By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
After playing their first five home games of the 2026-27 American Hockey League season at Amica Mutual Pavilion, the Providence Bruins hit the road for the first time, heading to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to face the Hershey Bears. Saturday’s game was the first of four meetings this season and the start of a back-to-back in Hershey, but the Bruins suffered another tough loss.
The Bears defeated the Bruins 5-3 at Giant Center. The Bruins fell to 1-5, snapping their three-game winning streak against the Bears. The Bruins started slowly, gained momentum to tie the game, but it stalled in the second period.
First Period
The Bruins started slowly when defenseman Henri Jokiharju was called for a holding penalty less than 3.5 minutes into the first period, and forward Lynden Lakovic scored a power play goal at 5:12 against goaltender Simon Zajicek to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. After Lakovic’s goal, the Bruins and Bears each had quality scoring chances, but Zajicek and Cal Petersen settled in between the pipes.
However, with 12.4 seconds remaining in the period, forward Eriks Mateiko scored to extend the Bears’ lead to 2-0 heading into the first intermission, and outshot the Bruins 12-11. The Bruins have now allowed the first goal in all six games this season.
Second Period
After a flat first period, the Bruins started the second period strong when forward Mikey Eyssimont scored against Petersen for his fourth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Not long after Eyssimont’s goal, the teams went to 4-on-4 after each team took a penalty. Just ten seconds into 4-on-4, Jokiharju scored to tie the game at two. Unfortunately, the Bruins’ momentum stalled after Jokiharju’s goal.
Defenseman Cam Allen scored 1:09 later to give the Bears a 3-2 lead. With 2:16 remaining, forward Josh Dunne scored to extend the Bears’ lead to 4-2 before the period ended.
Third Period
After a two-second power play failed to start the third period, the Bruins got two more power play opportunities to cut the Bears’ lead. However, the Bruins failed on both power play attempts. Fourteen seconds after the Bears killed off forward Joey Anderson’s delay-of-game penalty, forward Grant Cruikshank capitalized on a 2-on-1 to extend the lead to 5-2 with 11:06 remaining in regulation.
Jokiharju scored his second goal to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 6:14 remaining in regulation. Jokiharju recorded his second consecutive two-point game with his two goals. However, Jokiharju’s goal came too late for a Bruins comeback. In defeat, Zajicek made 23 saves; Eyssimont recorded a two-point game, and forward Dans Locmelis recorded two assists. The Bruins finished the game with 34 shots on goal.
With four failed power play attempts tonight against the Bears, the Bruins are now 1/26 on the season. The Bruins have allowed 11 goals in their last two games combined. The Bruins and Bears will meet tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET at Giant Center to close out the back-to-back games in Hershey. Tomorrow’s game will be the last time the Bruins and Bears meet until Jan. 8 in Providence, Rhode Island.
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