After Maryland secured a 4-1 win over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Friday night, the Black Bears took the ice Saturday night as the two teams rematched needing just one point to secure a berth in the 2024 Robertson Cup Playoffs. And thanks to another offensive outburst, Maryland did just that with a 5-2 win over the Mountain Kings.

New Hampshire started the scoring with forward Jack Costanzo letting a wrist shot go on a two-on-one rush while on the powerplay from the near circle, beating Black Bears’ goaltender Colin Ronan for a 1-0 lead. The Black Bears responded with a goal from forward Kareem El-Bashir, who received a behind-the-back pass from forward Luke Rubin from behind the net and buried it short-side past Mountain Kings’ goaltender Stefan Carney for a 1-1 tie. With 5.1 seconds left in the first period, Costanzo took a high sticking penalty to give Maryland a powerplay late in the frame. There, it was Black Bears’ forward Samuel Stitz who let a wrist shot go from the slot that found the back of the net in the top left corner with just 0.5 seconds to go in the period to give Maryland a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

New Hampshire tied the game with a goal from forward Ethan Rosenoff, who put home the rebound from his breakaway shot as he ran into Colin Ronan to tie the game 2-2. There was a goal review to make sure the puck legally entered the net, and officials deemed that it did for the 2-2 score to stand. Late in the second period, Black Bears forward Riley Ruh gave Maryland a 3-2 lead when he received a pass from defenseman Dylan Gordan and slammed the puck into the empty net. Maryland put the game away with a pair of third period goals. The first goal came on the powerplay when forward Luke Rubin chipped home a rebound at the far side of the crease for a 4-2 lead. Black Bears’ forward Ben Tauscher capped the scoring off with his first of the season, scoring on a two-on-one rush from the far circle with a wrist shot top the top left corner for a 5-2 lead. Ronan made 17 saves in the win while Carney made 47 saves for New Hampshire. With the win, Maryland clinched a playoff spot in the East Division’s portion of the Robertson Cup Playoffs. 

The Black Bears head on the road for the next two weekends, taking on the New Jersey Titans on March 1st and 2nd, and then New Hampshire on March 8th and 9th. Maryland returns home on March 15th and 16th with games against the Philadelphia Rebels. All games can be streamed on NAHLTV.