Wolf Pack Lose, 8-1, to Bears
AHL Hartford Wolf Pack

Wolf Pack Lose, 8-1, to Bears

Published on April 4, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hartford Wolf Pack News Release


HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack dropped their sixth straight game on Saturday night, 8-1 to the Hershey Bears at PeoplesBank Arena.

The Wolf Pack fell behind 2-0 in the opening stanza, as rookie Andrew Cristall lit the lamp twice for the Bears.

Cristall opened the scoring just 1:16 in, potting his 17 th goal of the season. Ilya Protas sent a backdoor pass to Cristall on the left-wing side, where he beat Callum Tung to break the ice.

It marked the second straight meeting between the sides in which Cristall opened the scoring.

The rookie forward then tapped home his second goal of the game at 14:23 of the opening frame. Protas turned and fired a shot toward the goal from the right-wing wall that Cristall tipped by Tung at the backdoor.

Cristall's second goal of the night was his 18 th of the season, while Protas' second assist of the night was his 31 st of the year.

Bryce McConnell-Barker made it 2-1 just ten seconds into the second period, scoring his third goal in four games. Mitch Gibson misplayed the puck behind the net, allowing Aidan Thompson to pick up possession. Thompson flipped the puck to the front of the net, where McConell-Barker chipped it by Gibson for his 12 th goal of the season.

Four goals in 7:59 for the Bears blew the game wide open.

Ilya Protas ripped a shot over the glove of Tung at 3:37, making it a 3-1 game. Moments later, at 5:19, Kyler Kupka buried his first career AHL goal to make it 4-1.

Two goals in 14 seconds chased Tung from the game. Bogdan Trineyev beat the rookie netminder by the glove from the right-wing circle at 11:22, making it 5-1 with his 14 th goal of the season.

Dalton Smith then potted his second goal of the season at 11:36, beating Tung with a backhand bid.

Spencer Martin entered the game for the Wolf Pack at the 31:36 mark.

Martin settled things down in the crease for the Wolf Pack the rest of the way in period number two, making seven saves on as many shots.

The Bears tacked on two more goals in the final frame.

Trineyev notched his second goal of the night at 8:20, then Cristall completed the hat-trick at 16:25.

Protas assisted on both goals, completing a six-point night (1 g, 5 a).

The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Apr. 10 when the Providence Bruins come to town. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with 'Wolf Pack Pregame' set to begin at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr.

Check out the Hartford Wolf Pack Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2026


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