
Black Bears Shut Out Jr. Hat Tricks In Regular Season Finale
April 15, 2023 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Maryland Black Bears News Release
After the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks downed the Maryland Black Bears 3-2 in the shootout the night prior, the Black Bears hit the ice for its final game of the regular season in a rematch with Danbury as they eyed win number 40 on the year. And after a hard-working, gritty effort, the Black Bears did just that. On the back of a shutout from goaltender Jack Wieneke, the Black Bears downed the Jr. Hat Tricks by the score of 3-0.
Maryland started the scoring off in the first period with a shorthanded goal from forward Samuel Stitz. After Black Bears' forward Kareem El-Bashir stole the puck and entered the zone, he sped around the net and went to the far corner. Once he drew everyone to him, he sent a backhand pass in front of the net where Stitz was sitting all alone. Stitz ripped a shot under the blocker of Danbury goaltender Karlis Mezsargs to make it 1-0.
Maryland forward Branden Piku added to the lead in the second period, using a wrist shot to pick the top left corner to make it 2-0 Black Bears. Forward Riley Ruh capped the scoring off for Maryland with a third period powerplay goal. The puck was bouncing in the crease when it came into the slot to Ruh, who fired it five-hole through a screen to make it 3-0. Black Bears goalie Jack Wieneke recorded his third shutout of the season.
With the 60 game regular season in the books, Maryland set the franchise records for wins (40) and points (85) in a season. The Maryland Black Bears finished first in the North American Hockey League's East Division and will take on the East Division's fourth seed in the Northeast Generals. This will be the first postseason matchup between the two teams.
Game one is set to take place Friday, April 21st, at Piney Orchard Ice Arena at 7:00 pm ET as they start its best-of-five series. Game two will take place Saturday, April 22nd at 6:30 pm ET. All games can be streamed on HockeyTV.
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