The Maryland Black Bears entered the night tied for first in the North American Hockey League’s East Division with the team’s opponent for the weekend, the Northeast Generals. And using a three-goal first period, the Black Bears dominated its way over the Generals by the score of 6-2.
Maryland got the scoring started with a goal from forward Dylan Wegner to make it 1-0. Wegner received a cross-ice pass from Jacob Brockman and tipped it past Northeast goaltender Cameron Kuntar. Then just 27 seconds later, Black Bears’ defenseman Philip Tornqvist sent the puck on goal where it was tipped into the net by forward Jesse Horacek for a 2-0 lead. Later in the period, Maryland struck on the power play with a rebound goal by Brad McNeil to increase the lead to 3-0.
Northeast responded in the second period with a goal from defenseman Adam Smith. Later in the frame, Maryland defenseman Philip Tornqvist blasting home a slapshot to make it 4-1. It spelled the end of the night for Generals’ goalie Cameron Kuntar, and Jed Baliotti took over duties in the net. Northeast captain David Andreychuk scored to make it 4-2 before the period ended.
The Black Bears capped off the game with a two-goal third period. Tornqvist struck again on the power play with a slapshot to make it 5-2. Maryland leading scorer Ryan Bottrill capped off the scoring with a wrist shot to make the final 6-2. Michael Morelli made 22 saves in his fifth win of the season.
The Black Bears moved into sole possession of first place in the East Division with 14 points. Maryland and Northeast rematch Saturday night with puck drop at 7:00 PM ET at Piney Orchard Ice Arena. The game can be streamed on HockeyTV.
