The Hershey Bears secured the fifth-place spot in the Atlantic Division with their 5-4 overtime victory over the Rochester Americans on Sunday. With the win on the final day of the AHL’s regular season, the Bears now know they’ll be playing the Bridgeport Islanders in the Atlantic Division Semifinals to start the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
With the win, the Bears ensured that there will be at least one more game played at Giant Center this season. The best-of-three series will begin in Bridgeport with Game 1, while Game 2 comes back to Hershey. If Game 3 is necessary, the fourth-place Islanders will also host that game.
Bears-Islanders series schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, April 21 at Bridgeport, Total Mortgage Arena, 7 pm
Game 2: Thursday, April 23 vs. Bridgeport, GIANT Center, 7 pm
*Game 3: Saturday, April 25 at Bridgeport, Total Mortgage Arena, 3 pm
* If necessary. All times Eastern.
“The nice thing is it’s only a four-hour bus ride instead of having to hop on a bus for eight hours (to Charlotte),” Bears head coach Derek King said. “I like the fact that we get a home game for our fans, which I think is going to be great and exciting. But we’re just going to watch some video, watch some clips. The nice thing is we played them just recently, so nothing has to change in our approach to the game, just obviously figure out lines and line up and go from there. ”
The Bears return to the playoffs after being eliminated in the Atlantic Division Finals by the Charlotte Checkers last year. The Islanders did not qualify for the postseason after the 2024-25 regular season, finishing last in the division.
Hershey finishes with a 32-31-9 record and 73 standings points, while Bridgeport will come into the series after posting a 34-30-8 record and 76 standings points. The Bears went 2-3-1 against the Islanders during the regular season, including a 2-1 loss to them on Saturday night.
The Bears will be led into the playoffs by a young core of forwards, including leading scorer Ilya Protas (66 points), Andrew Cristall (60 points), Bogdan Trineyev (45 points), and Ivan Miroshnichenko (34 points). Clay Stevenson is the club’s number-one netminder, posting an 18-13-3 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Bridgeport is led by two more veteran forwards, Matt Luff (52 points) and Adam Beckman (51 points). They also have a few well-known former Bears on their roster, including 2024 Calder Cup champion Pierrick Dubé and defenseman Ethan Bear.
Here’s the press release from the Hershey Bears:
Bears Announce Schedule for First Round Series vs. Bridgeport Islanders
Hershey starts its quest for a 14th Calder Cup title next week with a best-of-three series
(Hershey, PA – April 19, 2026) – The Hershey Bears announced the schedule for the club’s 2026 Atlantic Division First Round playoff series against the Bridgeport Islanders. Hershey, the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Division during the 2025-26 regular season, will battle the No. 4-seeded Islanders in a best-of-three series.
The complete schedule is as follows:
Game 1 – Tuesday, April 21 at Bridgeport, Total Mortgage Arena, 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Thursday, April 23 vs. Bridgeport, GIANT Center, 7 p.m.
*Game 3 – Saturday, April 25 at Bridgeport, Total Mortgage Arena, 3 p.m.*If necessary. All times Eastern.
Tickets for Hershey’s home game will go on sale Monday, April 20 at 10 a.m. online via Ticketmaster.
Hershey went 2-3-0-1 in head-to-head play with the Islanders this season. This marks the third time Hershey will play Bridgeport in the playoffs, with the Bears winning each previous series, taking the 2010 East Division Semifinals 4-1 en route to claiming their 11th Calder Cup championship, and topping Bridgeport 3-2 in the 2019 Atlantic Division Semifinals.
Fans are asked to continue to check HersheyBears.com and the club’s social media channels for the latest updates on the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
