MARYLAND VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE: THIS WEEKEND'S SERIES PREVIEW

After a nail-biting series split on the road with the Rochester Jr. Americans to open 2025, the Maryland Black Bears improve to 20-10-3 with 43 points. Now, the Black Bears head back home for the first time in 2025 to host the New Hampshire Mountain Kings, who are fifth in the East Division with a 17-15-1 record and 35 points.

Maryland and Rochester each walked away from this past weekend’s series with a shootout win. Game one saw Maryland fall behind 2-0, but responded with two second period goals from forward Isac Nielsen and defenseman Sebastien Brockman to tie the game 2-2. In the shootout, Black Bears’ forward Riley Fast scored the lone goal and Maryland goaltender Benji Motew stopped all three shots he faced to lead the Black Bears to a 3-2 win. Motew made 39 saves in regulation and overtime while defenseman Aiden Lawson recorded an assist to become the 15th Black Bears player to record over 10 points. In game two, Maryland once again faced a 2-0 deficit. The Black Bears responded in the third with two goals from forward Tanner Duncan to tie the game at 2-2 to force overtime. The game once again went to a shootout where Rochester won in four rounds, outscoring Maryland 2-1 and winning the game 3-2. Forward Matthew Croxall scored the lone shootout goal for the Black Bears.

New Hampshire heads to Piney Orchard Ice Arena on a three-game win streak. After dispatching the New Jersey Titans 2-1, they swept the Elmira Aviators. Game one saw an offensive outburst from five different goal scorers. Forwards Jaden Davis, Cole Roenick, Oli Genest, and Georgios Stavrianeas all cashed in alongside defenseman Thomas Quast to win the game 5-1. Goaltender Sam Caulfield made 44 saves in the win. Despite getting outshot 39-32 in game two, the Mountain Kings put up seven goals en route to a 7-4 win. Davis and Stavrianeas both scored twice for New Hampshire and put up four points each as Mountain Kings goaltender Sam Scopa made 35 saves. New Hampshire is led by Oli Genest, who leads the team in goals (29) and points (49) by significant margins. The Mountain Kings get production from their defense as well, with defenseman Tommy McDonough’s 32 points being the third-highest among NAHL defensemen.

Maryland and New Hampshire split their only series earlier this year, with Maryland taking game one 4-2 on the back of a two-goal performance from Josh Frenette and 20 saves from Ryan Denes. Game two saw the Black Bears once again put up four goals with multi-point performances from forward Isac Nielsen and defenseman Liam Doherty. However, the Mountain Kings exploded for six goals, capped off by a three-goal third period as they won 6-4. New Hampshire got three points from forwards Kim Hilmersson and William-Francisco Parent to fuel them to the win.

Players to Watch:

Oli Genest (F, NWH): Genest has had an impressive season so far. His 49 points are good for second in the NAHL, and he has three goals and nine points in his last five games. Genest has only been held pointless four times this season.

Sebastian Speck (F, MYD): Maryland completed a trade on Tuesday to acquire forward Sebastian Speck from the Oklahoma Warriors in exchange for forward Luke Rubin and future assets. Speck was playing his second season with the Warriors before the trade and was the team’s captain for the 2024-2025 season. In 70 games with the franchise, Speck has 19 goals, 25 assists, and 44 points. This past season has been a season of incredible growth for Speck, after recording five goals and 11 points in 41 games in his first year with the Warriors, he exploded for 14 goals and 33 points in only 29 games thus far.

Maryland and New Hampshire will face off on Friday, January 10th, and Saturday, January 11th, with puck drop times set for 7:30 p.m. ET for both nights at Piney Orchard Ice Arena. All games can be streamed on NAHLTV.