The Maryland Black Bears and Rochester Jr. Americans took the ice Saturday night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena in their fourth meeting of the season, with the Black Bears entering the contest with a 2-0-1 edge over the Jr. Americans. The game was low-scoring and went the distance into the shootout, but goals from Maryland forwards Jérémi Tremblay and Luke Janus and three big saves from goaltender Owen Lepak gave the Black Bears the home series sweep with a 3-2 win.

The scoring started in the first period when Black Bears’ defenseman Trayce Johnson threw a big hit in the far corner of the offensive zone to knock the puck free. Johnson took the puck and passed it to the slot to forward Adam Schankula, who then ground Tremblay on the back door for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead that they would take into the first intermission. Rochester returned the favor in the second period when forward Noah Vom Scheidt cashed in on a rebound from the slot on the powerplay to tie the game at 1-1. Tremblay, however, would recapture the lead for Maryland with 3.2 seconds to go, snapping the puck five hole on Jr. Americans’ goaltender Cole O’Donnell for a 2-1 lead they would take into the second intermission.

The third period got chippy when Rochester forward Landon Bownlee hit Black Bears’ defenseman Sebastian Brockman from behind, injuring the defenseman who did not return to play. Brownlee was assessed a five-minute major penalty and was ejected from the game. The Jr. Americans were not only able to kill off the penalty but tied the game on a short-handed goal with a snapshot from the far circle from forward Massimo Gentile for a 2-2 tie. The score would hold through the end of regulation and overtime, leading to a shootout. Jérémi Tremblay gave Maryland the edge in the bottom of round two, beating O’Donnell under the blocker on the far side, but Rochester forward Matteo Disipio was able to tie it in the top of round three to tie the shootout at 1-1. After an O’Donnell save, the shootout went to a sudden death fourth round where a goal by one team and a save by the other ended the game. After a Lepak save on Jr. Americans’ forward Luca Leighton, Black Bears’ forward Luke Janus was able to win the shootout with a snap shot goal under O’Donnell’s blocker, giving Maryland a 2-1 edge in the shootout and a 3-2 shootout win.

Maryland continues their home stand next weekend starting on Friday, November 10th, with a two-game set against the New Jersey Titans. All games can be streamed on NAHLTV.