PITTSTON, Pa. – Five different Titans wound up getting goals in the rubber match of the in-season five-game series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The Titans came out on top in the series, winning three of the five, this time by a 5-2 score.
The Titans looking for a fast start got one just 1:20 into the opening stanza when Adam Hascic found himself on a rush with Jesse Farabee. With a defender blocking his passing lane, Hascic threw the puck on net and was stopped initially by Knights’ goaltender Grant Valentine, however the rebound came right to Farabee’s waiting stick. The shot found the twine and gave Farabee his seventh goal of the season.
The Knights were able to get going and outshot the Titans by a 19-10 margin, however Spencer Wright was able to stop all of his former team’s efforts.
The second period turned towards the Titans favor as they exploded with three goals, two of which were on the power play.
The first came on a tic-tac-toe play that was finished by Hascic after quick passes from Bruno Birzitis and Jesse Farabee at 3:38 of the second. Then Pat Gazillo at 9:03 of the second scored his first goal of the season with a wrister from the point.
Mike Gelatt scored his fourth of the season after he found some space down the left wing. He put it on net and handcuffed Valentine. It allowed the puck to sneak under the armpit and into the net.
It wasn’t until the third period when the Knights cracked the scoreboard. Braden Brown found some daylight down low and was able to get it by Wright.
Then just over five minutes later Jake Hamilton scored his first of the season after he was left unmarked and snapped a shot top shelf to give the Titans a four-goal lead once again.
With less than 30 seconds to go and a late power play, Stephan Kelly capitalized on a rebound that left an open net that Wright got a piece of but was unable to keep it out of the net.
Wright still put in an impressive effort against his former team as he stopped 40 of the 42 shots sent his way while the Titans finished the night 3-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
With the win the Titans improve to a 12-4-1 record with 25 points and remain in first place of the East Division.
The Titans return home to face the Johnstown Tomahawks Saturday night with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m.