In the fifth season for the Maryland Black Bears, there was plenty to strive for. Just missing out on the 2022 Playoffs left a bit of a chip on the shoulders of the team and a hunger to get back to the playoffs and make some history.
Mission: Accomplished.
The Black Bears got off to a hot start, going 8-1-0 in the month of September, their lone loss coming at the NAHL Showcase. They followed that up with an 8-2-0 record in October, including a three-game sweep of the rival Johnstown Tomahawks. Christian Catalano was making his name offensively with 14 goals through the first 19 games, Gabriel Westling had a hot start with four goals and eight assists in the first two months. Branden Piku and Brayden Stannard returned to Maryland after some time away, and William Hakansson was 10-0-0 in the first two months of the season. All led by captain Brad McNeil who had found his touch in the face-off circle and as a set-up man on the top scoring line. From that point on, people knew something special was taking place.
However, there were some lulls in the first half of the season. November and December brought some of the tougher tasks, as the team went 6-4-3 over that two month span, while finding some troubles with teams they knew they’d probably face in the postseason should they get there. However, the team moved forward. Dimitry Kebreau and Sean Kilcullen– two homegrown talents– were starting to show off their skill sets and making their presence felt despite the brief down-swing. Piku even broke the all-time points mark in the franchise’s history in this span, but more was ahead for him.
At the start of the new year, the team went a leaner 9-5-1 through February while scoring started to come at a premium, getting shut out three times in that 14 game span; though they had pitched three shutouts of their own in that timespan. Piku hit the 100-point mark in Black Bears and NAHL history, cementing his legacy in Maryland as a top producer. Hunter Ramos was getting his wheels going in his rookie campaign, heating up for his 20-goal season.
For the last two months, injuries and illness started to rear its ugly head, but the depth of this team stepped up in their place. Not missing a step, the Black Bears saw a 9-3-1 record to end out the regular season, including another three-game sweep of Johnstown, clinching a playoff spot a weekend before the season ended, while also seeing how Riley Ruh, Kal Essenmacher, Kareem El-Bashir, and Magnus Gadowsky stepped up to make their mark on the team in lieu of the injured.
Then the playoffs started with the Black Bears in the top spot in the East and high expectations against teams they had difficulties against in the regular season. They made short work against Northeast, sweeping them in three games thanks to Gunnar VanDamme’s quick start in the series and the power from Great Grandma Leona. Piku, Stannard, McNeil, and Samuel Stitz were the forces in that series on offense. Next up was Maine where Westling had two goals and three assists in the series, Kaleb Tiessen was sturdy in his own end while contributing offensively, And in four games, the Black Bears took the East Division title outright and were headed to the Robertson Cup Final Four.
In their semifinals, they had to take on Austin and things didn’t go as planned. Getting shutout the first game, the Black Bears got even in Game Two thanks to Ruh, Stannard, and Hakansson playing solidly. In the winner-take-all Game Three, the Black Bears got some luck on their side, but not enough; dropping a heartbreaker to end their season. While it’s not the outcome anyone had wanted, it’s also one that some may not have thought was going to happen. To be able to win the East Division and actually get to Blaine is a task within itself, but this team had the depth and drive to make it happen. Even in their semis, guys like Ruh, Gadowsky, and Trayce Johnson really stepped up their game.
Overall, to have a 30-goal scorer in Catalano, two other 20-goal scorers with Kebreau and Ramos, Hakansson setting franchise records in net with Jack Wieneke etching his name with solid back-up duties, Kilcullen and Luke Van Why playing great on both sides of the puck, plus the depth players that chipped in during their spot– the 2022-23 Maryland Black Bears are going to be the team that other teams look to as the prototype for success. Clint Mylymok mentioned in the press conference at the end of the season that, “We don’t want to rebuild and use that term. We want to reload, man, and get guys in here who want to put the pedal to the metal and finish the job.”
This team got the organization a taste of success and it looks like the front office and coaching staff is hungry to find the people to get back to the table and feast some more.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 