The Maine Nordiques completed the comeback Saturday night.
Defenseman Evan Orloff scored with 10 seconds remaining in the overtime session for a 4-3 victory over the NAHL East Division-leading Maryland Black Bears at The Colisee in Lewiston.
It was the second night in a row that the teams needed extra hockey, as the Black Bears won Friday’s game 5-4 in a shootout.
“The boys showed a lot of resilience to come from behind both nights and earn three out of four points at home in front of our unbelievably loyal fans through the weather and everything,” Maine Nordiques coach Matt Pinchevsky said.”
The Black Bears (22-7-3, 47 points) had a 2-0 lead after one period, and Kaleb Tiessen notched his third goal of the season, giving Maryland a 3-0 lead just past the seven-minute mark of the middle frame.
The Nordiques (14-10-2, 30 points) climbed back into the game in the middle of the second period as Oliver Genest scored his sixth goal of the season at the 11:39 mark of the period, and then 85 seconds later, Filip Wiberg got Maine within 3-2.
Tony Achille and John-Paul Steele provided assists on Genest’s goal, while Sterling Wolters and Henrik Hallberg set up Wiberg’s tally.
Genest notched his second goal of the game 6:28 into the third period, with Orloff setting it up to tie the game 3-3.
“Oli, he’s just a really humble, high-character young man,” Pinchevsky said. “He would say, ‘We did it together.’ I know he found the score sheet by playing his game to a ‘T.'”
Brad McNeil opened the scoring for the Black Bears a little over six minutes into the game. Sean Kilcullen and Branden Piku notched the assists.
Piku scored midway through the first period, extending the Black Bears’ lead to 2-0. McNeil and Dimitry Kebreau tallied the assists.
“They are a very good hockey team and we match up well, but most of the goals they scored were self-inflicted wounds by us,” Pinchevsky said. “There are still details (we are missing), which is a good thing because our players are going to continue to grow and get better.”
Kael DePape earned the win for the Nordiques by stopping 27 shots, and William Hakansson took the loss for Maryland, making 34 saves.
“Kael made some big-time saves late in the game, like Tommy (Heaney) did (Friday night),” Pinchevsky said. “(Kael) just had to keep the puck out of the net in overtime.”
The Nordiques return to the Colisee on Dec. 30-31 to take on the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks.
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