The Maryland Black Bears lost to the Minot Minotauros, 3-2. The grudge match featured Black Bears Forward, Wilmer Skoog, facing off against his former team after being traded over the offseason. This was the final game of the NAHL Showcase that was held in Blaine, Minnesota.
The first period started with the Black Bears defending their zone throughout the first 20 minutes. Despite this Minot advantage and the fact that they outshot the Black Bears 8 to 3 in the first period, no goal was scored by either side. Black Bears Goalie, Andrew Takacs, craftily batted away all shots that came his way.
The pace picked up in the second period. Wilmer Skoog scored the first goal of the game with assists from Jack Hillman and Ethan Heidepriem. The goal gave the Black Bears a 1-0 lead and rehashed the history between Skoog and Minot. The Minotauros spent little time responding to Skoog’s goal. Andranik Armstrong-Kingkade scored with assists from Sam Skinner and Ville Immonen to tie the game up. Less than a minute later, Jack Westlund scored from an assist from Matthew Gellerman to give the Minotauros a 2-1 lead.
For the second straight period, the Black Bears outshot the Minotauros. The Black Bears had 18 shots in the final period, while Minot only had 10; however, this did not result in a successful comeback for the Black Bears. Minot’s Jack Westlund scored with an assist from Kevin Ness to extend their lead to 3-1. Later, Ethan Heidepriem of the Black Bears scored with an assist from Hampus Rydqvist with 26 seconds left to make the game interesting. The goal brought the Black Bears within one goal, but it was too little too late. The Minot Minotauros finished the NAHL Showcase with a 3-2 win over the Maryland Black Bears.
The Black Bears went 2-2-0 during the 2019 NAHL Showcase and are currently tied for 4th in the East Division. After returning home to practice in the Piney Orchard Ice Arena for the week, the Black Bears take to the road again to face the WBS Knights on September 27th and 28th in the Revolution Ice Centre.
The Maryland Black Bears is a Junior Hockey Team that competes in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
