The Maryland Black Bears can become the first team in the North American Hockey League to clinch a playoff berth this weekend. To do so, they need either one win against this weekend’s opponent, the Northeast Generals, or one regulation loss by the Johnstown Tomahawks. The Black Bears continue to sit high above the rest in the East Division with a record of 35-5-4 and 74 points. Maryland leads second place Maine by 17 points. The Northeast Generals enter this weekend’s series with a 21-15-6 record and 48 points, good for fourth place in the division.
This past weekend, Maryland continued its dominance of the Johnstown Tomahawks, sweeping Johnstown to improve to 6-0-0 against the Tomahawks this season. The weekend series also saw the debuts of newly acquired players by the Black Bears. Forward Kristofers Krumins made his debut after being acquired from New Jersey last week in exchange for defenseman Jonathan Lanza. Defenseman William Esterbrooks was acquired from the St. Cloud Norsemen in exchange for forward Mati Tardi and other assets. Night one got off to a hot start with a pair of first period goals from forward Harrison Smith for a 2-0 lead for the Black Bears. Smith’s second goal was assisted by Esterbrooks, marking his first point for Maryland. Black Bears’ forward Jaden Sikura added another first period goal to increase the lead to 3-0. Johnstown responded early in the second period with a goal to make it 3-1, before Maryland forward and captain Owen Drury buried a rebound minutes later to restore the three goal lead with a 4-1 score. The Tomahawks would tally again in the third to make it 4-2, but Black Bears’ forward Brady Anes sealed the deal with an empty net goal for a 5-2 final. Goaltender Ryan Denes made 17 saves in the win.
Night two saw Johnstown strike first, but Maryland responded with a goal from forward Brayden Wade on a two-on-one rush to tie the game 1-1. While an excellent shot defenseman Liam Doherty gave the Black Bears a 2-1 lead, Maryland yielded to late power play goals to see the Tomahawks take a 3-2 lead into the final frame. The Black Bears responded, however, as Sikura redirected a shot from Esterbooks to tie the game at 3-3 before forward Tanner Duncan buried a one-time slap shot from the far side to lift Maryland to a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish. Dom Gatto turned aside 10 shots in the win.
Northeast split this past weekend with the Philadelphia Rebels, losing a high scoring contest in game one before rebounding for an impressive shutout win in game two. Forward Alejandro Blum started the scoring in the first game for the Generals before seeing the team allow two goals before the first period was over to fall behind 2-1. Forwards Kody Moyer and Finn Connor scored in the second period to retake the lead before Philadelphia would go on to tie the game 3-3. Despite forward Braydon Hudtloff giving Northeast a 4-3 lead before the second period was over, the Rebels would score three straight goals in the third to take a 6-4 lead. Forward Andrew Gibbons got a goal back for the Generals but it was not enough, as Northeast lost 6-5. Northeast would look to exact revenge in game two with a quick start, with forward Beckett Hinchsliff striking in the early portion of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Hudtloff and Moyer would go on to score later in the frame for a 3-0 lead. After that, goaltender Will Mizenko stopped every shot he saw, turning aside a total of 36 shots for a 3-0 shutout win.
Maryland and Northeast have faced off four times this season. The first three were impressive victories by the Black Bears, outscoring the Generals 10-3 in the three games. However, Northeast got the better of Maryland in the two teams’ most recent meeting, downing Maryland 7-2.
Players to Watch:
William Esterbrooks (D, MYD): Esterbrooks made his Maryland debut this past weekend and looked right at home with his new team, recording a pair of assists in two wins. He has been one of the most offensively productive defensemen in the league, with his 38 points having him tied for fifth in NAHL defenseman scoring. Esterbrooks did an excellent job using great passing to spark breakouts and keep Johnstown’s offense at bay.
Kody Moyer (F, NTE): Moyer is set to skate in his 100th NAHL game this weekend. He is currently riding a two game goal streak and has eight points in his last seven games. When Northeast and Maryland last met, Moyer recorded four assists during the two game series.
The Black Bears and Generals are set to take the ice on Friday, February 13th, at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Saturday, February 14th, at 7:00 p.m. ET at Piney Orchard Ice Arena. All games can be streamed on NATV.