For the Maryland Black Bears, the final two games of the regular season, with the East Division regular season crown secured, may be seen as playoff tune-ups. The team has a 48-5-4 record with 100 points. However, if you look deeper, the Black Bears can accomplish quite a bit with a pair of wins. If Maryland wins Friday, they’ll tie the Johnstown Tomahawks for longest win streak in NAHL history with 17 straight victories. If they win both games this weekend, not only do they break the Tomahawks’ record, but they would also break the 2020-2021 Aberdeen Wings record for most points in an NAHL season (103). Their opponent this weekend, the Danbury Hat Tricks, will not make these accomplishments easy to obtain. The Hat Tricks sit in the final playoff spot of the East Division at sixth place, with a record of 26-24-7 with 59 points. Danbury needs one win to clinch its first playoff berth in franchise history.
The Maryland Black Bears were able to sweep the Rochester Jr. Americans this past weekend in a series that saw top players sit back to allow playing time for others on both sides. Maryland recorded a shutout of Rochester 3-0 on night one, thanks to a pair of power play goals from forward and captain Owen Drury. In the first period, a pass out in front hit off the inside of the pad of Jr. Americans’ goaltender Jensen Carlstrom for a 1-0 lead. In the third, Drury let a snap shot go along the ice through a screen that beat Carlstrom five-hole for a 2-0 lead. Forward Trey Hinton capped off the scoring by burying a Carlstrom turnover behind the net into an empty cage for a 3-0 final. Ryan Denes made 25 saves in his 27th victory on the season, and his seventh shutout win.
Night two saw new faces enter the lineup while a handful of players, such as forwards Harrison Smith and Tanner Duncan, got the night off. Some of the debuting players wasted no time in getting on the scoresheet, such as forward Graiden Insana, who scored his first career NAHL goal with a snap shot from the near circle for a 1-0 Black Bears lead. In the second period, debuting forward Keele Deuling got the puck to his brother, Logan Deuling, who snapped the puck past Carlstrom for a 2-0 lead, marking Keele Deuling’s first NAHL point. Keele would later get into his first NAHL fight and best Jr. Americans’ defenseman Michael Gravina. While Rochester would score late in the third, forward Brayden Wade would respond just 20 seconds later with a snap shot from the slot for a 3-1 lead. Forward Ryan Franks would seal the deal with an empty net goal for a 4-1 final. Franks’ goal was his 30th of the season, tying Christian Catalano for most goals in a single season in Maryland history. Dom Gatto made 19 saves in the win.
Danbury has been off since Tuesday, March 24th, when they defeated the New Jersey Titans in a massive 4-1 win to put their playoff destiny firmly in their control. Defenseman Rhys Medved started the scoring in the first period, putting the Hat Tricks up 1-0 and setting the tone for the game. Forwards Matt Shpungin and Matt Dabrowski added goals in the second period to make it 3-0. While New Jersey would cut the deficit to 3-1 in the third, Danbury forward Deimantas Sulinskas iced the game late in the final frame for a 4-1 win. Jon Dukaric made 27 saves in the win. The Hat Tricks now lead the Johnstown Tomahawks for the final playoff spot in the East Division by two points.
Maryland has taken three of four games against the Danbury Hat Tricks this season. After the two teams traded victories in Danbury in early November, the two teams met at Piney Orchard Ice Arena in late November in a series dominated by the Black Bears. Maryland won both games by scores of 9-2 and 8-4. The 9-2 win tied the Black Bears franchise record for the largest margin of victory in a single game.
Players to Watch:
Ryan Denes/ Dom Gatto (G, MYD): Maryland’s goaltending duo has been a big reason for the team’s historic success this season. Ryan Denes has already broken the single-season wins record in Black Bears history with 27 wins, seven of those coming via shutout. Dom Gatto is a win away from his 20th win of the season and also has a pair of shutout wins to his name. Both goaltenders have a goals against average of under 2.5 and have each made over 500 saves this season.
Matt Dabrowski (F, DAN): For a team to have playoff success, players outside the top five in scoring have to step up. Dabrowski is heating up at the right time, recording points in three straight games. His 25 points have him sixth on the team in points, in part thanks to a hot streak where Dabrowski put up 10 points in his last 11 games.
Maryland and Danbury take the ice at Danbury Ice Arena on Friday, April 3rd, at 7:20 p.m. ET, and Saturday, April 4th, at 3:00 p.m. ET. All games can be streamed on NATV.