In what has been a season for the ages for the Maryland Black Bears, the team had the chance to do what no team has done yet this season in the North American Hockey League: clinch a playoff berth. And with a great team effort from start to finish, the Black Bears did just that, shutting out the Northeast Generals 4-0 in front of another packed house at Piney Orchard Ice Arena.

Forward Kristofers Krumins got the scoring started on a two-on-one rush, finishing off a pass from forward Trey Hinton on the far side of the net for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, the Generals got into penalty trouble as they rewarded the Black Bears with two five-on-three power plays. Maryland cashed in on both of them, with forward Tanner Duncan and defenseman Will Esterbrooks scoring on one-time slap shots to extend the lead to 3-0. The Black Bears scored on one final five-on-three in the third period with a slot snap shot from forward Ryan Franks, who beat Northeast goaltender Will Mizenko top right corner for a 4-0 lead. Goaltender Ryan Denes made 17 saves throughout the contest to secure a 4-0 win. The win is Denes’ sixth shutout of the season.

Maryland and Northeast will rematch on Saturday, February 14th, at Piney Orchard Ice Arena with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. ET. All games can be streamed on NATV.