It was a tight defensive contest that saw little goals and a lot of hits. In the end, it was the Northeast Generals securing a win in game one of a three game series against the Maryland Black Bears by the final score of 2-1.
Two plays that saw Northeast walk in all alone on the goalie doomed the Black BEars. A missed keep in on the power-play by Maryland saw Generals’ forward Ethan Destefani go in alone on a breakaway and shoot the puck past Black Bears’ goalie Andrew Takacs for a 1-0 lead in the first period. In the second period Maryland gave up a two-on-none rush resulting in a tap in goal for Northeast forward Liam McCanney to make it 2-0. Wilmer Skoog got one goal back for Maryland before the period was over by tipping an Anthony Mollica point shot to make it 2-1.
The Black Bears generated a lot of chances in the third period but ultimately could not cash in. Generals’ goalie Joey Stanizzi made some key stops in the final minutes of the game to help Northeast get the 2-1 win. The win brings the Generals to a record of 8-10-2 and the loss drops Maryland to 7-9-1.
The Black Bears will look to get back on track in game two with a puck drop time of 7:00 PM ET on Saturday. Maryland and Northeast conclude the three game series on Sunday with a puck drop time of 2:00 PM ET with both games being played at New England Sports Village.
