The Maryland Black Bears visit the Middletown Sports Complex this weekend to play two games against the East Division leading Titans. The puck drop for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30pm and 7:00pm for Saturday’s game.
Titans and Black Bears Overview
This will be the fourth series between the teams with the Titans winning four of the six previous games by a combined score of 35 – 28. The last time they met was at Piney Orchard Ice Arena the weekend of November 29 and 30 when the team’s split the series. The Titans won the last game played by a score of 7 – 4.
Wilmer Skoog leads the Black Bears with nine total points (5 goals and 4 assists) and goals (5) against the Titans. They are 2 for 10 (20%) on the power play. Maryland’s goaltenders have a combined 5.60 goals against average and .834 save percentage.
Mitch Machlitt leads the Titans with twelve total points (2 goals and 10 assists) while Kyle Jeffers has scored the most goals (seven) against the Black Bears. The Titans are 6 for 16 (38%) on the power player. Goaltenders Patrick Pugliese and Arseni Seergev have a combined .878 save percentage and 4.44 goals against average.
Black Bears Overview
Maryland is currently in fourth place in the East Division with a 17-18-7-0 record for 41 points, twenty behind division leading New Jersey. They have scored 136 goals (eleventh in the league) while they have allowed 132 (thirteenth in the league). They are 2 and 8 for their last ten games and they are coming off of a 3- 2 home loss to the Jamestown Rebels (last weekend the Black Bears split with the Rebels). The Black Bears have converted on 20.1% of their chances on the power play (thirteenth in the league) while they have prevented the opposition from scoring 80.3% (fourteenth in the league) on the penalty kill.
Hampus Rydqvist leads the team in points with 38 (10 goals and 28 assists) while Jackson Sterrett leads the team with sixteen goals. Three players (Aden Bruich, Logan Kons and Brayden Stannard) have three game winning goals. Rydqvist has a team best +6. Jack Smiley leads the team with ninety-six penalty minutes.
Maryland’s goaltenders have a combined 2.96 goals against average and .906 save percentage with one shutout.
Titans Overview
The Titans are in the first place in the East Division with a 30 – 8 – 0 – 1 record for 61 points. They have won seven of their last ten games, and they are coming off a 9 – 2 road win against the Maine Nordiques (the Titans split with the Nordiques last weekend). They have scored 184 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 125 (ninth in the league). The Titans are first in the league on the power play having converted on 30.7% of their chances while they have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 82% of the time (eleventh best in the league).
Machlitt leads the team in total points with fifty-two (21 goals and 31 assists) and goals (21). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team high +/- with +30 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with sixty-four.
The goaltending tandem of Pugliese (2.90 GAA and .912 SV%) and Sergeev (3.56 GAA and .892 SV%) have a combined 3.13 goals against average and .905 save percentage with one shutout (Pugliese).