The Maryland Black Bears lost to the New Jersey Titans 7-2 Saturday night. The loss completed a series sweep for the Titans. The Black Bears are still hanging onto the fourth and final playoff spot in the North American League’s East Division.

The first period was dominated by New Jersey. Tyler Nasca, Chris Garbe, and Matthew Iasenza all scored for four unanswered goals. The Titans ended the period with a 4-0 lead.

The Black Bears would not go down without a fight. Jackson Sterrett scored the first goal of the second period with assists from Jack Hillman and Aaron Swanson to make it 4-1. Aaron Swanson followed Sterrett’s lead with help from Tim Organ and Garrett Szydlowski. The strike gave some hope for Black Bear faithful diminishing the Titans’ lead to 4-2.

The comeback efforts were stalled by the Titans for the rest of the game. Two more goals were scored by the Titans in the third period and one to finish the third and final period.

Next weekend, the Black Bears play a pivotal series against the Maine Nordiques as the Black Bears return home to the Piney Orchard Ice Arena. The first game will be played Friday night (2/14) at 7:00 PM, which will be followed by a 2:00 matinee on Saturday (2/15).