The Hershey Bears surrendered four unanswered goals in their 4-2 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds, but there was one major bright spot.
Skating on the first line with Theodor Niederbach and Jonny Brodzinski,Lynden Lakovic recorded two primary assists one minute and 27 seconds apart, helping push the Bears to an early 2-0 lead.
The two helpers gave the 2025 first-round pick his second multi-point game of his professional career.
Lynden Lakovic’s first primary assist
Lakovic’s first point helped open the scoring, 9:16 into the first period. Deftly avoiding a hit at the defensive blue line, Lakovic collected a Brodzinski exit pass in the neutral zone and raced down the right wing. Brodzinski then out-hustled four different Thunderbirds into the offensive zone on the left side where Lakovic hit him wide open in front of the net with a backhanded pass. Brodzinski then handled the puck onto his forehand where he beat Thunderbirds goaltender Georgii Romanov.
On the line’s very next shift they scored again.
Lynden Lakovic’s second primary assist
After the Bears lost an offensive-zone faceoff, Brodzinski and Niederbach pressured the Thunderbirds hard along the boards, forcing defenseman Lukas Fischer to lose control of the puck. Lakovic then reached with his stick to ever-so slightly tip the puck to Brodzinski, who fired the puck against the grain between Romanov’s arm and body.
Hershey could not add to their lead though as Springfield got second-period goals from Otto Stenberg (PPG), Oskar Sundqvist (SHG), and former Bears defenseman Calle Rosen.
Then, with 2:03 remaining in the third period, Nathan Walker, a member of the Washington Capitals‘ 2018 Stanley Cup championship team, added a shorthanded, empty-net goal from the defensive zone to seal the game.
Lakovic now has 10 points on the season, tying him with Spencer Smallman and Andrew Cristall for the team lead in points.
Hershey Bears’ top 10 scorers (2026-27)
| Rank | Player | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Lynden Lakovic | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| T-1 | Spencer Smallman | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| T-1 | Andrew Cristall | 12 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | Jonny Brodzinski | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Josh Dunne | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | Bogdan Trineyev | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Louie Belpedio | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| T-8 | Joey Anderson | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| T-8 | Cam Allen | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| T-8 | Jacob MacDonald | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Lakovic has also now jumped into ninth in points among all AHL rookies. He’s chasing Laval Rocket defenseman Luke Mittelstadt, who leads all first year AHL players with 16 points (5g, 11a) in 13 games.
Lakovic also leads the Bears in shots with 37, which is also good for second among all AHL rookie skaters.
