JOHNSTOWN, PA– With the holidays ahead and not having a break since the season started…
Photo Credits : James Harding (TheArtOfPictures) & Jon Pitonzo (Face Off Hockey Show Media Faction)
Decemeber 17th, 2023
JOHNSTOWN, PA– With the holidays ahead and not having a break since the season started, the Maryland Black Bears came into Johnstown to make a statement in a three-game series against their Western PA rivals. The message was sent loud and clear, as the Black Bears took all three games and took six points into the holiday with a sweep over Johnstown.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 15th, 2023: BLACK BEARS (5) at Johnstown (4): Maryland got started early, with their forecheck giving the Johnstown defense fits. It led to a turnover in the Johnstown zone created by Kareem El-Bashir with a pass to Luke Rubin, that Rubin wired over the near-side shoulder of Jacob Osborne to make it 1-0 Black Bears only 2:20 into the first. However, back-to-back Black Bears penalties put them down two players and led to Lukas Klemm evening the score up on the power play for Johnstown. However, Maryland’s power play would take the stage after the midway point. First, quick passing by Maryland around the perimeter worked its way to Luke Amell, who hammered a one-timer home to make it 2-1 Black Bears. Then Riley Ruh was at the right place as a Johnstown turnover in the crease led to Amell tipping it to Ruh for his fifth of the year and a 3-1 Maryland lead. Colin Ronan faced some tough chances against, but was solid and kept the score at 3-1 going into the first intermission.
Johnstown shook up their goaltending with Zack Ferris going in net for the second. That game Johnstown got a little boost from that, with Nick White getting Johnstown to within one only 3:39 into the second, catching Maryland on an ill-timed line change. The Black Bears would make a push back and their forechecking resulted in another goal, this time Dimitry Kebreau would benefit, taking a Ryder Nienhuis feed and wiring it to the back of the net to make 4-2 Black Bears. The power play would strike again for Maryland with Sebastien Brockman netting his third of the year getting a cross-ice feed from Tyler Stern to make it 5-2 for Maryland. However, during 4-on-4 play, Johnstown got to within two as White got some open ice and patiently outwaited Ronan to make it 5-3 going into the intermission.
The Black Bears had a carry-over major power play after a Johnstown player punched Rubin in the face with his glove, but they couldn’t net a goal on the advantage. Setting up a defensive front, Maryland was able to hold Johnstown at bay for the first part of the third, but Taybor Aldrich got his fourth of the year using a Black Bears defender as a screen and got Johnstown to within one. That would be as close as they got, as Maryland kept their pressure up and kept the chances against to the outside and took home the win in the first of three by a score of 5-4.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 16th, 2023: BLACK BEARS (3) at Johnstown (1): With a bitter taste in their mouth from Friday night, Johnstown came out of the gates quick on Saturday, maintaining their offensive zone early in the frame, but Owen Lepak and the defense were on their games to make sure nothing lit the goal lamp. The Black Bears would score first, as Trayce Johnson got a nice pass from Ben Tauscher to net his fourth of the year, after Tauscher, Tyler Stern, and Magnus Gadowsky’s forecheck created the turnover to lead to the goal. Johnstown would try and get the goal back, but Lepak was steady in net, taking the 1-0 lead to the locker room.
Both teams went back and forth in the second period, but both Lepak and Zack Ferris would deny the shooters in the early going. It wasn’t until late in the frame that Maryland would strike again, with Jeremi Tremblay stealing the puck at his own blue line, breaking into the Johnstown zone and finding Jesse Horacek for his 11th of the year for the 2-0 Maryland lead. Only 35 seconds later, Gadowsky could get a pass from Tauscher and bury it for his third and the 3-0 Black Bears lead going into the second intermission.
Trading penalties back and forth, both sides had brief power plays that they didn’t convert on. However, Johnstown would get on the board after a power play with Cade Baker netting his fifth of the year after a couple of rebounds in front to beat a sprawled out Lepak. While Johnstown tried to get another one, Lepak and the goal posts thought otherwise, as the Black Bears would keep the lead and win their second game of the weekend by a score of 3-1.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 17th, 2023: BLACK BEARS (4) at Johnstown (2): Johnstown got another quick start, which resulted in a goal in the first minute with Jaden Johnson redirecting the puck in alluding Colin Ronan for a 1-0 Johnstown lead. Maryland was on their heels a bit to start, but started to counter back, pushing the pace of play, which resulted in a power play for the Black Bears early. Luke Janus got a redirection of his own on the power play off a Jesse Horacek shot to tie the game up at ones. Maryland would continue to put pressure on, but couldn’t solve Jacob Osborne in the first period.
The Black Bears would get another power play early in the second period, with Janus again putting home a power play goal off a rebound from Luke Amell’s shot to give Maryland the lead 2-1. While Maryland continued to press, Johnstown would respond with Justin Gibson getting his eighth of the year to knot the game up again. Despite both sides pressing, neither side could find the go-ahead goal after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, Maryland’s onslaught of the Johnstown zone paid off with an offensive zone face off that turned into Amell slapping home his sixth of the year after a clean win off the face off. From that point, Maryland made sure that their own zone was taken care of, as they only allowed one shot on Ronan in the entirety of the third period. Maryland sealed it with recently committed Adam Schankula burying the empty netter to secure the weekend sweep and six points in the East Division standings.
The Black Bears get a well-deserved break after 33 games straight, as they’ll take on the Maine Nordiques on January 5th and 6th of 2024 at Piney Orchard. Tickets are available at Tickets.MarylandBlackBears.com and make the perfect holiday gift for you and yours.
Write up courtesy of Scott Wasilewski
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