Hershey will face the Baby Penguins twice before the season starts.
The Bears revealed in a press release today that the team will play their rival from Wilkes-Barre in a home-and-home set a week before the season officially begins. The Bears are set to travel to Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on September 29 before returning home to host the Penguins at Giant Center on September 30.This is a yearly tradition for the Bears, who add two more games to the 12 game regular season set between their Atlantic Division rivalry, although these contests do not factor into any standings points. This will be the first chance for Bears fans to see the list of players making their debut as members of the Chocolate and White.
A major storyline this season revolves around the young players going into their first AHL camp (check out our Player Profile series!) who will be finding their place on the roster, and others looking to stand out a little bit extra to the Hershey coaching staff. This means that training camp will likely take place the week of September 24, in order to get adequate time on the ice prior to the games, although nothing is officially set. If Hershey isn’t able to sign a veteran forward and/or a veteran defender prior to camp, there could be players invited to camp who may earn those contracts similarly to Jeremy Langlois last season as the Bears round out their roster for the season.
The good news for Bears fans is that, with the recent signing of Tom Wilson by the Capitals, that the NHL affiliate of the Bears has retained 18 of 20 players on their championship team, which means the roster for Hershey will be much more consistent than last year.
Preseason games are always good, cheap fun to come out and see a hockey game in September, and tickets will likely go on sale sometime in August. Get ready for hockey – we’re officially two months out from being back at the Giant Center!
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