Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears ( also officially called the Hershey Bears Hockey Club and were one time also officially called the Hershey Hockey Club ) are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the American Hockey League . The Bears are the AHL affiliate of the NHL ’ s Washington Capitals . The team currently plays their home games at the Giant Center in the unincorporated town of Hershey , Pennsylvania which is located in Derry Township , Dauphin County , Pennsylvania . The Bears are based 14 miles east outside the state ' s capital of Harrisburg . The Bears ' won their AHL record eleventh and most recent Calder Cup title over the Texas Stars in 2010 . The Hershey Bears were founded in 1932 as the Hershey B ' ars . The franchise was renamed to Hershey Chocolate B ' ars in 1933 for one season and was then renamed back to Hershey B ' ars after the season in 1934 . The team adapted its current name in 1936 . The team played in the Tri - State Hockey League in 1932 and then played in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League from 1933 – 1938 . The team joined their current league the American Hockey League ( known as the International - American Hockey League from 1938 - 1939 ) in 1938 . The Hershey Bears are the only AHL franchise still playing in its original city since the league ’ s inaugural season in 1938 . The Bears are honored as the official member club of the AHL and all of minor professional ( league ) hockey . The Bears are also the seventh - oldest continuously operating professional ice hockey franchise in North America after the so - called " Original Six " teams of the National Hockey League which each began operations in their current cities in either the National Hockey Association ( 1909 - 1917 ) or NHL between 1909 and 1926 . Though established in 1932 , the franchise does not follow their amateur history and only follow their professional history . However , the Bears are the same franchise that was established at the amateur level in 1932 . The team was not established in 1938 . The Bears played at the Giant Center since the 2002 - 03 season . The Bears use to play at the Hershey Ice Palace from 1932 - 1936 and at the Hersheypark Arena from 1936 - 2002 , before the club moved to the Giant Center . The Bears played there 5 , 000th regular season league game on December 20 , 2006 . The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is owned and operated by the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company ( HERCO ) , formerly known as Hershey Estates , an entity wholly owned and administered by the Hershey Trust Company . History . Before the Bears ( 1931 ) . Before the founding of the Hershey Bears , the history of hockey in Hershey goes back to a series of amateur hockey matches played in Hershey between college teams beginning in early 1931 . The first such formal hockey game ever played in Hershey took place on February 18 , 1931 , when Penn A . C . and Villanova University faced off in the 1 , 900 - seat Hershey Ice Palace . Nine months after that successful inaugural contest , Swarthmore Athletic Club moved into the Ice Palace , where they played their first game on November 19 , 1931 , against Crescent A . C . of New York City . In the lineup that night for Crescent was a 23 - year - old center named Lloyd S . Blinco , a native of Grand Mere , Quebec . He came to Hershey the next season and would remain continuously associated with Hershey hockey for a half century as a player , coach , and manager . The popularity of these amateur hockey matches prompted chocolate - maker and amusement park - operator , Milton S . Hershey , and his long - time entertainment and amusements chief , John B . Sollenberger , to sponsor a permanent team to play at the Hershey Ice Palace . The Amateur era ( 1932 - 1938 ) . The Hershey Bears are born ( as the Hershey B ' ars ) . Finally in 1932 after the popularity of amateur hockey matches which prompted Milton S . Hershey and John B . Sollenberger , to sponsor a permanent team , the Hershey Bears were formed . The Bears began playing as the Hershey B ' ars and began playing their home games at the Hershey Ice Palace . The club joined the newly formed Tri - State Hockey League for the 1932 – 1933 season with teams from Philadelphia , Baltimore , and Atlantic City . Renaming to the Hershey Chocolate B ' ars and renaming back to Hershey B ' ars . After one season , that circuit reformed itself into a larger , seven - club loop called the Eastern Amateur Hockey League in which the Hershey B ' ars then changed their name to the " Hershey Chocolate B ' ars " for the 1933 – 1934 season , then renamed again back to the " B ' ars " from 1934 – 1936 . Renaming to the Hershey Bears . The franchise was renamed again in 1936 . This time , it was a new team name which is " Hershey Bears " . The reason for the franchise ' s renaming was because the team ' s " B ' ars " moniker was criticized by both the league and New York sportswriters . The New York sportswriters criticized the team ' s " B ' ars " moniker by informally dubbing the franchise as the " Bears from Penn ' s Woods " when they visit Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rovers and the league thought the " B ' ars " moniker was too commercial . The " Bears " name was indeed adapted from that New York sportswriters ’ " Bears from Penn ' s Woods " nickname . After the B ' ars were renamed to Bears , the team also moved from the confines of the Ice Palace ( where they had to play on a small , 60x170 - foot rink ) into the newly constructed 7 , 286 - seat Hersheypark Arena ( then known as the " Hershey Sports Arena " ) , built immediately adjacent to the older venue . Over the next sixty - six seasons , the Bears played a remarkable total of 2 , 280 regular season and playoff games at the Hersheypark Arena , which served as their home from 1936 to 2002 . Early and Mid Professional era ( 1938 - 2004 ) . The Beginning . In the 1938 – 1939 season , the Bears became the eighth member of the newly formed International - American Hockey League ( renamed the American Hockey League in 1940 ) which was created on June 28 , 1938 , by the formal merger of the International and the Canadian - American ( Can - Am ) Hockey Leagues , after those two smaller circuits had played interlocking schedules with each other over the previous two seasons . Although three of the seven other charter - member I - AHL cities ( Springfield , Massachusetts , Syracuse , New York , and Providence , Rhode Island ) are also represented in the AHL today , only the Bears have played in the league without interruption since that inaugural 1938 – 1939 I - AHL season . When the Bears moved to professional status , the franchise themselves created a different franchise called the Hershey Cubs to replace them at the amateur level in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1938 / 39 season . This team served as the farm club for the Bears for that season only . The Cubs finished in fourth and last place with a 19 - 25 - 9 record . The Cubs lasted for one season in EAHL . This was the only season for the existence of the Cubs franchise . NHL Affiliations . Before their current affilation with the Washington Capitals , the Bears served under mulitple affiliations with other NHL teams from 1967 - 2004 which were the Boston Bruins ( 1967 - 1971 , 1983 - 1985 ) , the Pittsburgh Penguins ( 1971 - 1977 ) , Buffalo Sabres ( 1974 - 1979 ) , the Philadelphia Flyers ( 1984 - 1996 ) , the Colorado Avalanche ( 1996 - 2005 ) , the Florida Panthers ( 2001 / 02 ) , and Tampa Bay Lightning ( 2003 / 04 ) . The Bears ' current affiliation with the Capitals is their second stint as the top level affiliate of the Capitals . The franchise ' s first affiliation stint with Capitals lasted from ( 1977 - 1984 ) . Current Professional era ( 2005 - Present ) . The Washington Capitals returned as the Bears NHL parent club in 2005 for the first since the 1983 / 84 season . As of the 2009 – 2010 Calder Cup Finals , the Bears have played in 22 Finals series , a league record . The Bears went back - to - back in 2008 – 2010 to win their 10th and 11th Calder Cups , winning their most recent cup versus the Texas Stars . The Bears became the first team in AHL history to win a Calder Cup series after trailing the series 0 – 2 , going on to win 4 straight to take the series 4 – 2 . On December 20 , 2006 , the Bears played their 5 , 000th regular season game at the Times Union Center in Albany , New York . The Bears scored seven times en route to a 7 – 4 win versus the Albany River Rats . On May 2 , 2007 , the Bears played their 500th Calder Cup playoff game in franchise history at the Giant Center . The Bears played the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins and won 4 – 3 . In 2010 , the Bears set a new club record with 12 straight wins , topping their previous record of 11 set the season earlier in 2008 . Over the stretch from December into January the Bears outscored their opponents by a 52 – 22 margin . The Bears also set a new AHL record for consecutive home victories at 24 . Hershey went without a loss at the Giant Center from November 29 , 2009 to March 19 , 2010 . The Bears had set an AHL mark for consecutive playoff series victories , with eight wins in a row . Besting the record shared with the 2005 – 2007 Bears and the 1990 – 1992 Springfield Indians . 2006 Calder Cup championship . In 2006 , the Hershey Bears , with new head coach Bruce Boudreau , returned to the playoffs after a two - year absence . The team came off with a strong start by winning their first two series , against the Norfolk Admirals and the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins , in four games each . In the Eastern Conference finals , the Bears played the Portland Pirates . The Bears quickly took a 2 – 0 series lead , but then lost the third game . The Bears then rebounded and won game four , to take a 3 – 1 series lead . However the Bears were unable to finish the job and were forced back to the Giant Center for game seven . The Bears trailed throughout the game , but managed to tie it with a goal from Graham Mink just over two minutes remaining . In overtime , the Bears finished with a goal by Eric Fehr , to win the series 4 – 3 . On June 15 , 2006 , The Bears won the Calder Cup by a series mark of 4 – 2 , defeating the Milwaukee Admirals . This marked the ninth time the franchise had won the Calder Cup , which tied the Bears with the original Cleveland Barons for the highest number of AHL playoff titles . Hanging Ten . The following season , the Bears or Boudreau ' s Bears finished with a 51 – 17 – 6 record and appeared to be on the verge of repeating as champions . They rolled through the playoffs defeating the Albany River Rats in five games , the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins in five , and won the Eastern Conference in a sweep of the Manchester Monarchs . The Bears appeared to have a tenth title wrapped up against the Hamilton Bulldogs , who had finished the regular season with 95 points compared to Bears ' 114 . The Bulldogs , however , upset the Bears 4 – 1 . The next season was disappointing to the Bears . They lost Boudreau to the Capitals via a promotion , finished the season 42 – 30 – 2 – 6 , and lost to Wilkes - Barre / Scranton 4 – 1 in the first round . The next season , the Bears bounced back . Finishing with a 49 – 23 – 2 record , they would go on to sweep the Philadelphia Phantoms in the first round , overcome a 3 – 2 deficit to beat the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins in the second , and then defeated the Providence Bruins , 4 – 1 , in the Conference Finals . They opened their 21st Calder Cup appearance with a 5 – 4 overtime win in Manitoba against the Manitoba Moose , but lost Game 2 , 3 – 1 . Back home in Hershey , the Bears scored a pair of wins ( 3 – 0 and 2 – 1 ) before falling in Game 5 , 3 – 2 . In Game 6 , the Bears scored 3 goals before the Manitoba Moose even got on the board , and then an empty - net goal sealed it . With the 4 – 1 Game 6 victory , the Bears defeated the Moose and finally captured their tenth Calder Cup which is a league record . 2009 – 10 season . Following the Calder Cup win , head coach Bob Woods was promoted to the Washington Capitals as an assistant coach . He was replaced by Mark French , a former coach in the ECHL . The Bears won a franchise record of 12 consecutive games and notched a 24 - game winning streak at the Giant Center . They went on to win 60 games , breaking the old AHL record of 57 and finishing a point shy of tying the single season points record . The Bears rallied from a 2 - 0 deficit against the Texas Stars to win their 11th Calder Cup , their second consecutive championship and third in the last five seasons . Team Branding . Logos . Summary . The colors of the Hershey Bears are dark brown , medium brown , tan , and white ( though the team ' s primary colors are often referred to as " chocolate and white " ) , a reference to The Hershey Company and its products . The primary logo is a medium brown bear , outlined in dark brown , roaring while standing on a hockey stick centered above the Hershey Bears wordmark . The wordmark has " HERSHEY " in tan above " BEARS " in white ( both outlined in dark brown ) . All these parts are contained by a circle filled in tan and outlined in dark brown on the primary logo . The Bears ' colors were burgundy , black , gold , and silver ( though the team ' s primary colors are often referred to as " chocolate and white " ) , a reference to The Hershey Company and its products . The team ' s previous primary logo is a maroon bear , outlined in black , swatting a hockey puck centered below the Hershey Bears wordmark . The wordmark is a horizontal gradient using gold and burgundy outlined in black , with the Hershey part centered on a rectangular outline designed to resemble a Hershey ' s candy bar . The former tertiary or alternate logo consists of a bear ' s head in burgundy and black with the initials " HB . " Uniforms . Summary . Before their move to the Giant Center in 2002 , the Hershey Bears wore simpler uniforms with the colors of chocolate brown and white . The previous logo used a silhouette of a skating bear with a hockey stick in brown centered in a white , ovular shield outlined in brown . In the advent of the 2007 – 2008 season , all of the teams of the American Hockey League unveiled newly designed Reebok EDGE uniforms , including the Hershey Bears . At this time , the Bears unveiled an updated version of the " old school " jerseys with the word BEARS written diagonally in black on a white home jersey and the word HERSHEY written in white on a maroon away jersey . Both jerseys featured black on both sides , the Washington Capitals logo on one shoulder and the classic " skating bear oval logo on the other shoulder . The current home and road uniforms were unveiled before the 2009 - 2010 season . The home uniform includes a white jersey with alternating burgundy and black horizontal stripes and burgundy shoulders . The Bears ' primary logo is centered on the front of the jersey . The shoulder logos include the Washington Capitals ' logo and the " HB " secondary logo . The away jersey is burgundy with white shoulders and black horizontal stripes near the bottom of the sweater . The 2009 - 2010 3rd jersey featured the same color / striping pattern as the home jersey , but no logo was present on the main body of the jersey . Instead the word ' HERSHEY ' was across the chest and the player ' s number was under the word Hershey . The current third jersey is a throwback style jersey in chocolate brown , with white horizontal stripes . It has no shoulder patches , but features the historic " Skating Bear " logo with the word " HERSHEY " across the chest . For the 2012 - 13 season , the Bears unveiled their present new simplified logo with the 2012 - 13 season Individual award winners . Les Cunningham Award ( League MVP ) John B . Sollenberger Trophy ( Leading point scorer ) ( * = The award was known as the Carl Liscombe Trophy until 1954 – 55 ) Willie Marshall Award ( Leading Goal Scorer ) Dudley " Red " Garrett Memorial Award ( Rookie of the Year ) Eddie Shore Award ( Best Defensemen ) Aldege " Baz " Bastien Memorial Award ( Best Goaltender ) Hap Holmes Memorial Award ( Goalie ( s ) with lowest goals against avg ) Louis A . R . Pieri Memorial Award ( Coach of the Year ) Fred T . Hunt Memorial Award ( sportsmanship , determination and dedication to hockey )