Red Hot Black Bears Welcome Mountain Kings to the Den
NAHL Maryland Black Bears

Red Hot Black Bears Welcome Mountain Kings to the Den

Published on February 25, 2026 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Maryland Black Bears News Release


The Maryland Black Bears clinched a playoff spot months before the North American Hockey League season was set to conclude, and the team now shifts its focus to clinching the division. Maryland has won its last five games, including two sweeps at home against the Johnstown Tomahawks and Northeast Generals. As the homestand continues, the Black Bears look to improve on their division best 37-5-4 record and 78 points with a series against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The Mountain Kings are currently ninth in the division with a record of 16-22-8 and 40 points.

The Black Bears are coming off a dominant sweep against the Northeast Generals that saw Maryland allow one goal across two games. Game one was a 4-0 shutout for the Black Bears. Forward Kristofers Krumins scored his first goal with Maryland in the first period, lifting the home team to a 1-0 lead. The second period saw the Generals get into penalty trouble that the Black Bears pounced on. Maryland was rewarded with two five-on-three power play opportunities in the first minute of the period. The first was capitalized on by forward Tanner Duncan, and the second by Will Esterbrooks, who was playing in his 100th NAHL game that night. Both goals were scored on one-time slap shots to make the score 3-0. Forward Ryan Franks scored on another five-on-three opportunity in the third period to make the score 4-0, rounding out the scoring. Ryan Denes made 16 saves in his sixth shutout win of the season. Game two was just as penalty filled as the first, unsurprisingly resulting in another Maryland win. After allowing the first goal of the game in the first period, the Black Bears used a wrap-around goal from forward Jaden Sikura to tie the game in the second period. Then, Northeast continued their parade to the penalty box, gifting Maryland power plays that they would score on. Forward Josh Frenette snapped a shot from the slot to the top right corner for a 2-1 lead, before forward Trey Hinton jammed home a rebound to make it 3-1. Hinton would tally again in the third period to put the game out of reach with a 4-1 score. Dom Gatto turned aside 13 shots as the Black Bears held on for the win.

Despite their place in the standings, the Mountain Kings have used a successful stretch of hockey to stay in the playoff race, going 5-2-3 in their last ten games. Last weekend, they were able to split a series with the New Jersey Titans. Game one was an impressive 3-0 victory for the Mountain Kings, with forward Ronnie Hill scoring in the first period, followed by two third period goals from forward Jaden Johnson. Goaltender Jason Cai turned aside all 38 shots he saw in a 3-0 win. The Titans got their revenge on night two. Despite defenseman Joey Sylvester opening the scoring in the first period, New Jersey would score the next four goals to get a 4-1 win.

Maryland has dominated the season series so far with New Hampshire, going 4-0-0 in the four games they've played while outscoring the Mountain Kings 21-7. The Black Bears have scored at least four goals in each game. Harrison Smith has been a thorn in the side of New Hampshire, totaling three goals and five assists in four games.

Players to Watch:

Trey Hinton (F, MYD): Hinton has turned his season around in the month of February, recording two goals and four assists in four games. This includes a big weekend against the Northeast Generals last weekend, where he put up two goals and two assists in two games. In four games against the Mountain Kings this season, Hinton has one goal and three assists.

Jaden Johnson (F, NWH): Despite playing in only 20 games this season, Johnson finds himself tied for second in point scoring. He has five goals in his last five games and 13 points in his last 10 games.

Maryland and New Hampshire take the ice at Piney Orchard Ice Arena on Friday, February 27th, and Saturday, February 28th, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 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 February 25, 2026


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