ODENTON, MD– In their last meeting of the regular season, the Maryland Black Bears looked to take all four points on the weekend against Philadelphia looking for a win on Saturday. While Philadelphia gave all they could to the Black Bears, Maryland was able to get the shootout victory to sweep the weekend.

Photo Credits : James Harding (TheArtOfPictures), Jon Pitonzo (Face Off Hockey Show Media Faction) & Kaleigh O’Connell (koc.pov)

 

Philadelphia came out strong in the first half of the period, but Owen Lepak and the defense were strong to keep them off the scoresheet. The tides turned in the middle part of the first, as Jesse Horacek ripped home a wrist shot to the top shelf for his 16th of the season, giving the Black Bears a 1-0 lead. Horacek wasn’t done there, as less than two minutes later, Horacek picked up a big rebound in front and put it into the open side of the net for a 2-0 Black Bears advantage. Maryland kept their offense turning with solid chances, but would go into the first intermission up 2-0.

In the second frame, Philadelphia continued their pressure, finally breaking through with Bryce Strand redirecting a centering pass to put Philadelphia on the board. At the midway point of the frame, Philadelphia tied the game up with Josh Galizia finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing play to make it a 2-2 game. The Black Bears were trapped in their own zone for the last half of the period and went into the locker room at intermission tied up.

Philadelphia jumped out to the lead early in the third as Brayton Frick potted his fourth of the year to make it 3-2. The Rebels tried to push the pace of play, but Lepak was solid and the defense was able to keep threats to the outside. The constant pressure from the Black Bears paid off as Dimitry Kebreau netted his 17th of the year on a lovely backhand to even the score with only 2:28 remaining in regulation, pushing the game to overtime. Overtime solved nothing, but Riley Ruh’s goal coupled with Lepak’s three saves in the shootout gave the Black Bears two points and the weekend sweep. The Black Bears are on the road Wednesday, as they take on Johnstown, but return home to take on Rochester Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available atTickets.MarylandBlackBears.com or at the Piney Orchard box office.

 

Write up courtesy of Scott Wasilewski

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