TORONTO (Interstat) — The Hershey Bears will visit the Toronto Marlies on Friday in a minor league hockey matchup. Hershey brings a 6-2 record into the game, while Toronto is 5-4. The Bears are the visiting team for the contest, and the Marlies are the home team. Hershey has won six of its first eight games, and Toronto has won five of its first nine. Both teams are in the middle of their early-season schedules.

Hershey enters off a 3-2 road win against the Rochester Americans. Lynden Lakovic recorded one goal and two assists with one shot on goal, while Louie Belpedio added one goal, one assist and four shots. Cal Petersen made 20 saves on 22 shots in the win. Belpedio is a player to watch for Hershey. In his most recent outing, he had a goal and an assist with four shots. He also has recent assists against Providence and Texas and has contributed points in several of Hershey’s early-season victories. He also had two shots and two penalty minutes in a win over Providence and three shots in a win over Charlotte. The Bears have earned wins over Belleville, Providence, Texas and Charlotte during their current 6-2 start. Hershey’s losses have come against Providence and Charlotte.

Toronto’s most recent result was a 3-0 home loss to the Rockford IceHogs. Blake Smith recorded four shots and two penalty minutes in the loss, while Noah Chadwick and Borya Valis each had two shots. Smith is a player to watch for Toronto. He has been active on the blue line recently, posting four shots and two penalty minutes in the most recent game, one shot in the previous contest and two shots with two penalty minutes at Brantford. The Marlies have earned wins over Hamilton and Belleville during their 5-4 start. Toronto also has an overtime victory at Belleville and an overtime win at Hamilton.

After Friday, Hershey is scheduled to host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hartford before visiting Springfield for two games. Toronto is set to visit Belleville and Hamilton before traveling to Manitoba for two games. Hershey also will host Hamilton, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte in upcoming home games, while Toronto will visit Syracuse and Providence before hosting Chicago twice. The Bears will continue a busy stretch of minor league play after the visit.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Toronto 5, Hershey 3, and its ELO system gives Toronto a 59.2 percent probability to win. Hershey has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under for the game is 5.5.