ODENTON, MD– With a playoff spot on the line, the Maryland Black Bears hosted the New Hampshire Mountain Kings for a two-game set. Thanks to scoring depth throughout the line-up, the Black Bears were able to not only sweep New Hampshire, but also lock their spot into the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23rd, 2024: BLACK BEARS (4) vs. New Hampshire (1): Offensively in the first period, Maryland got the jump on New Hampshire with plenty of shots around the New Hampshire net; but were unable to get any behind Sebastian Bodnar in the early going. At the other end, Owen Lepak didn’t face many shots, but was sharp when called upon. A late power play allowed the Black Bears to open the scoring with Ryder Nienhuis pick up the rebound in front of the net to put home his eighth of the season and put Maryland up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The physical play picked up in the second frame, with penalties being a trouble point for Maryland late in the period. However, the penalty kill was strong in their play, helping kill off all the penalties including a two-man disadvantage late in the period. Maryland’s offense continued to turn, but were unable to find another goal before the end of 40 minutes.
Things got rolling for Maryland early in the third with Luke Rubin ripping home a shot from the slot to give the Black Bears the 2-0 advantage only 5:22 into the third. New Hampshire cut the lead in half midway through the period with Matthew Hale putting home a rebound to make it a 2-1 hockey game. Only three minutes later, Tyler Stern restored the two-goal Black Bears lead picking up the Jeremi Tremblay rebound for his sixth of the year to give Maryland the 3-1 lead. To ice it, Riley Ruh put home a backhander for his ninth of the year with under four minutes to play to make it 4-1 and to get Maryland on the verge of clinching a playoff spot.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24th, 2024: BLACK BEARS (5) vs. New Hampshire (2): Special teams were a big factor to start the game off, as both squads netted a goal with the extra man. First, New Hampshire netted the first goal of the game from Jack Costanzo, ripping one to the top corner just past the midway point and on New Hampshire’s first power play. With under three minutes to go in the period, Kareem El-Bashir put home his 10th of the season after picking up the puck in front and backhanded it home to tie the score. The Black Bears got a very late power play and made short work of it, as Sam Stitz ripped home his sixth of the year only five seconds in the power play and with only 0.5 seconds left in the first.
New Hampshire tied the game in the first 1:21 after Ethan Rosenoff put the puck into Colin Ronan and then got shoved into Ronan, forcing the puck in the net. After video review, the goal stood to make it a 2-2 game. Ronan would hunker down from there, making some key saves on some tough chances to keep the game tied up. Tempers started to flare towards the middle of the frame with both sides filling their penalty boxes full, none of which created an advantage. Maryland regained the lead with 3:50 left in the period as Riley Ruh buried his 10th of the year after a great pass from Dylan Gordon to make it 3-2 heading into the third.
The Black Bears controlled the third period throughout, registering 24 shots to New Hampshire’s four. That sustained pressure helped to create two goals, the first from Luke Rubin who had a nice tap-in from the side of the net for his sixth to make it 4-2 Black Bears. With 6:32 remaining in the game, Ben Tauscher came down the right side and wired a shot to the top shelf behind Stefan Carney for his first NAHL goal to make it 5-2. From there, the defense shut down any chances and the Black Bears took home the split and clinched a playoff berth in the process.
The Black Bears are on the road this weekend against New Jersey to take on the Titans. All the action can be seen on NAHL TV.
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