Tag Archives: Chris Garbe

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Haviland scores two goals as Titans defeat Knights 5 – 2

Shane Haviland scored two goals, Mitch Machlitt had a goal and an assist while Gavin Gulash and Jake LaRusso each had two assists to help lead the New Jersey Titans to a 5 – 2 win over the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. It was the last regular season meeting between the teams. With the win, New Jersey defeated WBS seven out of eight times this year.

The win also increased the Titans lead in the East Division to five points.

Cam Gendron got the Titans on the board just fifty-eight seconds into the game. Gendron picked up the loose puck behind his own net and sent a pass up to Machlitt at center ice but the biscuit went by Machlitt and into the offensive zone where it was retrieved by Kyler Head. As Head reached the far side half wall, he sent a backhanded pass out front to Gendron who redirected the puck past Knights goalie Zach Stejskal to give the Titans an early 1 – 0 lead.

A minute and sixteen seconds later Haviland would score his first goal of the evening. As Jake LaRusso gained the line along the near side boards, he passed the puck to Gavin Gulash in front of him. Gulash immediately sent a cross-ice pass to Brad Zona who took a shot that went wide of the net but the puck bounced off the end boards and came right out to Haviland in the slot and Haviland buried it past Stejskal to give the Titans a 2 – 0 lead.

Haviland made it 3 – 0 at 6:46 into the second period. After the Knights dumped the puck into the Titans zone for a line change, the puck was picked up by Zona who passed it to Machlitt at center ice. Machlitt made a bounce pass off the far side boards to LaRusso. As LaRusso skated to the top of the faceoff circle, he made a centering pass out front to Haviland who one-timed it past Stejskal for eighth goal of the season.

Michael Outzen’s goal with 9:04 left in the second period gave the Titans a 4 – 0 lead. After Ole Andersen won a scrum in his own far side corner, he brought the puck up along the boards and made a cross-ice pass to Chris Garbe. As Garbe entered the Knights zone, he stopped, reversed and sent a puck in on net that was blocked out front. Nick DeSantis picked up the loose puck and took a shot from his knees that was saved by Stejskal, but the rebound came right to Outzen who buried the puck into the open net for his nineteenth goal of the season.

The Knights tried a comeback by scoring two unanswered goals early in the third period.

Just thirteen seconds into the final period, Lincoln Hatten scored his team high twenty-seventh goal of the season. After Tyrone Bronte won the draw deep inside the Titans zone, he passed the puck to Hatten to his left. Hatten took a slap shot that went off Titans goalie Ryan McInchak’s pad and into the net to make it a 4 – 1 game.

Playing four-on-four hockey, the Knights’ Anthony Mastromonica’s unassisted goal at 7:36 into the third period cut the Titans lead in half but it wasn’t enough as Machlitt added an empty net goal with 1:44 left in the game to close out the scoring.

McInchak, who won his fourth consecutive game, stopped 32 of 34 shots while Stejskal turned aside 43 of 47. Click here for the box score.

The Titans now will play the Maine Nordiques for a two-game series beginning tomorrow night at the Middletown Sports Complex.

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Garbe’s natural hat trick leads Titans to 4 – 2 win over Generals

Chris Garbe scored a natural hat trick in the third period to lead the visiting New Jersey Titans to a 4 – 2 win over the Northeast Generals last night at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, MA. The victory completed the Titans weekend sweep over Northeast.

By sweeping this weekend’s series, the Titans won games number 35 and 36, the most wins in a single regular season in the Titans five-year NAHL franchise history.

Northeast’s Ethan Destefani opened the scoring at 7:34 of the first period. Destefani won the draw deep inside the Titans zone and the puck went back to Tyler Cooper at the top of the near side faceoff circle. Cooper sent a cross-ice back to Michael  Heneghan at the far side point. Heneghan made seem pass to Destefani out front in the slot and Destefani redirected the puck past Titans netminder Ryan McInchak to give the Generals a 1 – 0 lead.

Gavin Gulash tied the game at one with 1: 38 remaining in the first. After picking up the loose puck along the near side board’s Northeast’s Alexander Tertyshny was trying to bring the puck out of his own zone and he a made an errant cross-ice pass that when behind his teammate but it was picked up by Gulash at the top of the far side faceoff circle. Gulash made a backhanded pass to Jake LaRusso at the top of slot and LaRusso made an immediate return pass to Gulash who took a wrist shot that beat Generals goalie Connor Bradford through the five hole for his twelfth goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period, the Generals took a 2 – 1 lead just 2:14 into the third. Destefani picked up the loose biscuit in the Titans zone along the near side boards and cut towards the slot but was knocked off the puck by Gulash.  As Destefani was falling the puck slid to Jonathan Young who made a backhanded pass to defenseman Adam Smith.  As Smith reached the top of the near side faceoff he took a wrist shot that found its way through a screen and rolled under McInchak and into the net for his first goal of the season.

The game then was taken over by the Middlebury College commit Garbe.

Midway through the third, Garbe tied the game at two. As the Generals look to set up the play behind their own net, Smith brought the puck up through the slot, but he was stripped of the puck by Matthew Iasenza and Garbe picked it up. Garbe made a move out front and wristed the puck up high and past the blocker of Bradford for his nineteenth goal of the season.

With 7:22 remaining in the game, Cade Penney was called for tripping to give the Generals the man advantage. Fourteen seconds later Garbe gave the Titans the lead. After the ensuing draw deep inside the Titans zone, the Generals looked to set up and the puck went to Jonathan Young at the top of the slot. Young went to pass the puck but it was intercepted by Matt Cameron at the far side faceoff dot and Cameron immediately passed the puck up to Garbe who skated in all alone on Bradford and he wristed the puck past the Generals’ goalie’s glove hand to make it 3 – 2.

The shorthanded goal by Garbe was the Titans league high seventeenth shorthanded goal on the season, and it was a league best seventh shorthanded goal in a road game.

Garbe then completed the natural hat trick with two minutes left in the game.

As the Generals dumped the puck into the Titans zone, McInchak stopped the puck behind his own net and left it for Tyler Nasca. As Nasca brought the puck around the net he dropped it for Penney who wrapped the biscuit around the end boards and up to Gulash at his own near side blueline. Gulash passed the puck up to Garbe who skated along the boards and took a sharp angle shot from the outside of the faceoff circle that went through the five hole of Bradford to close out the scoring. It was Garbe’s twenty-first goal of the season, which makes him the third highest goal scorer on the team.

McInchak, who play very well, stopped 54 of 56 shots while Bradford turned aside 25 of 29. Click here for the box score.

“It was a big response by our club this weekend” stated Titans head coach Craig Doremus. “We got contributions up and down the lineup in big spots for each game. It was important for us to get back to in the win column this weekend. Our focus now shifts to a big weekend in Jamestown” concluded Doremus.

Next weekend the Titans travel to Jamestown to play the Rebels for two games at the Northwest Arena. It will close out the Titans seven game road trip.

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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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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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Gendron and Pugliese help lead Titans to 6 – 4 win over Black Bears

Forward Cam Gendron scored three goals while goaltender Patrick Pugliese made several Grade A saves to help lead the Titans to a 6 – 4 win over the visiting Maryland Black Bears in a seesaw game. It was Gendron’s second hat trick of the season, and three of the Titans goals were shorthanded

“It wasn’t the prettiest of efforts but nevertheless I was happy that our group was able to find a way to win” stated head coach Craig Doremus.

Gendron got the Titans on the board just eighteen seconds into the game. After the Black Bears Hunter Brackett brough the puck out of his own zone, he tried to make a cross-ice pass, but it deflected and went to Danny Dimon at his own near side blue line and the assistant captain made a bounce pass off the boards up to Matthew Iasenza. As Iasenza gained the line, he made a behind the back pass to Gendron who skated in all alone on Maryland’s goalie Aaron Randazzo and beat him through the five hole to give the Titans an early 1 – 0 lead.

At 2:15 of the opening period, Josef Glamos was called for slashing to give the Black Bears the man advantage. With time winding down on the power play, Gavin Gulash scored the Titans first shorthanded goal of the game. After the Titans dumped the biscuit deep inside the Black Bears zone, Randazzo picked up the loose puck near his net and passed up into the neutral zone where it was intercepted by the newest Titan Joe Nagle. As Nagle skated to the far side half wall, he was hit from behind but was able to send the puck to the end boards where it was picked up by Gulash. The Red Bank, NJ native avoided a check and skated towards the net to the left of Randazzo. As Gulash reached the goal line, he took a sharp angle shot that beat Randazzo high, short side for his eighth goal of the season.

The Titans took a commanding three goal lead just forty-eight seconds into the middle stanza on Tyler Nasca’s sixth goal of the season. Gendron picked up the loose puck at the top of the slot and took a shot that was saved by Randazzo, but the rebound came out to Gendron but between his skates. Gendron circled to the near side half wall and passed the biscuit back to Brad Zona at the top of the circle. Zona passed it down low to Kyler Head who was behind the Black Bears net. Head skated up along boards and as he reached the blueline, he passed it over to Nasca at the top of the far side circle and Nasca one-timed it past Randazzo far side to make it a 3 – 0 game.

The Black Bears then scored their first of three straight goals to tie the game starting at 3:20 in the second period.

Dimon knocked down a pass at the top of his own zone and cleared it to the near side half wall towards Michael Outzen. Maryland’s Garrett Szydlowski knocked Outzen off the puck, and he passed it down low to Jackson Sterrett. As Sterrett reached the end boards he passed it out front to Aaron Swanson who took a wrister that beat Pugliese through the five hole to make it a 3 – 1 game.

Luke Mountain cut the Black Bears deficit in half at 7:55 of the second. Hampus Rydqvist picked up the loose puck at the top of the slot in his own end and he head manned it up to Reid Leibold who chipped it into the Titans zone. As the puck reached the bottom of the far side faceoff circle, it was picked up by Leibold who took a backhand shot towards the net that was blocked out front, but the rebound came back to Leibold who centered it out front and Mountain redirected it past Pugliese to make it a 3 – 2 game.

With 5:30 left in the second, Szydlowski tied the game at three. As Ole Andersen picked up the loose puck behind his own net, he came out and cut through the goalmouth, but Logan Kittleson stripped him of the puck and it redirected into the far side corner where it was picked up by Aaron Swanson. Swanson came up along the boards and made a pass back to the point to Mikhael Gonchar who took a shot that was deflected out front by Szydlowski past Pugliese for his eighth goal of the season.

Less than a minute later, the Titans regained the lead on Gendron’s second goal of the game. As the Black Bears looked for a line change, Shane Haviland picked up the loose puck at his own blueline and sent it back to Zona. Zona looked to set up and skated behind his own net and sent a bounce pass off the far side boards to Haviland at center ice. Haviland passed the puck up to Gendron. As Gendron gained the line, he cut towards the center of the slot and took and shot that beat Randazzo long side to make it 4 – 3 Titans.

The Black Bears tied it at 4:40 into the third on Jack Smiley’s seventh goal of the year. After Maryland won the draw just outside the Titans blueline, the puck would go into their zone where it was picked up by Smiley who took a shot that went high and wide of the net. Maryland’s Hunter Brackett picked up loose puck and centered it out front to Smiley who lifted it past a fallen Pugliese to make it a 4 – 4 game.

Mitch Machlitt was called for tripping with nine minutes remaining to give the Black Bears the man advantage. Eight seconds later Gendron completed his hat trick. After Maryland called a time out, Gendron won the ensuing faceoff deep inside his own zone and the puck would go to Andersen who was to the right of Gendron. Andersen came up along the far side boards and cut across the middle. As Andersen gained the line, he passed it over to Gendron on his right. Gendron skated to the slot went from his forehand to his backhand and lifted the puck past a sprawled out Randazzo to give the Titans a 5 – 4 lead.

Nick DeSantis was called for cross-checking 2:51 left in the game to put Maryland back on the power play. The Black Bears pulled Randazzo for the additional attacker but Chris Garbe short an empty net goal from center ice with 1:26 remaining in the game to close out the scoring.

“I thought our start was excellent but then we took our foot off the gas and Maryland really played well” stated Doremus. “We got some timely goaltending and Cam Gendron had a special effort to help carry us. We need to tighten up our structure and execution as we prepare for another game” concluded Doremus.

Pugliese stopped 36 of 40 shots while Randazzo turned aside 17 of 23. Click here for the box score.

The Titans go for the weekend sweep as the two teams meet again at 7:00pm at the Middletown Sports Complex.

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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.

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Balanced attack leads Titans to 5 – 3 win over Tomahawks in playoff type atmosphere

Five different players scored to propel the New Jersey Titans to a 5 – 3 win over the visiting Johnstown Tomahawks. The victory enabled the Titans to extend their lead in the East Division by seven points over the second place Tomahawks.

It was only fitting that the Titans were wearing special uniforms to honor the brave men and women who serve this country. Because this game was a battle. Despite the calendar stating it was January 24 it felt like mid-April with two very good teams playing tough hockey and both with multiple scoring opportunities. It felt like playoff hockey between the East’s two top teams.

Shane Haviland got the Titans on the board with 6:58 remaining in the first period. After the Tomahawks dumped the puck into the Titans zone, goaltender Patrick Pugliese stopped it behind his own goal line to set up the play. He passed the biscuit it up to Danny Dimon on the near side boards who immediately sent it up to Haviland in the neutral zone and Haviland made a cross-ice pass to a breaking Matt Cameron. As Cameron started to cut towards the net, he was checked by Johnstown’s Ethan Webb. As the two went towards the back of the Tomahawks net, Cameron made a beautiful behind the back pass to Haviland and the Sea Grit, NJ native redirected it past Johnstown’s netminder David Tomeo to make it a 1 – 0 game.

Playing four-on-four hockey, the Titans doubled their lead at 4:59 into the second period with a well-executed give-and-goal play. After receiving a pass from Kyler Head, Cade Penney brought the puck up along the far side boards. As he gained the line, he dropped passed the puck to Mitch Machlitt who made a cross-ice saucer pass to Head. As Head reached the faceoff dot, he passed it back over to Penney who tapped the puck in past a sprawled out Tomeo to make it 2 – 0.

With 2:37 remaining in the middle stanza, Johnstown’s top goal scorer Christian Gorscak made it a 2 – 1 game. Matthew Doyle started the play to the left of Tomeo by sending a long outlet pass to Reed Stark along the far side boards. Stark made a cross-ice pass to Voorhees, NJ native Max Kouznetsov who broke towards the net. As Kouznetsov cut across the goal mouth, he took a backhander that was saved by Pugliese but Gorscak punched it rebound past the fallen Titans netminder for his eighteenth goal of the season.

Less then a minute later, the Titans regained their two-goal lead on Nick DeSantis’ fifth goal of the season. From center ice, Penney dumped the puck into the Tomahawks zone where it was picked up by Webb. As Webb tried to turn to his right, Cameron knocked the puck off his stick and DeSantis lifted Webb’s stick and picked up the loose biscuit. DeSantis went to the net and took a quick wrist shot that went through Tomeo’s five hole to give the Titans a 3 – 1 lead.

At 2:59 into the third period, Kouznetsov cut the Tomahawks deficit in half. After Johnstown dumped the puck into the Titans zone, Pugliese set it up for Ole Andersen behind his own net. As Andersen look to set up, he cut towards the far side boards, but was stripped of the puck by Gorscak. Gorscak passed it to Kouznetsov in the faceoff circle and Kouznetsov turned from his forehand to his backhand and shot the puck through Pugliese’s five hole to make it a 3 – 2 game.

Twenty-eight seconds later, Johnstown’s Brendan Blair was called for holding to give the Titans the man advantage. A half minute later Gavin Gulash made it a 4 – 2 game. Captain Brody Medeiros started the play behind his own goal and skated through center ice and into the Johnstown zone. As Medeiros started to go into the near side corner, he passed the puck to Chris Garbe at the top of the faceoff circle and the assistant captain passed it to Gulash on his right. Gulash one-timed it past Tomeo for his seventh goal of the season.

Almost at mid-way point of the third period, Tyler Nasca made it a 5 – 2 game. Cameron picked up the loose puck at the far side half wall and passed it over to Mitch Machlitt who brought the puck into the offensive zone on a two-on-one with Nasca. As Machlitt reached the top of the faceoff circle, he passed it over to Nasca on his right and the Wheatfield, NY buried it past a fallen Tomeo for his fourth goal of the season.

Johnstown’s Andrew Murphy closed out the scoring with 4:56 left in the game to make it 5 – 3.

Pugliese stopped 42 of 45 shots while Tomeo turned aside 26 of 31. Click here for the box score.

The two teams will finish their series tonight at the Middletown Sports Complex at 7:00 PM. Fans still have time to bid on their favorite Titans’ military jersey with proceeds going to American Legion Post 338 of Leonardo, NJ. Bids can be placed here.

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Garbe, Jeffers and Machlitt help lead Titans to 5 – 4 win over Knights

Chris Garbe, Kyle Jeffers and birthday boy Mitch Machlitt each had a goal and an assist to help lead the Titans to a 5 – 4 victory over the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knight last night. The win expanded the Titans lead to five points in the East Division.

At 4:10 into the opening period it was Jeffers who opened the scoring for the Titans. Garbe brought the puck into the offensive zone along the far side boards. As Garbe went to the net, he made a backhanded pass across the slot to Jeffers who tapped the puck in past Knights goalie Alex Contey to make it a 1 – 0 game.

Garbe doubled the Titans lead at 7:26 into the first period. Jeffers would win the draw deep inside the Knights zone and puck went to Garbe on his right. Garbe skated to the top of the faceoff circle and took a shot that found its way through a screen and past Contey for his twelfth goal of the season.

At 9:09 into the period, Jake LaRusso was called for a five-minute tripping major to give the Knights the man advantage.  With eight minutes left in the period, Artur Turansky cut WBS’ deficit in half. Jordan Strand set up the play at the top of the point and passed the puck over to Lincoln Hatten at the far side faceoff circle. Hatten passed it down low to Tyrone Bronte at the goal line and Bronte centered it out front to Turansky who beat Titans netminder Patrick Pugliese glove side to make it a 2 – 1 game.

The Knights would tie the score at two with just seventeen seconds remaining in the opening period. As Brad Zona went to break out of his own zone, he was cut off and reversed course and wrapped the puck behind his own net and up along the near side boards where it was intercepted by the Knights Zack Currie. Currie passed it down low to Michael Sacco who was to the left of Pugliese. Sacco took a shot that was saved by Pugliese, but the rebound came out to Johnny Kaljian who buried the biscuit into the open net to make it a 2 – 2 game.

Machlitt gave the Titans a 3 – 2 lead with a penalty shot goal at 4:49 into the middle stanza. Ole Andersen picked up the loose puck in his own zone at the half wall and made a long saucer pass to Machlitt just outside the Knights blueline. Machlitt went towards the net in clear but was taken down by WBS’ Beck Moore and Machlitt was awarded a penalty shot. As Machlitt skated towards the net he shot the puck downlow past Contey for his team high twenty-first goal.

Cam Gendron would give the Titans another two-goal lead with 9:23 left in the second. Nick DeSantis picked up the loose puck in his own zone and sent it up to Gendron at center ice. Gendron made a bounce pass off the near side wall to LaRusso who brought the puck into the offensive zone. As LaRusso got to the top of the circle, he reversed and made a backhanded pass to a breaking Gendron. Gendron went to the net and slid the puck through Contey’s five hole to make it a 4 – 2 game.

With 3:07 left in the second, Strand cut the Knights deficit in half. Anthony Mastromonica brought the puck up through center ice and into the offensive zone on a two-on-one with Strand. As Mastromonica went to the net he turned and passed the puck over to Strand on his left and Strand one-timed it past Pugliese to make it a 4 – 3 game.

Kaljian scored his second goal of the game to tie the game at four with fifty-five seconds remaining in the middle stanza. Mastromonica picked up the loose puck in the near side corner and brought it up along the boards. Mastromonica passed it over to Liam Haslam at the top of the slot and Haslam took a shot that was saved by Pugliese but Kaljian knocked in the rebound to tie the game again.

Shane Haviland was called for tripping at 7:44 of the third period to give the Knights the man advantage. With time running down on the penalty kill, Cade Penney scored the game winner almost two minutes later. Currie took a shot that was blocked out front and Machlitt picked up the loose puck brought it up along the far side boards and into the offensive zone on a two-on-one with Penney. As Machlitt went to the slot he passed it over to Penney who redirected the biscuit past Contey to close out the scoring and make a 5 – 4 game.

Pugliese stopped 37 of 41 shots while Contey turned aside 42 of 47. Click here for the box score.

The Titans now will play the Northeast Generals for a two game series beginning tomorrow night at the Middletown Sports Complex.

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Special teams help lead Titans to 7 – 4 win over Nordiques

The New Jersey Titans special teams’ units scored three goals (including two shorthanded scored twenty seconds apart) to help lead the visitors to a 7 – 4 win over the Maine Nordiques and split the weekend series between the teams.

Mitch Machlitt had three points (1 goal and two assists) while Chris Garbe and Kyle Jeffers each had a goal and an assist.

Maine’s Luke Antonacci was called for tripping at 8:08 of the first period to give the Titans the man advantage. Thirteenth seconds later captain Brody Medeiros opened the scoring for New Jersey. After Shane Haviland won the draw deep inside the Nordiques zone, the puck went back to Cade Penney at the top of the point. Penney passed it over to Kyle Jeffers on his left. The AIC commit made a nice cross-ice pass to Medeiros who one-timed it and the puck went bar down and into the net past Maine’s goaltender Wesley Mankowski to give the Titans a 1 – 0 lead.

The Titans would double their lead with 5:01 remaining in the opening period when Josef Glamos notched his ninth goal of the season. After receiving a pass from Gavin Gulash, Danny Dimon looked to set up the play in his own zone and passed it out to Penney in the neutral zone. Penney made a spin move around his man and brought the puck up along the far side boards and into the Nordiques zone. Penney passed it over to Machlitt who was skating towards the circle. As Machlitt reached the bottom of the circle, he sent a pass back to Glamos in the slot and the assistant captain buried it past Mankowski to make it 2 – 0 Titans.

Garbe made it 3 – 0 Titans with 2:02 left in the first. As the Nordiques tried to break out of their zone, Gulash intercepted an outlet pass at the top of the point and skated towards the far side boards. As Gulash went towards the net, he made a nice head fake move and passed the puck over to Garbe who one-timed it past Mankowski for his eleventh goal of the season.

Isaiah Fox got the Nordiques on the board at 7:20 into the second period. After Arseni Sergeev made a save the puck went into the corner where it was picked up by Ignat Belov. Belov skated behind the Titans net with Gulash draped on him. As the two scrummed to the left of Sergeev, the loose puck came out to Fox who skated around and behind the Titans and he took a wraparound shot that beat Sergeev to make it a 3 – 1 game.

Machlitt scored his team high twentieth goal of the season at 8:33 of the middle stanza to make it a 4 – 1 game. After Sergeev made two outstanding saves, the rebound came out to Brad Zona in the corner and he passed it up to Matt Cameron at the half wall. As Cameron was being hit from behind, he had the wherewithal to pass the puck up along the far side boards to Machlitt. The Maple Grove, MN native skated up through center ice and into the offensive zone. As he cut across the goalmouth, Machlitt slipped the puck through Mankowski’s five hole to give the Titans a three-goal lead.

Mankowski was replaced by Avery Sturtz.

The Titans then scored two shorthanded goals twenty seconds apart. Nick DeSantis was called for roughing with 8:36 left in the second period. After Sergeev made another big save, the rebound came out to Noah Kane at the far side half wall. Machlitt poke checked the puck off Kane and he brought the puck up through the neutral zone. As Machlitt skated to the top of the far side circle, he passed it over to a breaking Jeffers who one-timed the shot that hit the post and went past Sturtz and into the back of the net to give the Titans a 5 – 1 lead.

After the ensuing faceoff, the Nordiques dumped the puck into the Titans zone, and it wrapped around the end boards where it was picked up by Michael Outzen at the half wall. Outzen sent the puck up along the near side boards and into the Nordiques where it was picked up by Garbe who had outskated Antonacci at the top of the circle. Garbe made a nifty backhand pass to Dimon in the high slot who went to the net and beat Sturtz short side to give the Titans a commanding 6 – 1 lead.

The Nordiques would make it 6 – 2 when Trent Grimshaw scored at 6:25 on a powerplay goal but DeSantis gave the Titans back a five-goal lead less than a minute later. Maine added two goals at the end to close out the scoring.

Sergeev stopped 30 of 34 shots while Mankowski and Sturtz combined to turn aside 36 of 43 shots. Click here for the box score.

With the Titans win and the Tomahawks loss, the Titans regain a three-point lead in the East Division over Johnstown. The Titans now will come home for a five game homestand beginning Wednesday night at 7:00 PM against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights.

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Titans at the midway point: sitting atop the East

The Titans return to the ice today to begin practice after a ten-day break with games resuming next weekend when they travel to play the Maine Nordiques on the road for the first time this season.

After 30 games, the Titans sit atop the North American Hockey League’s East Division with a 24 – 5 – 0 – 1 record for 49 points. This is the second time in franchise history that the Titans have led the East at the midway point (the first time was during the 2015-16 season). However, it is the most points the team has ever recorded at the break (the 2015-16 team had 38 points at 30 games). Although the Titans have the second most wins in the league, they have the league’s best winning percentage at .817.

The Titans dropped their first game of the year to the Springfield Jr. Blues by a score of 3 – 2 at the Blaine Showcase after starting the season 4 – 0. After finishing the Showcase with a 3 – 1 record (the Titans defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves for their third win of the Showcase and to close it out), the Titans lost 5 – 2 to the Tomahawks in Johnstown. The Titans then went on a ten-game winning streak including their home opener on October 18 by defeating the Nordiques 6 – 1. The ten wins included one overtime and two shootout victories.

Titans Overview
The Titans have won seven of its last ten games, and they are coming off a 6 – 3 road win against the Jamestown Rebels. They have scored 140 goals (most in the league) and have allowed 88 (eleventh in the league). The Titans are second 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 84.4% of the time (eighth best in the league).

Mitch Machlitt leads the team in total points with thirty-nine (18 goals and 21 assists) and goals (18). Michael Outzen has a team best five game winning goals. Cade Penney has a team’s best and +/- with +22 while Brody Medeiros has the most penalty minutes on the team with fifty-eight.

The goaltending tandem of Patrick Pugliese (2.61 GAA and .918 SV%) and Arseni Sergeev (3.22 GAA and .899 SV%) have a combined 2.84 goals against average and .911 save percentage with one shutout (Pugliese).

Peeking ahead
The Titans will be concluding a four-game road stand when they return from next weekend’s series against the Nordiques. The Titans then will play five consecutive home games and play a total of twelve of their next fourteen games at the Middletown Sports Complex upon the return from their first-ever road series against Maine.

Records against divisional teams
4 – 0 against Jamestown Rebels
3 – 3 against Johnstown Tomahawks
4 – 0 against Maine Nordiques
4 – 2 against Maryland Black Bears
2 – 0 against Northeast Generals
4 – 0 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights

NCAA Commitments (2019-20 season to date)
Brody Medeirous: Army, DI
Gavin Gulash: Robert Morris, DI
Kyler Head: Robert Morris, DI
Chris Garbe: Middlebury College, DIII