The Maryland Black Bears took the ice for the second night in a row against its East Division rival New Jersey. It was a penalty-filled affair with Maryland totaling 75 penalty minutes and New Jersey totaling 41. And in the end, it was the Titans coming out on top, rallying with a pair of third period goals to beat the Black Bears 2-1.

The second period is where the action picked up after a scoreless first period, where an altercation between multiple players led to New Jersey’s leading scorer forward Brendan Dumas being ejected in a sequence that totaled 44 penalty minutes between the two teams. And with just 1:40 left in the second period, Black Bears’ forward Adam Schankula got the scoring started. Schankula ripped the puck away from Titans’ defenseman Eric Charpentier and moved in on a breakaway, putting the puck backhand on goal. The puck was initially turned aside by New Jersey goalie Zakari Brice, but the rebound was redirected off a defenseman and in for a 1-0 Maryland lead after two periods.

The Black Bears’ penalty trouble continued in the third period, where forward Riley Ruh was assessed a five-minute major for boarding. This led to two power play goals for New Jersey, both by forward Dominik Bartecko. Bartecko let a wrist shot go from the far circle that beat Maryland goalie William Hakansson’s top right side for his first goal to tie the game 1-1. During the later half of the five-minute major, Maryland was hit with another penalty, making it a five-on-three advantage for the Titans. That’s where Bartecko scored his second goal of the game with a snap shot from the slot for a 2-1 New Jersey lead, a score that would hold up to be the final.

The Black Bears hit the road next weekend for a two-game set against the Northeast Generals starting Friday, December 2nd at New England Sports Village. Maryland returns home Friday, December 16th to Piney Orchard Ice Arena for a two-game set with the Philadelphia Rebels. All games can be streamed on HockeyTV.