After the 2022-23 season, the 2023-24 edition of the Maryland Black Bears had a big bar to try and hurdle if they wanted to get back to Blaine and challenge for the Robertson Cup. Setting a franchise-record in wins and points, as well as winning the East Division in both the regular season and playoffs, Maryland knew they’d have to perform with a target on their backs all season long. The Black Bears had plenty of returning players to help fuel a repeat of the season, as well as tendered players, draft picks, and affiliated players from Youngstown to assemble what would be a roster for the ages, with Maryland not only setting more records, but getting back to Blaine once again.
The Black Bears started off hot in September with a 7-2-1 record, including a 3-1-0 record in the NAHL Showcase. The offense started to get hot with Jeremi Tremblay and Kareem El-Bashir getting things going offensively through the first month, while the defense continued to be a solid calling card for Maryland with three shutouts in the first month– two from Colin Ronan and one from Jack Wieneke. Another big month in October yielded a 6-1-1 record and the Black Bears coming out with three one-goal game victories and outscoring their opponents 27-18. Part of the leadership group of Dimitry Kebreau, Adam Schankula, and Jesse Horacek started to pick up their pace offensively, while Owen Lepak was assigned by Youngstown to Maryland and created a tandem with Ronan. Wieneke would be moved to Lone Star at the end of October.
November saw the Black Bears split most of their weekend sets, going 4-2-2 over the month facing some hard fought battles against Rochester, New Hampshire, and Danbury along the way. December saw back-to-back splits against Philadelphia before ending the first half of the season with a three-game sweep in Johnstown. Riley Ruh got back into the line-up after starting the season on the injury list, netting five goals in his first two months of the year; as Luke Amell and Trayce Johnson were provided scoring from the blue line to go with their solid work in their own zone. The Black Bears ended the first part of the season in a dead-heat with Maine for the top spot of the division.
After a long break over the holidays, the Black Bears kicked off January with a sweep of Maine to take outright top spot in the East and started their 7-1-0 January, with their only blemish coming against Northeast. February only saw Maryland have three weekends of action with a 4-2-0 record in those games. Sam Stitz returned from the injured list in January and netted six goals in those 14 games, with Luke Janus, Dylan Gordon, and Matt Croxall adding depth scoring for the Black Bears. Early season acquisition Tyler Stern would team up with Michael Urgo to bring high energy to the team, as Cal Hutson started to find his playmaking way from the blue line.
March was a big month for the Black Bears, as they played 11 games in the month and finished with a 7-4-0 record after many wild weekends that included high scoring for the Black Bears, as well as against them. The Black Bears split their only series in April, but their win in the first game against Johnstown saw them clinch the top spot in the division for the second straight season, as well as notch 41 wins, which was a new franchise record. In that time, Kebreau was able to set the franchise records in goals and points, Horacek setting the single-season record of power play goals, with Janus and Stitz nipping at his heels, Tremblay getting the most game-winners in a single season, while Lepak and Ronan each had 17 or more wins on the year.
With the new playoff format in the East, the Black Bears got a week-off during the qualifying round and awaited the lowest seed left, which turned out to be New Jersey. Maryland swept New Jersey in three games with Lepak making many key saves to keep the Black Bears in it, while Ruh and Kebreau netted three goals each to help the Black Bears advance. They met a familiar foe in the East Final, as they met Maine for the third time in four seasons in the East Final. Tight checking on both ends saw the first three games have as many shutouts (3) as empty net goals. Down 2-1, Maryland came through clutch in an afternoon Game 4 and while they got down early in the first period of Game 5, popped home six unanswered goals to give them the East Division title for a second straight season, pushing them to the Robertson Cup once again. Kebreau had three goals in the final two games of the East Final, while Tremblay and El-Bashir netted two each in those final games to lift the Black Bears up.
Heading back to Blaine, Maryland would take on Minot in the semis and would start off very hot with three goals in 1:20 in the Game 1 to set the tone for a 7-3 victory, while Tremblay netted a hat trick in Game 2 to propel Maryland to the National Title game. Janus had two goals and two assists, while Lepak stopped 71 of 76 shots. In the Final, Maryland took on Lone Star with Wieneke being named starter. In a back-and-forth affair, the Black Bears came up two goals short of the title, despite an amazing effort.
The outcome wasn’t what was desired, but that shouldn’t take away from all the team gave on the ice and to the fans off the ice as well. They had a high mark to search for and they achieved that and more. They nearly got to the mountain top, but got stymied in the end. However, this team is now the standard bearer for the future of the squad and what the next teams will strive to be and strive to beat.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 