the team battling despite several in-game injuries:
"It's the whole character of these guys and the way the team is starting to evolve, being a good team or being a good group. They backed each other up and that's what we're looking for as coaches, and I thought they did a great job."
Louie Belpedio on returning to where he played the previous three seasons and what he likes about the group in Hershey:
"Yeah, a lot of good memories here, a lot of people that I have a lot of love and respect for. But with that being said, obviously I made a decision that I felt was best for me and my career, and I'm extremely happy with it. Not the result we wanted but I think there's a lot of good things tonight. If you play like that you're going to win a lot more than you lose. Obviously I missed last weekend but I feel like that was the most complete 60 minutes we played, a couple bad bounces here and there. A couple growing pains, we're going to work through it and we'll get better every game."
The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Reese's Trick-or-Treat Night. All fans 14-and-under will receive a Trick-or-Treat bag upon entry and have the opportunity to trick-or-treat around the concourse during pre-game and intermissions. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.
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