The Maryland Black Bears returned home Friday night and shutout its East Division foes, the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks, by the score of 4-0. In the rematch on Saturday night, the Black Bears were able to match that feat and then some, as they shutout the Jr. Hat Tricks by the score of 6-0.

Maryland forward Kareem El-Bashir started the scoring in the first period, letting a wrist shot go from the far circle and finding the net in the top right corner for a 1-0 lead. The Black Bears continued the scoring 36 seconds in the second period with forward Ryder Nienhuis, beating Danbury goaltender Ethan Farrow five-hole for his first as a Black Bear to make it 2-0. Maryland forward Mathew Croxall made it 3-0 just 1:12 later on the power play, snapping a shot from the point off the near post and in for a 3-0 lead. The rest of the second period was filled with brawls and penalties, as a total of 50 penalty minutes were called in that period alone.

Maryland continued its third period dominance to bring the curtain down. Entering tonight’s game, the Black Bears outscored opponents 11-2 in the third period. This success was continued with a great individual effort from Maryland forward Jesse Horacek, who darted behind the net to the far side, reversed back to the near side, reached out in front on his backhand, and put it to the far side to make it 4-0. The Black Bears were able to cash in on two more goals on two-on-one rushes, both assists coming from forward Adam Schankula. Schankula found Maryland forward Keanu Krenn on the far side, who slammed it home for a 5-0 lead. El-Bashir capped the scoring off with his second of the game, scoring on the far side on the second odd-man rush. Black Bears’ goaltender Colin Ronan recorded his second shutout of the weekend.

Maryland hits the road for the next two weekends, visiting the New Jersey Titans on October 6th and 7th, and the Maine Nordiques on October 13th and 14th. The Black Bears return home on Friday, October 20th for a weekend series against the New Hamshire Mountain Kings. All games can be streamed on NAHLTV.