The Maryland Black Bears came home to Piney Orchard Ice Arena looking to snap a five game losing streak against its East Division rival the Philadelphia Rebels. Despite numerous chances, the Rebels were able to beat the Black Bears 3-1 to extend the Black Bears’ losing streak to six.

Philadelphia started the scoring with a goal from forward Kristians Samitis, who chipped a rebound in the crease past Maryland goalie William Hakansson to make it 1-0 Rebels. Philadelphia doubled its lead in the second period with a wrist shot goal from forward Carter Casper. Casper let the shot go from the far circle to the top left corner for a 2-0 lead.

The Black Bears got on the board with a goal from captain Brad McNeil, who spun around Rebels’ forward David Deputy and snuck a puck past Philadelphia goalie Jakub Krbecek to make it 2-1. Maryland forward Branden Piku got an assist on the goal, putting him past former forward Luke Mountain for career overall point scoring in Maryland history with his 86th regular and postseason point. The assist was also Piku’s 82 regular season point, tying him with Luke Mountain for most career regular season points in Black Bears history. Despite the goal, it was not enough for Maryland to overcome, with Rebels’ forward Tyler Stern scoring the empty net goal to make the final score 3-1.

The Black Bears and Rebels rematch at Piney Orchard Arena on Saturday, December 10th, with puck drop set for 7:30 PM ET. All games can be streamed on HockeyTV.