Black Bears Look to Slay Titans and Stay Red Hot

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NAHL Maryland Black Bears

Black Bears Look to Slay Titans and Stay Red Hot

January 16, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Maryland Black Bears News Release


Maryland's offense came to play this past weekend, as the Black Bears scored 11 goals in two games to wrap up a hard-fought, gritty series sweep of the New Hampshire Mountain Kings to remain in the top three in the East Division. But the standings are crowded at the top, and to stay in the top three Maryland will need to take care of business against a team hot on their tail, the New Jersey Titans. The Titans are set to host the Black Bears with an 18-13-5 record and 41 points, sitting fourth in the East Division.

The Black Bears' sweep of the Mountain Kings was not an easy one. Game one started off well, with forwards Sebastian Speck and Kareem El-Bashir striking in the first period for an early 2-0 Maryland lead. Returning Black Bears forward Matthew Croxall scored a goal early in the second period, making it 3-0. However, New Hampshire would quickly climb back in the game, getting two power play goals from defenseman Damon Bossie just minutes apart to see the lead dwindle to 3-2. Black Bears forward Tanner Duncan got one goal back later in the frame, getting a sweet pass from forward Isac Nielsen from the far side of the slot to make it 4-2. New Hampshire responded with a two-on-one goal to make it 4-3 later in the frame, but Duncan would respond quickly with another goal from the slot to make it 5-3. Mountain Kings forwards Kim Hilmersson and Jaden Davis would go on to tie the game in the third period at 5-5, but Croxall would not allow his team to falter, scoring a power play goal less than a minute after the Mountain Kings tied the game with a wrist shot from the near circle to make it 6-5. Maryland forward and captain Tyler Stern would ice the game with an empty net goal for a 7-5 final.

Game two saw another strong start for Maryland, with Isac Nielsen scoring on a rebound just under two minutes into the game, followed by a slap shot goal from the point on the power play from defenseman Dylan Gordon for a 2-0 lead after one. But once again, New Hampshire responded with goals from forwards Oli Genest and Frank D'Ancona to tie the game at 2-2 in the second period. Hilmersson scored early in the third period to give the Mountain Kings a 3-2 lead, but it was short-lived as Black Bears forward Riley Fast let a wicked wrist shot go from the high slot to tie the game 3-3. Less than five minutes later, Tanner Duncan would slam home a pass from forward Harrison Smith in the slot on the power play to give Maryland a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

New Jersey hosted the Northeast Generals last weekend in a similarly high-scoring affair, with this series being split 1-1. Game one saw the Titans start of strong with goals from forwards Jack Hillier and Nikita Meshcheryakov for a 2-0 lead in the first period. New Jersey yielded a goal early in the second period only for forward Nikolai Meshkantsov to respond to make the score 3-1. The Generals wouldn't go down easy, as they scored two quick goals to tie the game at 3-3. However, Titans forward Owen Leahy's goal late in the second period would regain New Jersey the lead 4-3. Despite allowing a late goal by Northeast to make it 5-4, New Jersey would hold on for the win. Game two was not as kind to the Titans. After allowing the first goal of the game, New Jersey would respond with a three-goal second period with forwards Ryan Novo, Owen Leahy, and Alex Papaspyropoulos responding to a Generals goal for a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. However, Northeast came out swinging and scored four goals in the third period to win the game 6-3. The offense has driven New Jersey all season, with the teams' 126 goals the third-most in the East Division.

These two teams met back in December for a series at Piney Orchard Ice Arena with each team recording a win. The Titans took the first game on the back of a three-goal third period for a 5-3 win. Maryland won the second game thanks to a two-goal performance from defenseman Victor Mannebratt and an overtime winner from Kareem El-Bashir in a 4-3 win.

Players to Watch

Jack Hillier (F, NJT): Hillier is second in the NAHL in points with 50 and is tied for first in assists with 36 helpers. He has been instrumental in New Jersey's offensive success, recording 16 points in his last ten games.

Tanner Duncan (F, MYD): Duncan has been lights out the last three games, scoring five goals, including the game-winning goal this past Saturday. He has scored seven points in four of his last six games, with three of those games being multi-point performances.

Check out the Maryland Black Bears Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2025


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