Anthony Calafiore scored in a shootout to give the Titans a 2 – 1 win over the visiting Maryland Black Bears concluding the weekend series between the teams and the Titans regular season home schedule. It was the Titans 20th home win of the year, the most in team history.
In what could possibly be a playoff preview in two weeks, this was playoff hockey at its finest. Low scoring, physical and excellent goaltending on both sides.
Nick Ring opened the scoring at 2:29 into the first period to give the Titans an early 1 – 0 lead with assists from Chris Carroll and Calafiore. It was Ring’s tenth goal of the season.
The score remained 1 – 0 going into the third period. At 1:11 into it, Colin Grable was called for cross-checking to give the Black Bears the man advantage. Over a minute later, Brad McNeill scored his ninth goal of the season to even the score at one.
After regulation ended tied, the game went into a five minute, 3 on 3 overtime in which both teams stretched the ice but with no significant scoring changes forcing the shootout.
Ryan Coughlin scored to give the Titans the leads in the shootout, but Maryland’s Conor Cole scored to tie the game. After Andrew Takacs stopped Black Bears forward Branden Piku, it was Calafiore’s chance to win the game. As Calafiore went towards the net, he was able to slide the puck through the pads of Maryland’s goalie Luca Di Pasquo to give the Titans the win.
Takacs stopped 32 of 33 shots in the victory while Di Pasquo turned aside 35 of 36. Click here for the box score. It was the 29th win of the season for Takacs, which ties him for most victories in the league.
The Titans will close out the 2021-22 season when they visit Northeast for a two-game series against the Generals.