The New Jersey Titans could not improve their position in the standings last week, dropping all three games at the 2024 NAHL Showcase held in Blaine, Minnesota.
The Titans opened the showcase with the first of the 72 games played at the National Sport Center Super Rink on Wednesday with their first matchup against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs since 2019. Ryan Friedman put the Titans ahead 6:35 into the opening period, but Fairbanks was able to score twice in the final five minutes to take a lead into the intermission. Nikita Meshcheryakov tied the game less than a minute into the second period, but the Ice Dogs retook the lead later in the frame with what proved to be the game winning goal. An empty net goal in the final minutes provided an insurance marker, as the Titans fell by a score of 4-2. New Jersey is now 4-6-0 all time against Fairbanks, stretching back to their first meeting in December of 2015.
New Jersey then took on the defending Robertson Cup champion Lone Star Brahmas from the South Division on Thursday afternoon. Again the Titans scored the first goal of the game, this time courtesy of Ryan Shaw’s first goal in the NAHL. A defensive lapse allowed the Brahmas to tie the game with 0.2 seconds remaining in the period, tying the game moments before the first intermission. New Jersey’s offense was limited to 8 shots on goal in the final 40 minutes of play, and goals from Lone Star in the second and third periods sent the Titans to their fourth consecutive loss by a score of 3-1. The game marked the second consecutive year that New Jersey has lost to the defending champions after faltering against Oklahoma last season.
Looking to end the three game set Friday morning on a positive note, the Titans skated against the Anchorage Wolverines for the first time since defeating the then-expansion team in 2022 to capture New Jersey’s first Robertson Cup. Instead, the Titans found themselves in penalty trouble early, conceding a power play goal and another as penalty time expired to trail 2-0 after the first period. Anchorage would find the back of the net in the second period, but Saxen Robertson’s first goal in the NAHL got New Jersey on the board in the final minute of the middle period. Alex Papaspyropoulos got the Titans within a goal with an individual effort on an odd man rush for his second of the year, but the Titans could not find the equalizer. An empty net goal sealed the deal, sending New Jersey to their fifth consecutive loss by a score of 4-2, and denying the team a point in Minnesota for the second time in the past three seasons.
Now sitting tied for 7th place in the 10 team East Division, the Titans will look to retool before heading up to Canton, Massachusetts, to face the Northeast Generals in a pair of games for the first time this season. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00pm on Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th.