The Maryland Black Bears remain atop the East Division after a split last weekend against the New Jersey Titans, moving to 16-3-2 on the season with 34 points. They are still the only team in the NAHL to eclipse 30 points so far this season. As the Black Bears complete the first third of their season, they have to get ready for games to increase in importance and get ready for the task at hand. The next challenge is a familiar foe, the Maine Nordiques. Maine’s 26 points sit eight behind Maryland’s point total, as the Nordiques have a 12-4-2 record. With Maine having played three fewer games than Maryland, leaving them some room to close the deficit, the series this weekend looms large.

The Black Bears’ recent series split with the New Jersey Titans was the tail of two games. In game one, Maryland couldn’t establish any offense until a Jayden Sikura goal from the slot midway through the third period. But by this point, Maryland was already trailing after allowing the first three goals of the game, leaving Sikura’s goal to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Titans added an empty net goal for a 4-1 final. The next night, the Black Bears bounced back with a strong performance. Maryland used three power play goals in the second period to propel them to victory. Forwards Josh Frenette and Trey Hinton scored off of redirects to make the score 2-0 Maryland. In the final minute, forward Harrison Smith slid the puck to the far side of the slot to forward Tanner Duncan, who slammed the puck past New Jersey netminder Andrei Nikoleav to make it 3-0. An early Ryan Franks wrist shot goal in the third period made the score 4-0 and chased Nikoleav from the game, with the Titans putting in night one starter Tyler Rounds for the rest of the game. Black Bears’ goalie Ryan Denes made 16 saves in a 4-0 shutout win, his second shutout win of the season.

Maine had an uncharacteristically rough weekend against the Elmira Aviators, the last place team in the East Division. Game one started off strong, as Nordiques’ forwards Dante Rodriguez, Matt Maglio, and Braden Franck lit the lamp to see Maine take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Defenseman Cole Estey scored a shorthanded goal early in the second to increase Maine’s lead to 4-1. However, the Aviators would score one goal in the second period and two goals late in the third period to tie the game 4-4. Nordiques’ defenseman Ryan Santiago would score a power play goal in overtime to secure a 5-4 Maine overtime win. Game two wouldn’t see the scoring start until the third period, where Elmira scored twice in less than two minutes for a 2-0 lead. Despite a late goal by Nordiques’ forward Joe Gasperko, Maine wouldn’t be able to complete the comeback and lost 2-1.

This will be the second time these two teams meet for a two game series. Maryland is currently 2-0-0 against Maine after a dominant 6-1 win on Friday, October 3rd, and a Cole Peters overtime goal on Saturday, October 4th, that gave the Black Bears a 3-2 win. Both of these games were played in Maine. 

Players to Watch:

Ryan Denes/ Dom Gatto (G, MYD): Ryan Denes is coming off the back of his second shutout win of the season, improving his record to 9-1-1 and moving him into third place for most shutouts in the NAHL. His 1.725 goals against average and .922 save percentage rank second amongst goalies who have played ten or more games. Gatto is coming off a stellar October, where he was named NAHL Bauer Hockey Goalie of the Month after posting a 5-1-1 record with a 1.81 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. These two have worked excellently together to form one of the best goaltending tandems in the league.

Austin Borggaard (F, MNE): Borggaard debuted for the Nordiques on October 14th against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings and made an instant impact, recording one goal and one assist. He has gone on to record 13 points in his first nine games with Maine, vaulting him to second on the team in points. Borggaard recorded three assists last weekend against Elmira.

Maryland and Maine will take the ice at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 14th, and 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 15th, at Norway Savings Bank Arena. All games can be streamed on NATV.