Friday Finals: The Black Bears Punch Their Ticket to the Robertson Cup

Photo Credit: James Harding

Maryland 4 @ Rochester 3 OT (Maryland wins series 3-1) - The Maryland Black Bears punch in game four against the Rochester Jr. Americans on Friday night. The contest opened with Rochester striking first, thanks to Keanan Dewberry finding twine less than three minutes into the game. The scoring would continue as Leo Mantenuto lights the lamp in diving style for the Jr. Americans. Moving into the second period, Maryland would strike back as Air Force commit Trey Hinton scored from the blue line on the power play. With 1:05 left in the frame, Keanan Dewberry would score his second of the night in slapshot style off the faceoff. The Jr. Americans moved into the last 20 minutes of regulation with a 3-1 lead. In the third period, the Black Bears would battle from a deficit until the final moments. With 5:56 left to spare in the third frame, Brady Anes lights the lamp in a scramble in front of the Rochester net to secure the tally. Later on in the period, the NAHL’s Most Valuable Player, Harrison Smith, finds twine with 25 seconds on the clock. With the score even 3-3, the contest would be forced into the extra frame. In overtime, the Sacred Heart commit punched Maryland’s ticket quickly. Harrison Smith strikes from the right circle a little over a minute into the overtime period. The Black Bears battle back and earn their spot in Blaine, Minnesota.

Minnesota 6 @ Wisconsin 4 (Wisconsin leads series 2-1) - The Wilderness survives in a do-or-die game three against the Windigo. The scoring kicked off quickly as the captain, Avery Anderson, lit the lamp 40 seconds into the game. He would strike off a deflection in front of Wisconsin’s net. Jackson Ernst would even the score later in the frame on the power play thanks to a redirection off Declan Burns’ strike from the blue line. Noah Dziver would snatch the lead back for Minnesota with a top-shelf tally in the final three minutes of the opening period. Moving into the second frame, the Wilderness would add two more goals to their score. Talan Blanck would get the scoring started on the man advantage with a one-timer from the faceoff circle. Three minutes later, Zach Homer strikes on the power play in front of Wisconsin’s net to secure a 4-1 lead moving into the final frame. The Windigo would battle back in the third frame with a trio of goals. First, Aidan Hickok would light the lamp a little over 30 seconds into the final period. Not long after, the Wilderness would add to their lead, as Noah Dziver scored his second of the night. Following him, Joshua Sardo would score two goals in back-to-back fashion for the Windigo. He lights the lamp for his first goal on the man advantage with a bar-down goal. Minutes later, Sardo would go bar down again to bring the score within one goal of the Wilderness. In the final three minutes of the game, the Windigo would pull their netminder, Max Larsson, to gain the man advantage on the ice. However, Wisconsin could not find twine as Minnesota’s Avery Anderson would score in empty-netter fashion.

Austin 0 @ Aberdeen 4 (Aberdeen leads series 2-1) - As the Central Division Final progresses, the Aberdeen Wings take the lead in a series with a dominating performance on home ice. The contest opened with Matthew Martin scoring top shelf for the Wings midway through the first frame. Moving into the second period, the tall University of Alaska-Anchorage commit, Matthew Martin, finds twine in one-timer fashion for the Wings on the power play to give Aberdeen a 2-0 lead moving into the final frame. In the third period, Aberdeen’s Caden Lee would score his third of the postseason. Lee would add insurance in the final few minutes of the contest as Austin pulled their netminder, Jack Solomon. The Wings skate to a 4-0 victory and a penalty-free night. Between the pipes, Willum Braun turned aside all 28 shots on net for Aberdeen.