HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears’ 2025-26 season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated Hershey 4-1 in Game 4, taking the Atlantic Division Semifinals series three games to one.
For several Bears, including rookies Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall, the campaign marked the beginning of what will likely be long careers in professional hockey. While on the other side of the coin, Aaron Ness and Matt Strome may have played their final games with Hershey.
Both Bears players, one the captain and the other an alternate, had extended goodbyes on the ice, seemingly aware that this may be the final time they put on a Hershey uniform. Ness, 35, was also honored as the Third Star of the Game.
Aaron Ness waves goodbye
Matt Strome receives hugs from all his teammates as they leave the ice
Walking into the media room, both players were visibly tearful.
Ness, who was an alternate captain on the Hershey Bears’ 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup championship teams, was asked if this were the final time he’d put on a Bears sweater.
“I don’t know,” Ness replied. “Nothing’s promised the older you get, obviously. So, yeah, we’ll see. You can’t always say 100 percent for sure. There’s a lot of things that still need to be talked about. Converse with my family and here. But obviously, this is the one place I’d want to play if I’m coming back. It’s been unbelievable. And I’ve had an absolute blast here playing with a lot of great players, a lot of great people. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been very lucky to do this as long as I have.
“The crazy part about this whole thing is, I started skating when I was two years old back home,” he continued. “And you’ve been doing it for so long. And you never think there’s an end. You just don’t. I want to play forever, obviously, right? You can play forever. And then you get to a certain age, like where I’m at now, and it’s like, ‘Oh, okay, well, nothing’s guaranteed anymore.’ I think it’s the biggest thing that comes to my mind, it’s just the sacrifice that so many people make. In my life, without my family and my wife and my kids, I’m just sacrificing so much of their day-to-day and their lives. Just to be able to come to practice every day. So it’s pretty special. I’ve had a lot of fun. I hope they have too. It’s been fun having my kids around the rink a lot more, and yeah, I’ve been very, very lucky, very blessed, and it’s been a fun journey.”
When notified that he, too, had also sacrificed a lot for the team, Ness appeared to choke up.
“Thank you,” he said. “Without incredible doctors and trainers and all those guys back in that room getting me ready, it was great. But yeah, I had the injury I had a couple playoffs ago on my ankle. It was the same one on the other side. So, yeah, so I had to go and get it surgically repaired, and work back from that. It’s never easy.”
The rearguard underwent surgery on his ankle in February and returned for the final two regular-season games and all six of Hershey’s playoff games. During that stint, Ness took over the franchise record for the most postseason games played with 76, jumping over Ralph Keller, who had 74.
“Nesser is probably one of the best captains I’ve had to deal with,” Bears head coach Derek King said. “Great human being on and off the ice, just a true gentleman, a leader. Again, you know his body’s been taking a lot of abuse over the years, so I’m not sure where his head’s at right now, but I’ll have a chat with him over the next couple of days here.”
Strome, a 6-foot-4 checking-line forward, will go down as scoring one of the biggest goals in Hershey Bears history, no matter what his future holds. Strome tallied the 2024 Calder Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 to deliver the team their 13th championship.
The 27-year-old winger, who posted a career high 23 points (8g, 15a) in 55 regular-season games, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after his two-year contract extension with the Bears expires.
When asked if he believed Thursday was his final game with the Bears, Strome replied, “I hope not. You know, obviously, contract’s up, but I’ll take a couple days here, do some exit meetings, get home, and hopefully it’s not my last game in the chocolate and white.
“Coming here four years ago after not signing back with Philly, at the time, I was probably a little pissed off,” he added. “But now looking at it, looking back a little bit, it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Having Todd Nelson, Patrick Wellar, Nick Bootland on my side the whole time I was here, until obviously Nelly and Wellsy left. But just the whole city, obviously, winning two championships is pretty special. And just having Hershey as a part of my life [is something] I’ll never forget (and) is something truly spectacular.”
If King had a vote, he would have Strome return next season, but he seemed to suggest the call was out of his hands.
“Coming into it, I knew Matt a little bit, coached his brother,” he said. “I knew Matt from watching him in junior. Great kid, class act. I’m not sure where he’s going to be next year. I’d love to have him back, but sometimes that’s not my decision.”
Strome’s older brother, Dylan, like he has several times before, attended the game at Giant Center to support the minor-league team, along with Capitals’ rookie defenseman Cole Hutson.
“It’s always nice being close to family,” Strome said. “You know, Christmas two of the last four years I spent with him and his family. So that was really cool to get the experience it with my nieces and watch them open the Christmas presents, that was really cool. Whenever my parents were down there on an off day, I know me and Pro drove down a couple times to just go watch a game and come back. From top to bottom of the whole organization, it’s top-notch. To have my brother here for a couple games this year, it’s pretty cool because normally I’m going to watch him.”
As for whatever’s next, the two players left an indelible mark on both the franchise and their teammates, who were grateful to share the ice and locker room with them.
“The emotion you see in their faces makes me sad as a man,” Bears alternate captain Louie Belpedio said. “Those are two guys that it didn’t matter if it was raining out, sunny out. They were smiling at the rink every single day. They’re just a pleasure to be around, a pleasure to learn from. So I hope it’s not the end for them. Those are two guys that I grew super close with this year. It’s not easy to see.”
