Bears clinch Kilpatrick Trophy as regular-season champions

The Hershey Bears added to their trophy case on Saturday by securing both the F.G. (Teddy) Oke Trophy as the champions of the AHL’s North Division and the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s overall regular-season champions.

The Bears clinched their 20th division title with a 3-2 win over Binghamton on Saturday afternoon, and wrapped up first place in the 28-team league standings when Laval fell to Toronto, 2-1, two hours later.

Hershey has won six division crowns since affiliating with the Washington Capitals in 2005-06, and have earned the Kilpatrick Trophy three times during that period.

With one game remaining on its schedule, Hershey has a league-best record of 23-7-2-0 (.750).

One of the oldest trophies in North American sports, the Oke Trophy was first presented to the London Panthers, champions of the Canadian Professional Hockey League, in 1927. The Kilpatrick Trophy was instituted in 1997 and is named in honor of AHL Hall of Famer Macgregor Kilpatrick.