SEWELL, NJ– Through snow and ice of the week, the Maryland Black Bears trekked up to Hollydell Ice Arena to take on the Philadelphia Rebels for the last time in the regular season. While it didn’t come easy, the Black Bears were persistent with their shots and came away with a weekend sweep of Philadelphia.
FRIDAY JANUARY 19th, 2024: BLACK BEARS (4) at Philadelphia (2): The Black Bears got off to a quick start with chances early on the Philadelphia goal. It would pay off 3:58 into the period with Dimitry Kebreau putting home his 10th of the year off a Jesse Horacek rebound to get Maryland on the board first. That lead was short, as Philadelphia got even with Sonny DiNubile getting behind the Maryland defense to level the score at one. Both sides would get their chances, but the Black Bears would get the next advantage with Kareem El-Bashir tapping home a pass from Ryder Nienhuis to give Maryland the 2-1 lead. Colin Ronan was solid in net when Philadelphia tried to level to score to help carry the Maryland lead into the first intermission.
In the second period, Maryland would get two power plays in the early going, but could not convert. Philadelphia would even the score again while one four-on-four play with Jared Coccimiglio finding a loose puck in the crease and putting it home for the 2-2 score line. While most of the period was a neutral zone battle, Maryland would break through again, with Jesse Horacek putting home the rebound from a Sam Stitz shot to give the Black Bears the 3-2 lead, as they went into intermission.
Philadelphia was pressing against Maryland, but Ronan and the defense stood firm and were able to deflect all the threats thrown their way. Maryland couldn’t get much sustainable offense going, but Stitz would get the Black Bears an insurance goal on an odd-man rush, ripping a shot off the glove of Jack Fialkoff and into the back of the net to make it 4-2, which was the final score.
SATURDAY JANUARY 20th, 2024: BLACK BEARS (1) at Philadelphia (0): Philadelphia came out of the gates with a purpose and put pressure onto Maryland from the start with the help of an early power play, Owen Lepak and penalty killers were able to withstand that and a later penalty to keep their side scoreless. For Maryland, they had some chances, but didn’t find the twine behind Jakub Krbecek to keep the game scoreless through one period.
Thanks to a carryover power play, Maryland was able to get the jump on Philadelphia offensively, but still was unable to find the back of the net. The Black Bears held Philadelphia without a shot in the first 10 minutes of the frame, as Lepak only saw three shots in the period– keeping the game scoreless through 40 minutes of action.
Maryland would finally find the back of the net 5:15 into the third period, as after a flurry of shots on Krbecek, Dimitry Kebreau picked up a rebound in front and fired it home into an open part of the net to make it 1-0 Black Bears. That goal would be all the black Bears would need, as they locked the game down defensively and gave plenty of support to Lepak in order for Lepak to notch his second shutout of the season and give Maryland the weekend sweep.
The Black Bears return home this weekend to take on the New Jersey Titans, with Saturday night being the 2nd annual Old Bay Night. Tickets for Friday and Saturday are VERY LIMITED so check Tickets.MarylandBlackBears.com for availability so you don’t get frozen out of the action.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 