Less than 24.hours after Dominik Bartecko set a new franchise high of 63 points in a season and Zak Brice became the winningest goalie in franchise history with 42 victories, New Jersey could not secure the weekend sweep, falling to the Maine Nordiques by a score of 6-3 on Saturday night.
An Inauspicious start for the Titans saw Maine get on the board first with a power play goal at 8:11. The Nordiques then ran up the score by potting two in the final 1:30 of the period, including another power play marker to.send the home team into the first intermission with a three goal lead.
Captain Dominick Rivelli gave the Titans life by finding the back of the net 25 seconds into the middle frame. Logan Renkowski picked up the lone assist on the UMass-Lowell’s 22nd goal of the campaign. The good feelings would not last long, however, as the Nordiques scored twice less than 4 minutes later, with their goals coming only 25 seconds apart, chasing Brice from the net.
Ryan Novo scored on the power play later in the period for his second of the weekend and 6th of the year, assisted by Rivelli. Renkowski drew New Jersey within two when he scored his 12th of the year unassisted with 1:15 to go in the second period, but the offense was unable to find the back of the net again in the third period. The Nordiques added an empty net goal with time winding down, and New Jersey would need to settle for a weekend split, falling by a score of 6-3.
The loss, coupled with a Johnstown win, sees the Tomahawks pull 4 points ahead of the Titans for home ice advantage in the Play-In Round of the Robertson Cup Playoffs. New Jersey will get a few days to recover before hosting the Northeast Generals for the final time this season in a pivotal weekend series in Middletown.