NAHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights

Knights Fall to the Black Bears, 5-2

Published on October 26, 2019 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights News Release


ODENTON, Maryland - Despite a two-goal game from Lincoln Hatten and 27 saves from Alex Contey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights fell to the Maryland Black Bears in its Saturday night matchup at Piney Orchard Ice Arena on October 26th.

The Knights' regular season record is now 8-7-0-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL).

"We took too many penalties and got caught up in undisciplined play," said Head Coach Tom Kowal. "It cost us."

The Knights broke open the scoring early in the first period as Hatten netted his first goal of the game, just four minutes and 16 seconds into regulation. Hatten snagged the puck from a Black Bear defenseman and went on to tuck it past Maryland goaltender Andrew Takacs's glove side.

Maryland scored a power play goal with 5:32 remaining in the first period to end the period with a 1-1 tie.

As the second frame began, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wasted no time in regaining its lead. Hatten netted a second goal in a mere 65 seconds of second period play, sending a backhand shot past the netminder off of an assist from Johnny Kaljian.

Contey was extremely influential in preserving the Knights' 2-1 lead through two high-pressure Black Bear power plays. However, Maryland capitalized on a third power play opportunity of the second period to tie up the score, 2-2.

Maryland pulled away with the help of a third power play goal late in the second period, and fourth goal early in the third period to secure a 4-2 lead.

Ultimately, the Knights could not recover after Maryland netted a fourth unanswered goal and fell, 5-2.

"In the end we couldn't make up the difference," said Kowal. "We worked hard, but we have to work smarter in the games ahead."

Point leaders for the Knights this weekend were Hatten, Kaljian, and Jordan Strand. Hatten tallied three goals over the course of two games, including last night's overtime game-winner and both goals in tonight's loss. Kaljian recorded three assists, including the primary assist on Hatten's game-winner, and Strand recorded a goal and an assist in yesterday's action.

Contey played two full games and recorded a .85 SV% through the weekend.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights return to action on Wednesday, October 30th, for a 2:00pm matchup against the New Jersey Titans at Revolution Ice Centre.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Statistics

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