It was Star Wars night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena as the Maryland Black Bears faced off against East Division rival Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks for the first time this season. Last season Maryland dominated the season series against Danbury with a 7-0-1 record in eight contests between the two teams. In a physical contest, it was the Black Bears prevailing with a 4-0 win over Danbury,
Maryland struck first with a one-time slap shot from defenseman Sebastian Brockman, who blasted the puck past the farside of Danbury goaltender Miles Roberts for a 1-0 lead in the first period. The Black Bears struck again with just 16.3 seconds to go in the first period when Maryland defenseman Evan Sofikitis danced around a Jr. Hat Tricks player and fed the puck across to forward Mathew Croxall, who put the puck near side under Roberts’ blocker for a 2-0 lead.
Scoring for Maryland resumed in period two when forward Kareem El-Bashir tapped a rebound home from defenseman Cal Huston’s shot to make the score 3-0. Late in the frame Black Bears’ forward Ben Tauscher dangled a Danbury defenseman and put the puck towards the net. The initial shot was stopped, but Maryland forward Keanu Krenn tapped the puck out of mid-air for a 4-0 lead, a score that would hold up to be the final. Black Bears’ goaltender Colin Ronan, who made multiple terrific saves, recorded 20 saves in his first shutout of the season.
The Maryland Black Bears and Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks clash again on Saturday, September 30th, at Piney Orchard Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. All games can be streamed on NAHLTV.
Article courtesy of Maryland Black Bears: