The Hershey Bears are a minor league ice hockey team that plays in the East Division of the American Hockey League. The Bears are one of the oldest franchises in the league, having begun play in the 1938-39 season, just two seasons after the AHL began. In the team's history, they have won the Calder Cup 11 times. This includes three championships since the 2005-06 season.http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/display_standings.php?tmi=6092

Since the team began playing, they have been affiliated with nine different National Hockey League teams. For most of the team's first 30 years, its affiliate was the Boston Bruins. Hershey has also been affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Washington Capitals.http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/display_affiliations_child.php?tmi=6092

The Bears were successful in defending their Calder Cup Championship in 2009-10, winning the trophy and league championship for the second straight year. The team finished the regular season with the best record in the league, winning 60 games.http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=standings&season_id=30 Their 123 points earned them the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the playoffs, the Bears defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in five games and the Albany River Rats in four games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. In that series, they defeated the Manchester Monarchs in six games to go to the Calder Cup Finals. In the championship round, Hershey defeated the Texas Stars in six games to win the title.http://theahl.com/stats/bracket.php?season_id=33

The Bears had two players on their team register over 100 points during the regular season. Keith Aucoin led the team with 71 assists and 106 points. Alexandre Giroux scored 50 goals to lead Hershey, registering a total of 103 points. The Bears' leading goaltender was Michal Neuvirth. In 22 games he had a record of 15-6-0. He led the team with a 2.24 goals against average.http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000092010.html

The Bears' long history has seen many of their players move up to the NHL. Defenseman Barry Ashbee, who played with the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s, spent seven seasons playing in Hershey.http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/a/ashbeba01.html Washington Capital defenseman Mike Green played for the Bears during their 2005-06 championship season.http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/greenmi03.html Goalie David Aebischer played two seasons with the Bears before moving up to the NHL.http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/a/aebisda01.html