Tag Archives: Brody Medeiros

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Game preview: Knights and Titans square off in mid-week contest

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights invade the Middletown Sports Complex tonight to play the Titans for eighth and final time during the regular season series between the two teams. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM. It will be half price hump day with all tickets being slashed in half.

Titans vs. Knights Overview
As stated above, this will be the eighth and final time that these two teams meet during the regular season. The Titans have won six of the seven contests by a combined score of 32 -21. The lone lost to the Knights was the last time these teams played back on February 26 when WBS won at home by a score of 4 – 3.

Knights veterans Tyrone Bronte (3 goals and 5 assists) and Lincoln Hatten (1 goal and 7 assists) each have eight points against the Titans. Bronte, Nikita Asylaev and Johnny Kaljian each have scored three goals against New Jersey. The Knights are 3 for 11 (27%) on the power play, and their goaltenders have a combined 4.55 goals against average and .876 save percentage.

Kyle Jeffers (2 goals and 5 assists) and Mitch Machlitt (3 goals and 4 assists) each have seven points against the Knights while Matt Cameron has scored the most goals (five). The Titans are 5 for16 (31%) on the power play and the team’s goaltenders have a combined 2.99 goals against average and .906 save percentage with no shutouts.

Knights Overview
The Knights are currently in third place in the East Division with a 26-21-4-1 record for 57 points (18 points behind the division leading Titans). WBS has won seven of their ten games (including six in a row), and they are coming off a 9 – 6 road win against the Maine Nordiques (the Knights swept Maine last weekend). The Knights have scored 163 goals (thirteenth in the league) while they have allowed 176 (eighteenth in the league). WBS has the best power play unit in the league having converted on 29.1% of their chances with the man advantage while they are last in the league on the penalty kill having prevented the opposition from converting on 62.9% on their chances.

WBS is led by Hatten in almost every category: points (60: 26 goals and 34 assists); goals (26); game winning goals (six) and penalty minutes (119). Bronte has a team best +22.

The Knights goaltenders have a combine 3.26 goals against average and .902 save percentage with one shutout (Zach Stejskal).

Titans Overview
The Titans are in the first place in the East Division with a 37 – 13 – 0 – 1 record for 75 points. They have won five of their last ten games, and they are coming off a 2 – 1 road win against the Jamestown Rebels (the Titans split with Jamestown last weekend). They have scored 235 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 170 (sixteenth in the league). The Titans are second in league on the power play having converted on 28.2% of their chances while they have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 82.6% of the time (tenth best in the league).

Machlitt leads the team in total points with sixty (23 goals and 37 assists). Machlitt also is tied with Jeffers with the most goals (23). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team high +/- with +30 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with ninety-three.

The Titans goaltenders have a combined 3.26 goals against average and .902 save percentage and one shutout (Patrick Pugliese).

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Rebels upend Titans 5 – 3

Jamestown’s defenseman Liam Hansson had a goal and two assists to lead the Rebels to a 5 – 3 victory over the visiting New Jersey Titans last night at the Northwest Arena. With the loss coupled with Johnstown’s victory, the Titans lead in the East Division now is three points.

The Rebels jumped out to an early 2 – 0 lead in the opening period with the first goal coming just 1:08 into the game. After a scrum along the far side half wall, Hansson picked up the loose puck and skated down low to the left of Titans goalie Patrick Pugliese. As Hansson reached the net, he made a centering pass out front to Carter Korpi who one-timed it past Pugliese to give Jamestown the 1 – 0 lead.

Jamestown doubled its lead at 8:48 of the first period off the stick of Tyler German. After the Titans won the draw just outside the Rebels zone, the puck was dumped into the Jamestown end behind goalie Noah West and picked up by Conner Couet who sent the puck up along the near side boards where it as picked up by Joe Teasdale at this own blueline. Teasdale made a backhanded pass to a German. As German entered the neutral zone, he sent a bounce pass off the boards to Jordan Cormier who entered the Titans zone with the biscuit. As Cormier reached the top of the faceoff dot, he made a backdoor pass to German in the slot and German redirected it past Pugliese for his third goal of the season.

Midway through the opening period, Jamestown’s Spencer Cosway was called for boarding to give the Titans the man advantage. With 8:44 left in the first, Matthew Iasenza cut the Titans deficit in half. Shane Haviland had the puck in the far side corner and passed it behind the Rebels to Iasenza who was to the left of West. Iasenza passed it up to Haviland at faceoff dot and Haviland passed it back to Brody Medeiros at the point. The Titans captain took a clapper from the point that hit the post but Iasenza was right there to tuck in the rebound past West for his twelfth goal of the season.

Jamestown regained its two-goal lead with 4:41 remaining in the first. Cormier picked up the loose puck at center ice along the far side wall and passed it up to Teasdale. As Teasdale reached the top of the faceoff circle, he turned and sent a cross-ice pass to Seth Bergeron at the top of the near side circle. Bergeron took a snapshot that went through Pugliese’s five hole and into the net to give the Rebels a 3 – 1 lead.

With 6:51 left in the middle stanza, Chris Garbe made it a 3 – 2 game. Michael Outzen intercepted a Rebels pass at the top of the far side faceoff circle and took a shot that was saved by West, but the rebound was picked up by Gavin Gulash to the left and behind of the Rebels net. Gulash centered the puck out front to Garbe who wristed the puck past West for his twenty-second goal of the year.

The Rebels went back up 4 – 2 just 1:05 into the third period. Couet picked up the loose puck in his own far side corner and passed it up to Hansson at the top of the faceoff circle. Hansson found a breaking Janis Vizbelis on his left and head manned Vizbelis the puck. Vizbelis skated down the far side boards and started to cut across the goal mouth and took a shot that beat Pugliese high, short side.

At 6:01 into the third Vizbelis served a Jamestown bench minor to put the Titans on the power play. As time was running out with the man advantage, Matt Cameron picked up the loose puck from a scrum along the near side half wall. Cameron passed it out to a wide-open Cade Penney in the slot. Penney took a clapper that was saved by West, but Penney followed up his own rebound and tucked into the open net to make it a 4 – 3 game.

The Titans closed out the scoring on Hansson’s ninth goal of the year. After Hansson dumped the puck into the Titans zone, Pugliese went to stop the puck behind his own net but there was a miscommunication between him and David Parker. Hansson’s picked up the puck wrapped it around into an open net to make it 5 – 3. Pugliese was pulled in favor of Ryan McInchak.

Pugliese and McInchak combined to stop 30 of 35 shots while West turned aside 30 of 33. Click here for the box score.

The two team will close out their weekend series tonight at 7:05 PM at the Northwest Arena.

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Titans down Generals 7 – 5 in slugfest

Kyle Jeffers had two goals and three assists and Michael Outzen had three assists to help the visiting New Jersey Titans defeat the Northeast Generals 7 – 5 last night at the New England Sports Village in a good old fashion slugfest which featured five lead changes. The victory also ended the Titans four game losing skid.

The Generals opened the scoring just 1:45 into the first period. After former General Joe Nagle dumped the puck into the offensive zone, Northeast’s goalie Joey Stanizzi stopped the puck behind his own goal to set up the play. He backhanded the puck around the end boards where is was picked up by Ricky Boysen at the near side half wall. Boysen sent a long cross-ice pass to Kyle Schroeder who entered the New Jersey zone along the far side boards. As Schroeder cut across the goal mouth, he went from his forehand to his backhand and lifted the puck up high and past Titans goaltender Ryan McInchak to give Northeast an early 1 – 0 lead.

Jack LaRusso tied the game at 8:21 of the first. Outzen won a scrum behind his own net and to the right of McInchak. The Highlands Ranch, CO native passed the puck out front to Brody Medeiros who skated up to the blue line and sent a long bounce pass off the near side boards and into the Northeast zone where it was picked up by LaRusso at the faceoff dot. LaRusso cut across the goal mouth and slid the puck past Stanizzi’s left pad for his sixth goal of the season.

Three minutes later Nick DeSantis gave the Titans a 2 – 1 lead. Jeffers picked up the loose puck at center ice and brought it into the offensive zone along the far side boards. As Jeffers reached the faceoff dot, he sent a cross-ice pass to DeSantis in the slot and the Collegeville, PA native took a shot that beat Stanizzi through his five hole for his sixth goal of the year.

With a minute and half remaining in the first, Nagle was called for high sticking to give his former teammates the man advantage. Forty-five seconds later Tyler Cooper tied the game at two. Cooper took a shot from the top of the far side faceoff circle that was saved by McInchak but the deep rebound came out to Michael Heneghan at the top of the high slot. Heneghan passed it back over to Cooper on his left. Cooper took a one-timer from the faceoff dot that beat McInchak high glove side.

Medeiros gave the Titans a 3 – 2 lead just fifty-three seconds into the middle stanza. After receiving a pass from Outzen, Gavin Gulash took a wrist shot from the bottom of the far side faceoff circle that was saved by Stanizzi but the deep rebound came off the near side boards to Medeiros at the top of the faceoff circle. Medeiros took a clapper that found its way through a screen and past Stanizzi fo his sixth goal of the year.

Northeast’s Gerard Marretta tied the game at 3:03 of the second. Marretta skated to the slot after he picked up the loose puck along the far side boards and sent it back to the point to Dylan Schuett. Schuett took a shot that was deflected by Marretta in front that trickled past McInchak and rolled into the net.

The Generals went up 4 – 3 at 7:03 of the middle period. Alexander Tertyshny picked up the loose puck in the neutral zone along the far side boards and dumped it back into the Titans zone where it was picked up by Boysen. As Boysen reached the top of the faceoff circle he drop passed the puck to Clark Kerner and Kerner took a snapshot that beat McInchak high blocker side.

Jeffers tied the game at four with 2:25 remaining in the period. With Josef Glamos and Shane Haviland part of a scrum behind the Generals net, Haviland picked up the loose puck and made a nice backhand pass out front to Jeffers who spinned around and took a shot that beat Stanizzi blocker side for his first goal of the contest.

With 1:35 left in the period, Notheast’s Ryan Kuzmich was called for roughing to give the Titans the man advantage. Jeffers dump and chased the puck into the Generals zone and sent the biscuit behind the end boards where it was intercepted by Boysen at the far side half wall. Boysen sent a bounce pass of the boards to himself and he brought the puck up along the boards. As Boysen reached the slot he made a small stutter move and lifted the puck up high and past McInchak to give the Generals a 5 – 4 lead with a minute remaining in the second period.

The Titans then took control of the game by scoring three goals in the final period.

With 7:54 remaining in the third, Matt Cameron tied the game at five. Jeffers intercepted a Generals clearing pass off the boards at the far side blue line and took a shot down low that was purposely stopped by Cameron out in front of Stanizzi. Cameron made a quick move to his left then brought the puck back and lifted it past Stanizzi for his eighteenth goal of the season.

Tertyshny was called for tripping with 4:05 left in the game to give the Titans the man advantage. As time was running out on the power play, Jeffers set up the play at the top of the near side faceoff circle and send a cross-ice pass over to Outzen. Outzen sent it back to Cade Penney at the top of the slot and Penney took a wrister that beat Stanizzi high blocker side to give the Titans a 6 – 5 lead.

With time winding down in the game, Northeast pulled Stanizzi for the extra attacker, but Jeffers scored his second goal of the game, an empty netter, to close out the scoring. It was Jeffers twenty-third goal of the year which ties him with Mitch Machlitt for most goals on the team.

McInchak stopped 34 of 39 shots while Stanizzi turned aside 30 of 36. Click here for the box score.

The two teams will close out the weekend and regular season series between themselves tonight at 7:00 PM.

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Titans fall to Jamestown 5 – 3

The visiting New Jersey Titans lost 5 – 3 to the Jamestown Rebels last night at Northwest Arena as the Rebels completed the weekend sweep between the two teams. It was the Titans third straight loss, the most this season.

At 2:53 of the opening period, Jamestown’s Spencer Cosway was called for head contact to give the Titans the man advantage. Less then a minute later, Mitch Machlitt scored his team high twenty-third goal of the season to start the scoring.

After Jamestown dumped the puck into center ice to clear the puck, it was picked up by Ole Andersen at the top of his own zone and he sent a long pass up to Michael Outzen at the far side blue line. As Outzen gained the line, he went to the net. As he reached the goal line, he centered the puck out front to Machlitt who jammed it into the net past Jamestown’s goalie Noah West to give the Titans a 1 – 0 lead.

With 3:27 left in the first period, Jamestown’s Brett Morich tied the game. After Hansson won the draw deep inside the Titans zone, the puck went back to Ian Carpenter at the point. Carpenter lobbed the puck towards the corner where it wrapped around the Titans net and picked by Andersen. As Andersen came out of the corner, he sent an errant pass out front that was intercepted by Morich who took a shot that trickled through Patrick Pugliese’s five hole and into the net.

Matthew Iasenza was called for goalie interference at 4:23 of the middle stanza to give Jamestown the man advantage. Twenty-three seconds later Eric Olson gave the Rebels the lead. After Renars Karkls kept the puck in the offensive by gloving down a high pass along the far side boards, he sent the puck down low to Hansson who was to the right of Pugliese. Hansson centered the puck out into the slot to Olson and the Rebels captain beat Pugliese to give Jamestown the 2 – 1 lead.

At 5:52 of the second, Chris Garbe tied the game. After the Rebels took a shot that was saved by Pugliese, the rebound came out to the slot where it was picked up by Cade Penney. Penney immediately passed the puck to Garbe on his left. Garbe skated from the top of his own slot into the offensive zone and beat West blocker side for his eighteenth goal of the season.

Jamestown regained the lead with 8:27 left in the second. With a scrum behind the Titans net, Morich picked up the loose puck and tried to wrap it around the net, but it was saved by Pugliese. The biscuit came loose to Hansson along the goal line and he centered it through the goal mouth to Jordan Cormier who tucked it into the open net to make it 3 – 2.

Josef Glamos tied the game at three with 2: 49 left in the middle stanza. After Glamos won the draw deep inside the Rebels zone, the puck went back to Shane Haviland at the top of the far side faceoff circle. Haviland passed it back to Brody Medeiros at the near side point and the Titans captain took a shot that was saved by West but Glamos tucked in the rebound for his fifteenth goal of the year.

Jamestown took the lead for good with 6:40 into the third period. Olson tried to control the puck along the end boards behind the Titans net. He brought the puck into the far side corner and then skated back towards the Titans net where it passed the puck to Nick Siffringer who was caddy corner to Pugliese’s glove side. Siffringer passed it out front to Valentino Passarelli who took a quick shot that beat Pugliese, short, glove side to give the Rebels a 4 – 3 lead.

Karkls closed out the scoring with 2:42 left in the game to give Jamestown the 5 – 3 victory.

Pugliese stopped 26 of 31 shots while West turned aside 37 of 40. Click here for the box score.

The Titans will play their third of seven straight road games on Wednesday when they travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a matinee game against the Knights beginning at 2:00pm.

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Weekend Preview: 2/21 – 2/22/20; Titans travel to Jamestown for series

The New Jersey Titans will travel to Jamestown, NY to take on the Rebels at the Northwest Arena for two games this weekend with both games (Friday and Saturday) beginning at 7:05PM. Should the Titans win both games, they will at least clinch a playoff spot for the fifth time in the team’s five-year history.

This will be start of a seven-game road trip for the Titans with four of the games against the Rebels (the others are two against the Northeast Generals and the other is against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights).

Titans vs. Rebels Overview
This will be the third meeting between the two teams with the Titans winning all four prior games by a combined score of 20 – 6. The last time they met was back on December 20 and 21, 2019.

Liam Hansson has the most points against the Titans with three (all assists) while defenseman Renars Karkls has scored the most goals (two) against them. The Rebels are 1 for 16 (6%) on the powerplay while their goaltenders have a combined 5.00 goals against average and .837 save percentage.

Cam Gendron has the most points against the Rebels with six (5 goals and 1 assist) and goals (five). The Titans are 7 for 16 (44%) on the powerplay while their goaltenders have a combined 1.50 goals against average and .946 save percentage with one shoutout (Patrick Pugliese back on October 25, 2019).

Rebels Overview
The Rebels are currently in sixth place in the East Division with an 18-27-1-2 record for 39 points, thirty points behind division leading New Jersey. Jamestown is 6 – 4 in their last ten games, and they are coming off a 1 – 0 road loss to the Johnstown Tomahawks (Johnstown swept the Rebels last weekend). The Rebels have scored 110 goals (23rd in the league) and they have allowed 148 (15th most in the league). Jamestown has converted on 17.2% (16th in the league) of their chances on the power play and have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 78.1% (19th in the league).

The Rebels are led by Noah Finstrom’s thirty-seven points (13 goals and 24 assists). Eric Olson leads the team in goals with seventeen, game winning goals (five) and penalty minutes (130). Danny Magnuson and Spencer Cosway each have a team best +/- of +5.

Jamestown’s goaltenders have a combined 2.86 goals against average and .911 save percentage with two shutouts (Noah West).

Titans Overview
The Titans are in the first place in the East Division with a 34 – 9 – 0 – 1 record for 69 points. They have won seven of their last ten games, and they are coming off a 7 – 3 home loss against the Northeast Generals (the Titans split with the Generals last weekend). They have scored 211 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 143 (eleventh in the league). The Titans are first in the league on the power play having converted on 27.8% of their chances while they have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 84.0% of the time (tenth best in the league).

Mitch Machlitt leads the team in total points with fifty-eight (22 goals and 36 assists) and goals (22). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team high +/- with +31 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with sixty-four.

The Titans goaltenders have a combined 3.12 goals against average and .906 save percentage. Patrick Pugliese has 3.19 GAA and .904 SV% with one shutout (Pugliese).

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Weekend Preview: 2/14 – 2/15/20 – Titans home on Valentine’s Weekend for series against Generals

The Northeast Generals will visit the Titans this Valentine’s Weekend for a two-game series. Friday’s puck drop is 7:30pm while Friday’s is 7:00pm.

Titans vs. Generals Overview
This will be the third meeting between the teams. The Titans have won all four previously played games by a combined score of 21 – 10. The last time they met was a month ago when the Titans swept the Generals at the Middletown Sports Complex.

While six different Generals have three points against the Titans, Ricky Boyson has the most goals scored with three. Northeast is 1 for 14 (7%) on the power play against New Jersey while their goaltenders have a combined 4.90 goals against average and .860 save percentage.

Kyle Jeffers has the most points against the Generals with eight (4 goals and 4 assists) and most goals scored (four). The Titans have gone 4 for 14 (29%) on the power play. New Jersey’s goaltenders have a combined 2.45 goals against average and .927 save percentage.

Generals Overview
The Generals are currently in last place in the East Division with a 16-22-1-1 record for thirty-four points, thirty-three behind division leading New Jersey. They have scored 120 goals (nineteenth in the league) and they have allowed 150 (eighteenth in the league). Northeast has won four of its last ten games, and they are coming off a 2 – 1 home loss to the Johnstown Tomahawks (the Generals were swept by Johnstown last weekend). They have converted on 14.6% of their powerplay chances (nineteenth in the league) and have prevented the opposition from scoring on 78.7% (seventeenth in the league) of the time on the penalty kill.

Ethan Destefani leads the Generals with twenty-eight points (12 goals and 16 assists) while Jonathan Young and Liam McCanney each have thirteen goals. Jared Lambright has a team high +7. Michael Heneghan leads the team in penalty minutes with 113.

Northeast’s goaltenders have a combined 3.60 goals against average and a .894 save percentage with no shutouts.

Titans Overview
The Titans are in the first place in the East Division with a 33 – 8 – 0 – 1 record for 67 points. They have won eight of their last ten games, and they are coming off a 5 – 3 home win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (the Titans have won four in a row). They have scored 202 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 134 (eleventh in the league). The Titans are first in the league on the power play having converted on 29.1% of their chances while they have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 83.3% of the time (tenth best in the league).

Mitch Machlitt leads the team in total points with fifty-five (21 goals and 34 assists) and goals (21). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team high +/- with +29 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with sixty-four.

The Titans goaltenders have a combined 3.12 goals against average and .906 save percentage. Patrick Pugliese has 2.91 GAA and .912 SV% with one shutout.

BOGO & Skate Night Promotions
Saturday night’s game is BOGO night. If you bring your significant other to the game, you’ll receive a FREE ticket if you purchase one full price ticket ($8). Immediately following the game is Skate Night with the Titans, open to all fans.

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Head and Machlitt propel Titans to 5 – 3 win over Knights

Kyler Head had a goal and an assist while Mitch Machlitt had three primary assists to help lead the New Jersey Titans to a 5 – 3 win over the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights last night at the Middletown Sports Complex.

It was the Titans fourth straight victory and the win gave them a seven-point lead over the second place Johnstown Tomahawks in the East Division’s standings.

Cam Gendron started the scoring just 1:58 into the second period to give the Titans an early 1 – 0 lead. Cade Penney picked up the loose puck behind his own goal line and passed it up to Ole Andersen who moved it onto Kyle Jeffers at the top of his blue line. As Jeffers entered the neutral zone, he passed it over to Head on his left. Head gained a burst of speed and went around his defender and into the neutral zone. As Head reach the near side faceoff dot, he made a nice cross-ice pass to Gendron who redirected the back-door pass behind Knights netminder Alex Contey for his fifteenth goal of the year.

Thirty-four seconds later the Knights’ Anthony Mastromonica tied the game. WBS’ Christopher Rubenach kept the puck in Titans zone at the top of the near side point and passed it up to Sutton McDonald along the boards. As McDonald skated to the bottom of the faceoff circle, he made a centering pass out front that Mastromonica redirected past Titans goaltender Patrick Pugliese for his tenth goal of the season.

With 9:03 left in the opening period, the Knights’ Jordan Strand was called for holding to give New Jersey the man advantage. Twenty-four seconds later Head gave the Titans a 2 – 1 lead. As the Knights tried to clear the zone, the puck was kept in by Andersen at the top of the point. Andersen passed it down low to Machlitt who was to the left of Contey at the goal line. Machlitt made a behind the back pass out front to Head who wristed the puck past Contey for his fifteenth goal of the season.

Knights veteran Tyrone Bronte tied the game at two with 2:25 left in the second period. After Artur Turansky won the draw deep inside the Titans zone, the puck went back to the Strand at the near side point. Strand took a long wrist shot that was redirected out front and past Pugliese for his eight goal of the season.

Exactly a minute later the Titians regained the lead for good. Brad Zona picked up the loose puck at the top of the far side faceoff circle and pass it up to Machlitt at center ice and he immediately passed it over to Matthew Iasenza on his right. Iasenza returned the biscuit to Machlitt who entered the offensive zone. As Machlitt reached the top of the faceoff circle he passed it over to Iasenza on his right and the speedy forward beat Contey short side to make it 3 – 2.

At 2:13 into the third, captain Brody Medeiros would double the Titans lead. Medeiros picked up the loose puck at the top of his own slot and he passed it up to Iasenza at center ice. Iasenza chipped the puck into the offensive zone where it was picked up by Michael Outzen. The Highlands Ranch, CO native passed it over to a breaking Machlitt on his left. Machlitt fed the puck through the goal mouth and Medeiros redirected the backdoor pass behind Conety for his fifth goal of the season.

After Danny Dimon took a shot on goal that was blocked out front, he picked up his own rebound at the near side half wall. Dimon passed it Gavin Gulash in the slot. Gulash moved from his backhand to his forehand and beat Conety high glove side for his ninth goal of the season to give the Titans a 5 – 2 lead.

The Knights’ Lincoln Hatten scored with 1:16 remaining in the game to close out the score. Pugliese turned aside 27 of 30 shots while Conety stopped 21 of 26. Click here for the box score.

“Overall I thought we play pretty well” stated Titans head coach Craig Doremus. “Not our cleanest game but we found a way to get ot the net and create some offense. Out PK (penalty kill) stepped up big tonight and gave us a chance. We need to continue to improve as we prepare for a big weekend with the Generals coming to Middletown this weekend concluded Doremus.

The Titans will have a lite practice today and begin preparing for this weekend’s series against the visiting Northeast Generals.

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Garbe’s hat trick helps leads Titans to weekend sweep over Black Bears

Chris Garbe scored three goals, including two in the first period, to help lead the New Jersey Titans to a 7 – 2 victory over the visiting Maryland Black Bears to complete a weekend sweep between the teams.

It was Garbe’s first hat trick of the season and the Titans second one in two games.

The Titans scored early and often in the first period and it all started at 1: 39 into the opening period on Tyler Nasca’s seventh goal of the season. After a shot was blocked out in-front of the Titans net, captain Brody Medeiros picked up the loose puck along the far side half wall and he passed it up to Nick DeSantis who sent a backhand pass to Josef Glamos. As Glamos enter the neutral zone he passed it up and over to a breaking Shane Haviland along the far side boards. As Haviland gained the line, he made a cross-ice pass over to Nasca and the defenseman took a wrist shot from the top of the circle that beat Black Bears goalie Cooper Black to give the Titans a 1 – 0 lead.

Less than a minute and a half later, the Titans doubled their lead on Garbe’s first goal of the game. After Garbe won the draw deep inside the Black Bears zone, the puck went to Matt Cameron who was to the left of Garbe. As Cameron circled to the top of the near side faceoff circle, he went to pass the puck over to Brad Zona but it was deflected and bounced off the far side boards where Zona ultimately picked it up at the bottom of the faceoff circle. Zona threw a pass on net that was saved by Black but Garbe tucked in the rebound past the goalie to make it 2 – 0.

Matthew Iasenza made it 3 – 0 with 7:05 remaining in the first period. After Iasenza won the draw deep inside his own zone, the puck went back to Zona who wrapped it around the end boards and up to the far side half wall to Friday night’s star of the game Cam Gendron. Gendron sent a bounce pass off the boards to Iasenza who skated through center ice and into the Black Bears zone. As Iasenza was driving towards the net, he passed it off to Kyler Head on his right who immediately sent it back to Zona at the point. Zona took a wrist shot that was saved by Black but Gendron, who was to the left of Black, circled around the net and passed it out front to Iasenza  and he buried it into the open net for his ninth goal of the season.

Garbe scored his second goal with 2:21 left in the first. With the puck inside the Titans zone, Maryland’s Aiden McDowell took a shot from the top of near side point that was blocked out in front and picked up by Gavin Gulash. As Gulash reached his own blue line, he head manned the puck to Garbe who skated in all alone on Black and Garbe beat him far side to give the Titans a 4 – 0 lead.

Maryland got on the board at 4:05 in the second period on Jackson Sterrett’s seventeenth goal of the season. The Black Bears entered the offensive zone on a three-on-two rush. As Aaron Swanson gained the line, he passed the puck over to Sterrett on his right. Sterrett took a shot that was saved by Titans goaltender Patrick Pugliese but Sterrett picked up the rebound and sent it around the end boards and up along the near side half wall to Jack Hillman. Hillman took a shot that went wide but the puck took a strange bounce off the end boards and right to Sterrett who buried it past Pugliese to make it 4 – 1.

Three and a half minutes later, Swanson cut the Black Bears deficit in half. With the puck in the Titans zone along the far side boards, Medeiros sent a high clearing pass off the glass, but it was kept in the zone at the point by Garrett Szydlowski who passed it up to Swanson. At the top of the faceoff circle, Swanson circled and passed it back to Szydlowski on his right. Szydlowski made a cross-ice pass but it bounced off the near side boards where it picked up by Tim Organ. Organ lobbed a shot on net that was redirected out front by Swanson and past Pugliese for his thirteenth goal of the season.

Michael Outzen scored with 2:23 left in the middle stanza to make it 5 – 2. DeSantis picked up the loose puck at the top of his own slot and passed it over to Outzen. The Highlands Ranch, CO native skated through center ice and into the offensive zone. As Outzen reached the top of the far side faceoff circle, he curled and took a long wrist shot that found its way through a screen and past Aaron Randazzo, who replaced Black between the pipes, for his sixteenth goal of the season.

Head scored a power play goal with six seconds remaining in the middle stanza and Garbe finished his hat trick with thirty-eight seconds remaining in the game to close out the scoring.

Pugliese stopped 29 of 31 shots while Maryland’s goaltender combined to stop 22 of 29. Click here for the box score.

The Titans next game will be on Wednesday, February 12 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights at the Middletown Sports Complex. Puck drop is 7:35pm.

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Weekend Preview: 2/7 – 2/8/20; Black Bears visit for weekend series against Titans

The Maryland Black Bears visit the Middletown Sports Complex this weekend to play two games against the East Division leading Titans. The puck drop for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30pm and 7:00pm for Saturday’s game.

Titans and Black Bears Overview
This will be the fourth series between the teams with the Titans winning four of the six previous games by a combined score of 35 – 28. The last time they met was at Piney Orchard Ice Arena the weekend of November 29 and 30 when the team’s split the series. The Titans won the last game played by a score of 7 – 4.

Wilmer Skoog leads the Black Bears with nine total points (5 goals and 4 assists) and goals (5) against the Titans. They are 2 for 10 (20%) on the power play. Maryland’s goaltenders have a combined 5.60 goals against average and .834 save percentage.

Mitch Machlitt leads the Titans with twelve total points (2 goals and 10 assists) while Kyle Jeffers has scored the most goals (seven) against the Black Bears. The Titans are 6 for 16 (38%) on the power player. Goaltenders Patrick Pugliese and Arseni Seergev have a combined .878 save percentage and 4.44 goals against average.

Black Bears Overview
Maryland is currently in fourth place in the East Division with a 17-18-7-0 record for 41 points, twenty behind division leading New Jersey. They have scored 136 goals (eleventh in the league) while they have allowed 132 (thirteenth in the league).  They are 2 and 8 for their last ten games and they are coming off of a 3- 2 home loss to the Jamestown Rebels (last weekend the Black Bears split with the Rebels). The Black Bears have converted on 20.1% of their chances on the power play (thirteenth in the league) while they have prevented the opposition from scoring 80.3% (fourteenth in the league) on the penalty kill.

Hampus Rydqvist leads the team in points with 38 (10 goals and 28 assists) while Jackson Sterrett leads the team with sixteen goals. Three players (Aden Bruich, Logan Kons and Brayden Stannard) have three game winning goals. Rydqvist has a team best +6. Jack Smiley leads the team with ninety-six penalty minutes.

Maryland’s goaltenders have a combined 2.96 goals against average and .906 save percentage with one shutout.

Titans Overview
The Titans are in the first place in the East Division with a 30 – 8 – 0 – 1 record for 61 points. They have won seven of their last ten games, and they are coming off a 9 – 2 road win against the Maine Nordiques (the Titans split with the Nordiques last weekend). They have scored 184 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 125 (ninth in the league). The Titans are first in the league on the power play having converted on 30.7% of their chances while they have prevented the opposition from scoring on the penalty kill 82% of the time (eleventh best in the league).

Machlitt leads the team in total points with fifty-two (21 goals and 31 assists) and goals (21). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team high +/- with +30 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with sixty-four.

The goaltending tandem of Pugliese (2.90 GAA and .912 SV%) and Sergeev (3.56 GAA and .892 SV%) have a combined 3.13 goals against average and .905 save percentage with one shutout (Pugliese).

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Titans rout Nordiques 9 – 2 to split weekend series

Matt Cameron and Kyle Jeffers each scored two goals and had an assist while Chris Garbe and Michael Outzen had a goal and an assist respectively to help lead the visiting New Jersey Titans to a 9 – 2 win over the Maine Nordiques. The victory enabled the Titans to split the weekend series between the teams.

The nine goals were the most the Titans scored in a game this season and it was the second time this year that they had won by seven goals (7 – 0 on October 25 against Jamestown).

The Titans scored early and often in the first period having scored four goals with the first one coming at 3:59 off the stick of Cameron. Ole Andersen picked up the loose puck at center ice and passed it up to Gavin Gulash. As Gulash gained the line, he passed it over to Garbe on his right. Garbe took a shot from the top of the near side faceoff circle that was initially stopped by Maine’s netminder Wesley Mankowski but the puck trickled through his pads and Cameron tapped it into the open net.

At 8:29 of the opening period, the Nordiques’ Tristan Thibeault was called for holding to give the Titans the man advantage. Forty-four seconds later Outzen scored his fifteenth goal of the season. After Mankowski made a save, the rebound went behind his net where it was picked up by his defenseman Jacob Crespo. Crespo tried to clear the puck along the near side boards, but it was intercepted by Kyler Head at the point. Head passed it down low to Mitch Machlitt who was to the left of Mankowski. Machlitt passed it out front to Outzen who one-timed it passed Mankowski to give the Titans a 2 – 0 lead.

A little over two minutes later Shane Haviland made it 3 – 0. Josef Glamos took a sharp angle shot that was saved by Mankowski but the rebound was picked up by Nick DeSantis who skated behind the Nordiques net. As he went to the far side corner, he drop passed the puck to Cade Penney who passed it up to Haviland at the bottom of the faceoff dot. Haviland took a one-timer that beat Mankowski short side for his fifth goal of the season.

Avery Sturtz replaced Mankowski between the pipes.

With eighteen seconds remaining in the period, Tyler Nasca gave the Titans a 4 – 0 lead. Machlitt picked up the loose puck at the side of the Nordiques net and tried to center it out front but it hit a Nordiques defender and the puck bounced to the far side half wall where it was picked up by Jeffers. Jeffers sent it back to Penney at the point who immediately sent a return pass to Jeffers. Jeffers made a cross-ice pass to Nasca who one-timed it passed Sturtz for his fifth goal of the season.

Maine got on the board just 1:40 into the middle stanza on Luke Antonacci’s first goal of the season. Antonacci took a shot from the far side point that was blocked out front by Garbe. As the puck slid towards the point, Antonacci picked it up and passed to Cannon Green at the half wall. Green passed it over to Antonacci on his right and the defenseman beat Titans netminder Patrick Pugliese short side to make a 4 – 1 game.

Jeffers scored his first goal of the night at 7:42 of the second. Head picked up the loose puck just outside the Nordiques zone and passed it back to Brody Medeiros near the far side boards who looked to reset the play. Medeiros made a cross-ice pass up to Jeffers at the Nordiques line. As Jeffers entered the zone, he skated to the hash mark and took a shot that beat Sturtz short side to make it a 5 – 1 game.

After multiple penalties were called with 2:40 remaining in the second, the Titans went on the power play. With time winding down on the man advantage, Outzen had the puck at the near side half wall and went to throw it on net, but it was knocked away and picked up by Machlitt at the far side boards. Machlitt passed it down low to Cameron who was to the left of Sturtz. As Cameron skated towards the slot, he backhanded a shot that beat Sturtz high, long side to make it a 6 – 1 game with forty-nine seconds remaining in the period.

The Nordiques added a goal from Kevin Pitts in the third while Jeffers, Glamos and Garbe finished out the scoring for the Titans. Glamos’ goal was the Titans third power play goal of the evening.

Pugliese, who had to make several key saves, stopped 28 of 30 shots while Mankowski and Sturtz combined to turn aside 28 of 37. Click here for the box score.

“I was really please with our response tonight” stated Titans head coach Craig Doremus. “It was a complete effort from our goaltender out. We have a lot of pride in our dressing room and the guys have high standards for our culture. Losing is not acceptable with this team and I am proud of the group. Onto Maryland” concluded Doremus.

The Titans will be back home next weekend for a two-game series against the Maryland Black Bears. It will be part of a five-game home stand.