HERSHEY, Pa. – Raising the 12th Calder Cup Championship banner highlights the 86th season of Hershey Bears hockey, beginning October 14. The 2023-24 Hershey Bears schedule gives the team a chance to earn the team’s third set of back-to-back championships.
The schedule for the new season was revealed three weeks after the Bears bested the Coachella Valley Firebirds in game seven of the Calder Cup Finals.
For 2023-24, the schedule features some new tweaks to the 72-game slate. The American Hockey League’s oldest team sees a familiar combination of opponents that will test the mettle of any team with championship aspirations, from the first game to the season’s end on April 20.
A Look at the 2023-24 Hershey Bears Schedule
Hershey will play three preseason games in the weeks leading up to regular season play. Preseason play starts with a 10:30 AM EST game on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, October 4. The two teams played a similar game a season ago, which typically features a school-day crowd.
The Bears will host the Penguins in their lone preseason game at Giant Center on Friday, October 6 at 7:00 PM EST. Their preseason finale falls two days later at 1:05 PM EST at PPL Center against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Interestingly enough, the Bears play fewer games against the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers in the regular season, 12 total contests as opposed to 14 from a year ago.
Hershey’s schedule matrix features 12 matchups against both Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Eight matchups with the Charlotte Checkers, six games against both the Bridgeport Islanders and Providence Bruins, and four games against the Springfield Thunderbirds and the Hartford Wolf Pack finish the Atlantic Division slate.
New Opponents and Familiar Foes
Hershey will face off with each team in the North Division twice, once at home and once on the road. One lone exception is the Cleveland Monsters, who Hershey will play four times in total.
One noteworthy addition is a Western Conference opponent in the Iowa Wild. This new foe will face off against the Bears four times. Hershey’s busiest month is December with 13 games on the schedule.
Their longest stretch away from home happens four separate times when the team is on the road for four consecutive games. Hershey’s longest homestand is from December 9-17 with five straight games at the Giant Center.
The Bear’s schedule opens up with two games at home against North Division opponents Belleville and Cleveland. Following are road games against Providence (twice), Bridgeport, and Wilkes-Barre. This schedule gives the Bears an early test against divisional opponents to establish an early pecking order in the Atlantic.
The last game against the Penguins starts a nearly three-week stretch of playing Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley exclusively. Seven of eight games in that span allows the Pennsylvania rivals to get well acquainted.
Hershey’s Thanksgiving Eve home game makes a glorious return in 2023 after being noticeably absent a year ago.
At that point, the Bears will have played half their season series against the Penguins.
Not to be overlooked, the Bears will host the Wild for the first time at home on November 25 and 26. Fans of cross-conference play will have those two games circled on their calendars. After all, the Wild are the only visit from a Western Conference opponent.
A December to Remember – Chocolate and White Edition
December opens up among one of Hershey’s four game road swings, notably taking their first trip to Charlotte to take on the Checkers for the first time since last spring.
After wrapping up that road swing in Syracuse, Hershey enjoys being home for the Christmas holiday. That kicks off seven of eight games at home from December 9 to December 27. The exception is a jaunt to take on the Springfield Thunderbirds in the second half of a home-and-home set.
The Bears won’t have to go far to wrap up 2023. Games in Rochester and Lehigh Valley finish the calendar year with no New Year’s Eve game on the slate for the Chocolate and White.
It’s a sporadic start to 2024 for the Bears, who play 11 games in January. Only four games occur on consecutive nights with ten of those games against divisional opponents.
The Bears play six of seven Atlantic Division rivals in that span, with a visit from the Toronto Marlies on January 28 providing some variety. This visit is the ideal early date for Hershey’s iconic Teddy Bear Toss Night. An official date will be revealed with the promotional schedule later this summer.
January sees three games against the Phantoms, two against the Penguins, and two against the Wolf Pack. Other opponents include Springfield, Charlotte, Bridgeport, and Toronto. The Bears go into the All-Star Break after visiting the Phantoms and hosting the Islanders on February 2 and 3, respectively.
Road to the Playoffs
The road to the playoffs officially kicks off after the break with an upper Atlantic road swing. It’s against the Thunderbirds and the Bruins, a quintessential test that is a common trip on the schedule.
After a Valentine’s Day showdown with the Phantoms (a fitting matchup if ever there was one), the Bears go north to Canada. There, they’ll face all three North Division Canadian opponents: the Marlies, Belleville Senators, and Laval Rocket in that order.
That stretch is always a test for the Bears. It’s also a chance for players from Canada to be a little closer to home. Canadian-born players will likely have friends and family come out to the games.
The Bears return home for two games against Wilkes-Barre and Rochester on February 23 and 24. Following is a well-earned week off of game action before a busy month of March.
As per usual, Hershey’s month of March is a road-heavy slate. Seven of 11 games take place away from the Sweetest Place on Earth as the Giant Center is typically busy hosting high school sporting events with only a smattering of four home games about once per week during this stretch.
Highlights of the month include the second trip to Charlotte, the lone trip to Utica for the season, and the lone trip to Cleveland for two games. The good news about all this road play is that the month of April is exceptionally light on travel. Although, the Bears will likely have to fly to Iowa in the first weekend of the month. That trip will likely be the first time the team flies for a game since this past season’s Calder Cup Final series in Coachella Valley. It’ll be the last time the Bears leave the state of Pennsylvania with four of their last five at home. The season wraps up on April 20 at home against the Checkers.
The 2023-24 Hershey Bears Schedule
The week after the season ends hopes to see the play-in opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the rest of the tournament taking place inside of the final week of April. The Bears have already built the majority of their roster to defend their championship title with plenty of new acquisitions who bring that winning talent to the Sweetest Place on Earth.
With hockey season around the corner, this group will look to add to the team’s storied legacy in its 86th anniversary in the fall.
