Matt Cameron scored two goals, Ole Andersen had a goal and two assists and Michael Outzen had three points to help lead the Titans to a 6 – 4 win in a seesaw battle over the visiting Northeast Generals to sweep the weekend series.
It was the Titans fourth straight victory and sixth out of their last seven games.
Like Friday night’s game, Josef Glamos opened the scoring for the Titans with 9:44 into the first period for his eleventh goal of the season. Shane Haviland picked up the loose puck in his own corner and brought it up along the far side boards and made a bounce pass to Gavin Gulash who entered the offensive zone. As Gulash reached the faceoff dot, the took a wrist shot that was saved by Northeast’s goalie Joey Stanizzi but the rebound came right out to Glamos who buried it into the open net to give the Titans a 1 – 0 lead.
Less then a minute later, Tyler Cooper knotted the game at one. With a scrum at the half wall, the Generals’ Max Borst picked up the loose puck and made a cross-ice pass out to Cooper. As Cooper entered the Titans zone, he fell but got up and took a wrist shot from the top of the circle that beat goaltender Arseni Sergeev long side for his tenth goal of the season.
The Titans would regain the lead with 6:09 remaining in the first. Northeast’s Gerard Marretta was called for a five-minute boarding major to give New Jersey the man advantage. Kyler Head picked up the loose puck behind the Generals zone and passed it to Mitch Machlitt in the corner. Machlitt passed it back to Andersen at the point as he started to walk the line and Andersen passed the puck to Outzen at the near side boards. Outzen made a return pass to Andersen and the Hamar, NO took a one-timer that found its way through a screen and past Stanizzi for his fourth goal of the season.
With the Titans on the power play, Cameron picked up the loose in the Generals zone and passed it back to Machlitt at the near side point. Machlitt sent the biscuit down low to Outzen who made a nice backdoor pass to Cameron in the slot and Cameron one-timed it past Stanizzi to give the Titans a 3 – 1 lead at 3:01 into the second period.
The Generals then scored three unanswered goals.
At 7:10 into the middle stanza Northeast’s Jonathan Young cut the Generals deficit in half. Marretta entered the Titans zone on a three-on-two with Young and Ethan Destefani. As Marretta gained the line, he passed the puck to Young on his left. Young passed it back to Destafani at the top of the slot and Destafani took a shot that was saved by Sergeev but Young tucked in the rebound to make it a 3 – 2 game.
Destefani tied the game with 7:35 remaining in the second. The Generals Charlie Reed entered the Titans zone on an odd man rush. As Reed skated to the top of the slot, he passed to Dylan Schuett on his left. Schuett cut across the goalmouth and took a shot that was saved by Sergeev but the puck bounced off his glove and Destefani tucked in the rebound to make it a 3 – 3 game.
The Generals took the lead with 1:58 left in the second. Northeast’s Michael Heneghan brought the puck out of his own zone and passed it over to Ricky Boysen on his right. As Boysen entered the Titans zone along the far side boards, he took a shot at the top of the faceoff circle that beat Sergeev long side for sixth goal of the season.
Then it was the Titans turn to score three unanswered goals.
At 5:47 into the third period Nick DeSantis tied the game. After Sergeev made a right pad save, the rebound came out to Andersen who sent the puck high off the glass and it bounced deep inside the Northeast zone. DeSantis picked up the loose puck and took a quick wrist shot that went through Stanizzi’s five hole for his fourth goal of the season.
Less than a minute later the Titans regained the lead on Gulash’s sixth goal of the season. After Outzen won the draw deep inside his own zone, the Highlands Ranch, CO native quickly send a bounce pass off the near side boards to himself and he went behind his own net. As Outzen circled around Sergeev, he passed it Andersen who made a long and high outlet pass to Gulash who picked up the puck at the top of the Northeast blueline. As Gulash gained the line he took a wrist shot that beat Stanizzi long side to make it a 5 – 4 game.
Cameron closed out the scoring with a shorthand goal with 2:03 left in the game to make it 6 – 4 Titans.
Sergeev stopped 34 of 38 shots while Stanizzi turned aside 29 of 35. Click here for the box score.
The Titans close out their five game homestand next weekend when the Johnstown Tomahawks visit the Middletown Sports Complex for two important games between the East Division’s first and second place teams.
