Maryland Travels to Take on New Jersey
Published on January 14, 2026 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Maryland Black Bears News Release
The Maryland Black Bears five game win streak and 14 game point streak were snapped at the hands of the Rochester Jr. Americans last Friday night. After a bounce-back win against Rochester the following night, the Black Bears are ready to start a new streak and continue their dominance of the East Division. Maryland currently has a record of 29-4-3, with 61 points, leading second place Maine by 14 points. The next challenge for the Black Bears will be a tough division opponent in the New Jersey Titans, who sit at fifth in the division with a record of 18-11-4 and 40 points.
Maryland split this past weekend against the Rochester Jr. Americans. Friday night saw Rochester score the first four goals of the game before Black Bears' forward Harrison Smith scored on a breakaway midway through the second period to cut the deficit to 4-1. The Jr. Americans scored in the final minute of the second period to make it 5-1. Despite an early third period goal by Maryland forward Ryan Franks to make the score 5-2, it was not enough to spark a comeback. Rochester added a late goal in regulation to make the final score 6-2.
Saturday night got started off on a much higher note with Black Bears forward Tanner Duncan scoring on a rebound to make the score 1-0. However, Rochester would go on to score three straight goals to give the Jr. Americans a 3-1 lead early in the second period. This time, Maryland would execute a great comeback, starting with a backhand goal from the slot by defenseman Dominik Boltnar less than a minute after the Jr. Americans' second period goal to make it 3-2. Black Bears' forward Brady Anes tied the game with a rebound goal before forward Josh Frenette gave Maryland a 4-3 lead with a snap shot from the far circle. Defenseman Sam Osei added to the lead with a power play goal to make it 5-3. In the third, the Black Bears' new addition and former Jr. American, forward Michael Sandruck used a wicked wrist shot from the slot to make it 6-3. Defenseman Victor Mannebratt capped off the scoring with a power play goal to make it 7-3. Goaltender Ryan Denes made 16 saves in the win.
New Jersey suffered a sweep last weekend against the Maine Nordiques. The Titans fell on night one 4-1 with forward Sebastian Vitali scoring New Jersey's lone goal in the first period. Game two was a wild one for the Titans, who got goals in the first two periods from defenseman Ty Creech and Nathan Walsh. Despite this, they entered the third period down 5-2. After Maine added an early third period goal to make it 6-2 it seemed like the game was over, but New Jersey would not be denied. Forwards Ryder O'Neil, Arseniy Zharikov, Sebastian Vitali, and Tate Pecknold scored for the Titans in the final five minutes of regulation to force overtime. Despite the comeback, the Nordiques would win 7-6 in overtime. New Jersey is led in points by defenseman Blake Jones with 39 points and goals by forward Skogen Schrott with 18.
Maryland is 1-1-1 against New Jersey this season. Their lone game in Middletown, New Jersey, was a high-scoring 6-5 overtime loss to the Titans.
Players to Watch:
Michael Sandruck (F, MYD): Sandruck joined the Black Bears this past Saturday and had an electric debut, scoring a goal and an assist for two points in a 7-3 win against his former team in Rochester. In 17 games with the Jr. Americans before coming to Maryland, Sandruck had five goals and 11 points.
Arsenyi Zharikov (F, NJY): Zharikov is on a hot streak as of late, recording five points in his last three games. He sits at third on the team in points with 27 and has thrived against Maryland this season, recording two goals and four points in three games against the Black Bears this season.
Maryland and New Jersey will take the ice on Friday, January 16th, at 7:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday, January 17th, at 5:30 p.m. ET, at Middletown Sports Complex. All games can be streamed on NATV.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2026
- Wranglers Sign Casimir Weckström Via Trade - Amarillo Wranglers
- Maryland Travels to Take on New Jersey - Maryland Black Bears
- Shamrocks' Alumni Cahill Named to NHL Central Scouting Rankings - Watertown Shamrocks
- Corpus Christi IceRays Announce Hiring of New Assistant Coach Ryan Gil - Corpus Christi IceRays
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
