But it was hardly a one-man band, as the fourth quarter demonstrated. Seven Terps scored in a span of a little more than eight minutes, a stretch that coincided in part with Maryland winning five of the first six faceoffs of the period.
“I think guys were just settling in,” Bernhardt said. “They weren’t sliding too much. It’s pretty simple. If they’re not sliding, we just have to beat our matchup and score. If they start sliding, we have guys who are going to move it, and we’ll find guys who will be able to finish.”
Meanwhile, Maryland defenseman Nick Grill bottled up Rutgers graduate student Connor Kirst, who had 11 goals and five assists in the Scarlet Knights’ first two games but was held to a pair of first-half assists Saturday.
“I thought we could have played together a little bit more,” Brecht said. “When Connor had the ball in his stick, just like the fans, I think sometimes we watch to see what he can do.”
Still, there was a lot to like about the Scarlet Knights’ showing for much of the day in their biggest barometer to date. The Rutgers offense functioned smoothly in the first half, and the free-flowing nature of the first half felt like the style of game the Scarlet Knights often aim to create.
But Maryland was able to take advantage of unsettled situations as well, including Joshua Coffman’s second-quarter goal off an assist from defenseman Matt Rahill. When Maltz scored off a Logan Wisnauskas feed just three seconds before the break, it was tied at 9.
“I think the guys made really good decisions in transition, and we got a few in transition,” Tillman said. “They’re going to get some, but I also think that teams that like to run, they’ll give you some opportunities. You just have to be good enough to can them.”
Maryland was, and it also benefited from its depth in the fourth quarter. Malever, part of the Terps’ second midfield, had one assist in the team’s first three games but was in the middle of plenty of scoring opportunities. Colgate transfer Griffin Brown, who entered with two goals and an assist, pushed the lead to 13-10 early in the fourth.
Kieran Mullins replied 10 seconds later to get Rutgers within two, but the Scarlet Knights wouldn’t have possession again until after Maryland rattled off three goals in a row to create separation.
“With 10 minutes to go, that was the one where we needed to regroup,” Brecht said. “We needed to catch our breath. It wasn’t the third quarter. It wasn’t the start of the fourth. It was that moment right there at 15-11 we needed to stop the bleeding, and unfortunately with 10 minutes to go, we didn’t do that.”
Rutgers will get another shot at Maryland in two weekends when the Terps make the trip to Piscataway on March 28. Such is life this year in the Big Ten, where an unforgiving double round-robin format leaves little time to linger on losses.
The same is true of victories. Maryland, which visits Ohio State next weekend, is assured of reaching the midpoint of conference play with at least a share of first place. But even after uncorking a fourth-quarter bombardment, the Terps understand there is plenty still in front of them over the next month and a half.
“A really big win in so many ways in our conference, knowing you’re almost through this thing [the first time],” Tillman said. “To get our first four is huge, but knowing three of those four have been at home, we have a lot of work to do.”