It was the first time the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights traveled down to Piney Orchard Ice Arena as the searched for its first road win of the season. The Knights finally got it, as they defeat the Maryland Black Bears 6-3 and gain ground on Maryland in the East Division.
The scoring started quickly, as Maryland defender Lukas Ljungblom passed the puck on a two-on-one to Matteo Menotti who shot top left corner past Knights goaltender Zach Stejskal to put the Black Bears up 1-0. Shortly after, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Zach Currie tied the game on a tap in from a pass Tyrone Bronte from across the slot. The Knights then took the lead as Lincoln Hatten took a wrist shot in the slot passed Maryland goalie Kevin Lake to make it 2-1. Marek Wazny would tie it shortly before the end of the first with a shot top left corner to make it 2-2.
The second period saw the scoring start quickly, as Knight’s forward Jacob Badal put the puck past Lake to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 3-2 lead. Maryland responded 10 seconds later, as Bradley Jenion took a shot from the point that deflected off of Luke Mountain to tie the game at three. The Black Bears saw the tie vanish as two goals from Joey Verkerke and Zach Currie within 30 seconds if each other put the Knights up 5-3 after two periods.
Tyrone Bronte would ice the game for the Knights in the later stages of the third period, burying a rebound into an empty net to make it 6-3, a score that would hold as final. This win brings Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to 1-6-1 on the road and 8-15-1 overall while Maryland drops to 4-4-3 at home and 7-14-5 overall.
The Knights and Black Bears will face off one more time Saturday December 1st at Piney Orchard Ice Arena with puck drop at 7:45 ET. At the game the Black Bears will hold its first ever teddy bear toss and will be the final home game in 2018. Maryland’s next home game won’t be until Friday January 4th 2019 against the Northeast Generals.
