BLAINE, MN– Returning to the Robertson Cup tournament for the second straight year, the Maryland Black Bears looked to flip the script on their semifinals loss last season. Before thinking of Tuesday’s championship, they had to get two wins over the Minot Minotauros. After quick starts and steady work through out, the Black Bears swept Minot in two games to head to Tuesday’s National Championship game.
FRIDAY MAY 17th, 2024: BLACK BEARS (7) at Minot (3): After knocking some of the travel rust off, the Black Bears couldn’t have asked for a better start. First, the power play got to work with Luke Janus ripping a shot over the glove of Minot’s Brady James to make it 1-0 Maryland. Only 56 seconds later, Jeremi Tremblay got a drop pass from Jesse Horacek to rip home his third of the playoffs to give the Black Bears the 2-0 lead and forced Minot to take their timeout early. Only 24 seconds after the timeout, Sam Stitz rifled a shot over the shoulder of James to make it 3-0 and net three goals in 1:20 for Maryland, as well as retire James early in the game. However, penalty issues started to rear its ugly head for Maryland, as Minot capitalized with the man advantage with Nick Sewecke redirecting a pass in front to make 3-1 Maryland. But the Black Bears answered back 31 seconds later with Dimitry Kebreau batting home a loose puck in the crease to make it 4-1 for Maryland. However, late in the frame, Jack O’Hanisain found a rebound in front to make it 4-2 Minot on yet another power play goal. After a frantic 20 minutes, Maryland was up 4-2.
Early penalty issues for Maryland in the second kept them down a man, but that’s not matter, as Kebreau was able to break up a pass at the point and take it the other way, ripping a shot over the glove of Lukas Swedin to make 5-2 Maryland on the shorthanded marker. However in that same penalty, Minot got the goal back with Trevor Stachowiak putting home his third of the playoff to make it 5-3. Maryland didn’t let it get them down, as they kept attacking the Minot net and it paid off with Horacek gathering up a rebound in front, kicking it from his skate to his stick and backhanded home the 6-3 tally. The Black Bears continued to pressure and were able to get some luck on their side as Janus tried to dump the puck into the offensive zone, but on his attempt; the puck redirected off the glass and fooled Swedin, who had went to stop the puck behind the net, and skidded into the goal to make it 7-3 Black Bears.
The third period was a display by Owen Lepak and the defense, as Minot started to press in a big way to try and build up some momentum for Game 2. The defense stood strong and Lepak made some crucial saves and stopped all 11 shots Minot threw at him in the third period to keep the 7-3 scoreline and give Maryland the Game 1 victory.
SATURDAY MAY 18th, 2024: BLACK BEARS (6) vs. Minot (2): Knowing that this would be a challenge, the Black Bears were up to it early going, withstanding the pressure that Minot would throw at them. Shot blocking and timely saves were crucial, with Trayce Johnson, Mike Urgo, and others getting in front of pucks and Owen Lepak making giant saves in the early Minot barrage. The Black Bears drew a late power play and Jeremi Tremblay hammered home a one-timer set up by Dylan Gordon to get Maryland on the board with under five minutes remaining in the frame. More solid defensive work kept that 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Minot got to work early in the second as Nick Sewecke was able to net another goal off a rebound to tie the game up a 1-1. However, just near the midway point, the Black Bears get the lead back with Dimitry Kebreau winning a face-off back to Dylan Gordon with Gordon taking the puck down the wall, across the crease, and roofing a chip shot on a set play to make it 2-1 for Maryland on Gordon’s first of the playoffs. Maryland drew a two-man advantage after some activity after a whistle and they made short work of the first penalty with Tremblay hammering home another one-timer for his second of the game only 12 seconds into the power play to make it 3-1 Maryland. The Black Bears didn’t convert on the rest of the power play, but took a two-goal lead into the intermission.
Penalty trouble on both sides made it for different personnel looks, but Maryland did a bulk of the heavy lifting on the penalty kill and kept their two goal advantage when all was said and done. Minot was lingering heavily in their offensive zone, but Lepak and the defense sold out to keep their lead intact and withstanding the attack paid off. A penalty against Minot in the middle of the frame allowed the Black Bears power play to get to work again and thanks to a fantastic keep in the zone by Cal Hutson, that allowed the puck to work its way to Sam Stitz who hammered a shot to make it 4-1 for Maryland. Moments later, Minot cut the lead back to two as Cayden Casey got behind the defense and put home his fifth to make it 4-2. But try as they might, the Minot defense couldn’t get anything else past the defense or Lepak, all while Tremblay netted a hat trick goal into the empty net and Riley Ruh added another for good measure to give the Black Bears a 6-2 win and punch their ticket to Tuesday’s Robertson Cup Final.
All the action is on NAHLTV, but if you have the chance– head down to the Chesepiooc Ale House off of Crofton Boulevard in Crofton on Tuesday for the team watch party. Doors open at 6 PM and puck drop set for 8 PM.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 