Black Bears Prepare for Home-And-Home Series with Rebels
NAHL Maryland Black Bears

Black Bears Prepare for Home-And-Home Series with Rebels

Published on March 4, 2026 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Maryland Black Bears News Release


Friday night will mark the end of a very successful nine game home stand for the Maryland Black Bears. Through the first eight games, the Black Bears have gone 7-0-1, outscoring their opponents 35-15. To close out the home stand, Maryland will welcome the Philadelphia Rebels for the first leg of a rare home-and-home series between the two teams, with Friday night being played at Maryland's home venue at Piney Orchard Ice Arena, and Saturday night at Philadelphia's home rink at Hollydell Ice Arena. Maryland enters this weekend's contest with a division and league best 39-5-4 record and 82 points, needing eight points to clinch the East Division for the third time in franchise history. Philadelphia comes into the weekend in eighth place in the division with an 18-22-8 record with 44 points.

The Black Bears put together a dominant performance this past weekend, sweeping the New Hampshire Mountain Kings convincingly. Night one was a dominant offensive display starting in the game's first five minutes, with forwards Tanner Duncan and Brayden Wade scoring less than a minute apart for a quick 2-0 lead. Duncan's goal extended his impressive point streak to 24 straight games. Duncan would score a dazzling goal later in the frame, deking both a New Hampshire defenseman and goaltender for a 3-0 lead. Forward Trey Hinton would cash in on a rebound less than two minutes later for a 4-0 lead just over halfway through the first period. The Mountain Kings capitalized on a Maryland turnover to make it a 4-1 game before forward Logan Deuling quickly struck back with a rebound goal to give the Black Bears a 5-1 lead. New Hampshire would score once more before the first period ended to make the score 5-2, but it was all Maryland from there. The Black Bears capitalized on three power plays, with goals scored by defenseman Dominik Boltner and forwards Josh Frenette and Owen Drury to win the game 8-2. Goaltender Ryan Denes made 18 saves in the win.

Maryland got off to a slow start on night two, trailing 1-0 after one period. However, the Black Bears got things going in the second period and never looked back. A turnaround wrist shot from forward Brady Anes tied the game up at 1-1 before Wade continued his weekend dominance, striking twice to make it 3-1. In the third period, defenseman Anthony Pellitteri scored on a snapshot from the slot to make it 4-1. Despite a quick response from the Mountain Kings to make it 4-2, defenseman Cole Peters iced the game with an empty net goal for a 5-2 win. Dom Gatto made 18 saves in the win.

The Rebels enter the weekend desperate to get back into the playoff race, trailing the sixth place Danbury Hat Tricks by 10 points. They took on those very Hat Tricks last weekend in a home-and-home series, with the home team winning both games. Game one at Hollydell Ice Arena was a high-scoring affair, with Philadelphia winning the back-and-forth contest. Forwards Emmet McClaine and Jordan Brothers started the scoring for Philadelphia in the first period for a quick 2-0 lead. Danbury got a goal back in the first period to make it 2-1 before two second period goals from Rebels' forwards Abzal Alibek and Billy Sheridan made the score 4-1. The Hat Tricks fought back to get a goal late in the second period and early in the third period to cut the deficit to 4-3. Forward Thomas Klochkov restored the two goal lead for Philadelphia for 36 seconds before Danbury responded again to make it a one goal game. Forward Justin Vlassis scored late in the third to give the Rebels a 6-4 lead. Despite a late goal by the Hat Tricks, Philadelphia hung on for a 6-5 win. Ilja Nikitins made 25 saves in the win. Game two saw a multi-goal lead slip away for the Rebels. Despite Brothers and Vlassis scoring in the second period for a 2-0 Philadelphia lead, Danbury would strike twice in the second period and once in the third to steal the game with a 3-2 win.

Maryland and Philadelphia have only played twice this season in a pair of mid-week matinees that saw the Black Bears shut out the Rebels both times by scores of 2-0 and 3-0. Harrison Smith scored in both games for Maryland, while forward Tanner Duncan and defenseman Sam Osei recorded assists in each game.

Players to Watch:

Brayden Wade (F, MYD): Wade had a stellar weekend against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings, recording three goals and two assists for five points. He was a pest in front of the net in both games, generating numerous scoring opportunities. Wade's past five games as a whole have been impressive, recording four goals and seven points in that stretch.

Jordan Brothers (F, PHI): Brothers is the Rebels' leading point scorer with 30 points this season, a career best in an NAHL career spanning 105 games across three organizations. He has scored six goals in his last nine games as he tries to spark Philadelphia to a playoff berth.

Game one of this home-and-home will be on Friday, March 6th, at 7:00 p.m. ET, with Maryland traveling north for game two on Saturday, March 7th, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. All games can be streamed on NATV.

Check out the Maryland Black Bears Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2026


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