SEWELL, NJ– In their last regular season series of the year, the Maryland Black Bears travelled up to Hollydell Ice Arena on Friday to take on the Philadelphia Rebels in the first part of another home-and-home series. In a frantically wild game, the Black Bears came back from three goals down and got a power play winner late to beat Philadelphia 6-5.
Philadelphia didn’t take long to get on the board, as Jordan Brothers ripped a wrister from the left dot and opened the scoring 3:03 into the game. Maryland’s offense created some chances after that goal, getting some sustained pressure on the Philadelphia net, but couldn’t find the back of the net in the early going. A Maryland penalty would allow Philadelphia to get on the power play, where Abzal Alibek would score through traffic only nine seconds into the power play. Undeterred, the Black Bears rushed right back and Harrison Smith put home a rebound only 14 seconds after Philadelphia’s goal to make it a one-goal game again. Despite more pressure, Philadelphia would be the ones to strike again, with Broxton Ingle would take advantage of Maryland unable to get it out of the zone and made it 3-1 for Philadelphia. After a scuffle in the corner lead to a Philadelphia power play, Joe Stauber scores 14 seconds into it to make it 4-1 for Philadelphia.
The Black Bears would be the team to score early in the second period, as Ryan Franks would convert for his 28th of the year after a whiffed shot from Smith turned into a prime shot for Franks to make it a 4-2 game. The Maryland offense continued to pressure the Philadelphia net, taking advantage of a power play at the middle part of the frame, but couldn’t strike before the media timeout. The Black Bears pressure would pay off late in the frame with Brayden Wade connecting for his 11th of the year off a great passing play off the faceoff to create the goal. Only 21 seconds later, Wade would steal a puck in the neutral zone and take it himself on a 2-on-1 to tie the game up at 4-4. Maryland would get called late for a penalty, but the penalty kill would get a shorthanded goal from Owen Drury off a great pass from Josh Frenette to make it 5-4 Black Bears. However, Philadelphia would tie it up right after with Ryan Bunting getting a power play goal to make it 5-5 through 40 minutes.
With a whole new game, the Black Bears continued their pressure, keeping the puck sustained in the offensive zone for the first half of the period. The pressure created a couple of power plays for Maryland and they would be able to cash in in the dying seconds of the second power play, with Cole Peters ripping a shot from the point through traffic to make it a 6-5 game. Philadelphia pressed at the end, pulling their goalie, but the defense was able to keep any chances at bay and the Black Bears pull of a big victory with a 6-5 win.
Ryan Denes made 20 saves and got his 26th win of the season, setting the Black Bears record for regular season single-season wins, passing William Hakansson from 2022-23.
The Black Bears are back at it on Saturday, back in the friendly confines of Piney Orchard, finishing off their season series with Philadelphia. Tickets can be found at Tickets.MarylandBlackBears.com and the Piney Orchard box office.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 