By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
This past weekend, the Providence Bruins played three home games and lost two. Through five games into the 2026-27 American Hockey League season, the Bruins are 1-4. For the first time this season, the Bruins will play on the road as they prepare for an early, important clash with the Hershey Bears.
The Bruins travel to Giant Center to take on the Bears in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. Tonight marks the start of a back-to-back between the Bruins and the Bears and the first of four meetings between the two teams this season. This back-to-back will be the only time the Bruins and Bears meet in Hershey.
The Bruins started the season by losing their first two home games, then went on a three-game home run last weekend. The Bruins lost the first game 2-0 to the Hartford Wolf Pack, then rebounded with a 6-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers, but finished the weekend with a 6-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. After two losses last weekend, the Bruins sit last in the Atlantic Division, three points behind three teams.
While the team’s new goaltending duo of Jiri Patera and Simon Zajicek has looked solid through five games, the Bruins’ offense has struggled this season. Against the Checkers, forward Brendan Gaunce ended the Bruins’ 134:08 scoring drought. The Bruins failed on their first 22 power play attempts of the season, but forward Riley Duran scored a power play goal late in the third period in the loss to the Penguins, ending the drought.
The Bruins have been blanked in two of the five games this season. In two other games, the Bruins failed to score three goals. In the last game against the Penguins, Patera’s goaltending kept the score from getting worse. The Bruins will look to build on Duran’s late power play goal heading into tonight’s game in Hershey.
A Look at the Opponent
The Bears currently sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 3-1 record. After falling to the Checkers 5-2 in their season opener, the Bears have won their last three games, including back-to-back wins over the Texas Stars last weekend. During their three-game winning streak, the Bears outscored their opponents 11-4.
Forward Andrew Cristall leads the Bears in points and assists with eight assists. Forward Bogdan Trineyev leads the Bears with three goals, and forward Jonny Brodzinski has the second-most points on the roster with five. Between three goaltenders, the Bears have a combined 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Mitch Gibson and Cal Petersen each allowed one goal in their start over the Stars.
A Look at Last Season
Last season, the Bruins won three of four games against the Bears in the season series. After losing 2-0 in the first meeting, the Bruins won the next three games. The Bruins won both games in Hershey, outscoring the Bears 7-2. Zajicek started two games against the Bears last season and played tremendously, allowing one goal in each game and making a combined 56 saves.
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