ODENTON, MD – The Elmira Aviators (10-12-3-1) triumphed over the Maryland Black Bears (23-3-2-1) with a 5-4 overtime victory at Piney Orchard Ice Arena Friday night.
Evan Dantas played hero, using all his remaining energy to dangle to his backhand and lift the winner past the netminder.
Maryland entered the game with the best record in the division and league, riding an eight-game winning streak. The Black Bears held a tremendous 12-1-0-0 record on home ice entering the weekend.
The Aviators threw statistics and outside expectations to the wind, taking the Black Bears head-on in Friday’s tilt.
The game started how Maryland wanted. A scoreless first period, then building a two-goal advantage in the second, thanks to the league’s leading scorer in Harrison Smith.
Elmira settled down, and a snowball began to form. First, the Aviators took advantage of Maryland’s lack of discipline, scoring on a Matthew Maglio power-play goal.
Less than two minutes later, the game was tied thanks to defenseman Jack Leferriere. The strike was the blue liners’ first of the season, a wicked drive from the high slot.
The avalanche continued with Jack Kohlmann burying a one-timer from the near circle on a pretty passing play. Andrew Horn and Max Campbell picked up the assists on Kohlmann’s tally.
Then, the exclamation point.
Buzz Hockey Club call up, Ilya Baldin sniped a long-range shot bar down to give the Aviators a 4-2 lead. Baldin’s sweet finish was his first career NAHL goal.
The Bears were left shell-shocked and called a timeout, then changed goalies.
Maryland responded well to the call and battled back to tie the game 4-4 in the third period.
Elmira kept the game tied thanks to some stellar goaltending from Aiden McKenna. The Vermont commit made 46 saves on 50 shots against the top-scoring side in the division.
Of course, in the extra session, Dantas scored the winner using every last ounce of energy he had left. Andrew Horn played it into space from center ice to set up the score.
The Aviators will try to do what no other team has done this season and sweep the Black Bears on their ice Saturday night. Game 2 is set for a 7 p.m. puck drop. 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].