HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears have struggled to generate offense this season, and those struggles continued early against the Texas Stars, Saturday.
Through 30 minutes of regulation play — half of the game — the team managed just eight shots on net, with Leon Muggli’s second career AHL goal, a seeing-eye point shot through traffic, the only offense they could muster.
Leon Muggli goal (1-1 tie)
But by the third period, the line pairings started to gel more, the Stars became wore out by the Bears’ tight checking, and Big Game Bogey made an appearance.
Taking a stretch pass from Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall, Bogdan Trineyev made a power move to the net and beat Stars goaltender Brandon Halverson five-hole, breaking the tie with 6:40 remaining.
Bogdan Trineyev game-winning goal
Trineyev was tripped as he made his move to the crease and slammed into the end boards. But he sprung up like lightning as his happy teammates met him for an enthusiastic goal hug.
Cristall, in particular, was especially happy, skating from the other end of the ice to jump into Trineyev.
The Bears then relied on goaltender Cal Petersen to hold onto the victory, giving them their second win in three outings. Trineyev was later named the 1st Star of the Game.
“Well, last year he was huge, obviously. He was a big help,” Bears head coach Derek King said of Trineyev. “This year, you know, I’m sure he’s a little disappointed being sent down. Do I think he can play in the NHL? I think at some point he will play in the NHL. But it’s good to see him get rewarded for his hard work. I mean, he’s been working hard. It just wasn’t going in the first couple games. And then to see that go in, he’s a big asset for us.”
Trineyev is coming off a breakout season in Hershey, posting 45 points (17g, 28a) and leading the team in playoff goals for the second-straight year. He also made his NHL debut in 2025-26 and played two games for the Capitals.
Despite his great play, Trineyev was caught in a numbers game after Washington brought in three veteran forwards over the offseason, including Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner, and did not make the Capitals out of training camp. The team put him on NHL waivers September 25 and loaned him to Hershey the next day where he’s started the season.
The goal marked Trineyev’s first point of the 2026-27 as he’s tried to find a new rhythm without his normal linemates from last season, Ilya Protas, who graduated to the NHL, and Cristall, who’s been skating on the top line with Josh Dunne and Jonny Brodzinski.
“I’ve said it before, he’s got to learn to play a 200-foot game, especially to be in the NHL,” King said of Cristall. “But it’s good for him to play with guys like that, good veteran guys that play the game the right way. And he’ll learn from them. So our vets this year are good for us because they’re like coaches. They’re probably better coaches than we are. They just don’t know it. And we don’t let them know that.”
Cristall has struggled finding chemistry with his new veteran linemates early, who play more of a north-south game, but despite that lack of cohesion, he’s still managed to assist on five of the team’s seven goals. Cristall’s five points, all apples, leads the Bears and is the second-most assists league wide.
Petersen, after joining the Capitals on a PTO this fall, won his first game as a Bear on Saturday, stopping 24 of 25 shots he faced. After the game, Petr Sikora awarded the goaltender the Bear Head as player of the game.
The Bears will face off against Texas again on Sunday at 5 pm for Pennsyltucky Night. Saturday’s game was the first-ever meeting in the regular season between the two teams.
