ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira Aviators (12-15-4-1) came up just short against the Maryland Black Bears (27-3-2-1), falling 4-3 in overtime at the LECOM Event Center Friday night.
Elmira went down 3-0 in the opening period thanks to a hat trick from Maryland’s Ryan Franks. The Canisius University commit is up to 16 goals in 18 career games for the Black Bears.
Elmira showed no quit, going on to outshoot Maryland 14-11 in the first frame and getting back not one, but two goals.
Jack Kohlmann made his grand return to the lineup after getting injured in Maryland back in early December. The Aviators’ alternate captain was determined to get some revenge against the team that knocked him out, and he did so by getting Elmira on the board.
After Quinn Pine hammered a slap shot onto the Maryland goal, Kohlmann took the puck off his knee, then batted it out of mid-air for a stellar goal.
Niagara commit Max McGuire kept the good times rolling by sniping the frozen biscuit from the near circle to pull the Aviators within one. Andrew Horn picked up the assist on McGuire’s goal.
Despite trailing 3-2 after one, the Aviators carried serious momentum into the first intermission.
Though the second period had just one goal to show between the two teams, there was as much action as the first.
Elmira forward Jake Baratta tallied his first career goal to tie the game and make it three unanswered scores for the Aviators. Harald Humble threw a puck to the slot, where Evan Dantas helped it along on the backhand to Baratta, who finally tucked it in to tie the game at three.
Tensions began to rise in the back half of the middle frame as the game began to get cagey. Jack Kohlmann took a boarding penalty, leading to a fray of post-whistle antics and eventually a fight.
Andrew Piccirillo dropped the mitts with Maryland’s Brady Anes in a spirited tilt. The Black Bears got the lone power play out of the feud, but the Aviators did an excellent job of killing it off.
The third period featured even tighter checking and strong goaltending. Elmira’s Aiden McKenna made 27 saves on the night, enough to get the game to overtime.
The Black Bears wasted no time in the extra session as the NAHL’s leading scorer, Harrison Smith, squeaked a wrist shot past McKenna to secure Maryland the 4-3 victory.
The Aviators can keep their heads held high after going toe-to-toe with the division and league leaders and securing a hard-earned point. Elmira will go for a series split Saturday at 7 p.m. back inside the LECOM Event Center.
The game can be streamed on NATV or listened to on WINGZ93.
Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him, email [email protected].