The Hershey Bears handed their freshest set of alternates — the Screaming Bear design — a debut on Sunday afternoon, wearing them at home against Lehigh Valley's Phantoms.
Done up in cream, the sweaters show a growling bear across the front, drawn from the Capitals' Screaming Eagle crest, alongside a chocolate-hued diagonal stripe spelling BEARS near the midsection. Sitting on each shoulder is an alternate Bears emblem that nods toward Washington's Capitol Dome insignia.
The kits salute the partnership between Hershey and the Caps, a tie that hit 20 years this past October.
The squad modeling the fresh alternates
Images provided by the organization
The squad teamed the sweaters with pants and helmets in brown, completing the ensemble using socks in cream that carried a lone brown band alongside two white ones. Numbers and surnames on the back use the very same lettering seen on Washington's old Screaming Eagle threads.
Aaron Ness — photo via the club
Pictured: Bogdan Trineyev (team image)
Spencer Smallman, in an image from the team
David Gucciardi, shown in a club photo
Andrew Cristall — handout from the club
Pictured: Henrik Rybinski, team-provided image
Head coach Derek King running the bench — photo from the club
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Merchandise from the new line
Out on Giant Center's concourse, fans could buy replica versions of the alternate plus other new merchandise stamped with the club's specialty crests. The sweaters ran $190 apiece. According to Lee, a reader of RMNB, larger sizes had already been cleared out.
Photo credit: Lee Stevens
Shot by Lee Stevens
Courtesy of Lee Stevens
Photograph by reader Lee Stevens above
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The team plans three more outings in the sweaters before the year is out. Those land on the 12th of December in 2025, then early in 2026 on January 3, and finally on March 15. That mid-December date will also feature a giveaway of a two-sided John Carlson bobblehead, portraying the defenseman — who has captured a Calder Cup as well as a Stanley Cup — dressed in Bears and Caps colors alike.