Tag Archives: Kyler Head

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Head and Machlitt named honorable mention for NAHL’s East Division’s Star of the Week for week ending February 16.

The North American Hockey League announced its Bauer Hockey Divisional Stars of the Week for week ending February 16 and Titans forwards Kyler Head and Mitch Machlitt were named honorable mention for the East Division.

Head had four points (2 goals and 2 assists) in three games this past week. He had a goal and an assist in last Wednesday’s 5 – 3 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights as well as a goal and an assist in Friday’s 6 – 2 win over the Northeast Generals.

Head has 38 points (16 goals and 22 assists) in forty games this season. This is the second time this season that Head received league recognition. He was honorable mention for week ending September 22.

Machlitt had six points (1 goal and 5 assists) in the Titans three games. He had three assists in last Wednesday’s win, an assist in Friday’s victory and he had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s game against the Generals.

Machlitt leads the team with fifty-eight total points (22 goals and 36 assists in forty-four games. This is the eighth time this season that Machlitt has receive recognition from the league: honorable mention for weeks ending September 30, November 24, January 12 and January 19; Star of the Week for week ending September 15, runner up for forward of the month for September and honorable mention for November.

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Four, second period goals propel Titans to 6 – 2 victory over Generals

The New Jersey Titans scored four, second period goals in 5:13 minutes en route to a 6 – 2 win over the visiting Northeast Generals for the team’s fifth consecutive win.

Defenseman Ole Andersen and forward Shane Haviland each had a goal and an assist.

After a scoreless opening period, Northeast got on the scoreboard first just 1:23 into the middle stanza. The Generals’ Gerard Marretta picked up the loose puck in his own zone along the near side boards and sent a long stretch pass across to a breaking Ryan Kuzmich. After gaining the line, Kuzmich took a shot from the faceoff dot that was saved by Titans goalie Patrick Pugliese but the deep rebound came right out to Charlie Ried in the slot and Ried one-timed it past the fallen Pugliese to give Northeast a 1 – 0 lead.

The Titans then countered by scoring four, unanswered goals in 5:13 minutes.

At 6:58 of the second Tyler Nasca tied the game at one. Haviland picked up the loose puck in his own zone at the high slot and passed it to Nasca on his right. As Nasca reached center ice, he passed the puck to Nick DeSantis on his right. After entering the offensive zone along the near side boards, DeSantis circled around his defender and centered the puck out front to Nasca in the slot and the Wheatfield, NY native one-timed it past Northeast’s goalie Connor Bradford for his eighth goal of the season.

Thirty-four seconds later the Titans doubled their lead on Kyle Jeffers twenty-first goal of the season. Kyler Head intercepted a Generals pass at the top of the slot in his own zone and he skated to the near side boards and entered the offensive zone on a 2 on 2 rush with Cam Gendron. As Head gained the line, he drop pass the puck to Jeffers.  As the American International College commit reached the faceoff dot, he took a shot that beat Bradford short side to make it 2 – 1 Titans.

Andersen gave the Titans a 3 – 1 lead at 8:51 of the second. After Pugliese made a save on Northeast’s Clark Kerner, the rebound came out to Cade Penney at the near side faceoff dot and he passed the puck up and over to Michael Outzen at the top of his own zone. As Outzen entered the Generals’ zone on a 3 – 2 rush, he stopped and reversed at the top of the far side faceoff circle and he sent a long, cross-ice pass to Andersen who took a snapshot that beat Bradford long side for his sixth goal of the season.

The Titans scored their fourth straight goal with 7:51 remaining in the period. Penney picked up the rebound at his own goal line to the left of Pugliese and he passed it up to Jeffers at the bottom of the far side faceoff circle. Jeffers made a long stretch pass up to Mitch Machlitt at the top of the Generals blueline. After gaining the line, Machlitt reversed at the top of the far side faceoff circle and made a backhand pass to Andersen in the slot. Andersen immediately passed it back to Gavin Gulash who went from his forehand to his backhand and he lifted the puck up high and past Bradford for his tenth goal of the season.

Bradford was replaced by Joey Stanizzi.

Kuzmich cut the Generals deficit in half with 5:03 left in the second. With a delayed penalty being called on the Titans, Northeast’s Cam Gaudette made a long stretch pass from the top of his own far side faceoff circle to Jonathan Young at the Titans blueline. As Young reached the faceoff dot, he reversed and made a centering pass to Kuzmich in the slot and Kuzmich one-timed it past Pugliese for his first goal of the season.

Haviland made it 5 – 2 just 1:08 into the third period. DeSantis picked up the loose puck at the top of his own near side faceoff circle and passed it over to Penney on his right. Penney found a breaking Haviland at center ice. As Haviland gained the line, he cut towards the near side boards and went around his defender towards the end boards. Haviland circled around the Generals net and wrapped the puck around and into the net past Stanizzi for his sixth goal of the season.

Head lit the lamp for his sixteenth goal of the season with 2:14 left in the game to close out the scoring.

Pugliese stopped 32 of 34 shots while Bradford and Stanizzi combined to stop 25 of 31. Click here for the box score.

The two teams will meet again tonight at 7:00pm at the Middletown Sports Complex. It’s Bogo and Skate night. First, anyone who brings their significant other can get one ticket for free if they purchase an adult ticket. Then it’s Skate Night with the Titans immediately following the game for 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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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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Titans fall to Tomahawks 5 – 3 to split weekend series

The visiting Johnstown Tomahawks scored three unanswered third period goals en route to a 5 – 3 win over the New Jersey Titans to split the weekend series between the East Division’s top two teams. Despite the loss, the Titans remain five points ahead of the Tomahawks in the standings with four games in hand.

In another playoff type atmosphere, it was a back-and-forth game with the Tomahawks taking an initial two goal lead.

Pavel Kharin scored at 2:54 into the opening period to give the Tomahawks and early 1 – 0 lead. After Johnstown’s goaltender Alex Tracy made a save, the rebound went out to the near side half wall where it was picked up by Andrew Murphy who skated up along the boards and into the offensive zone with Kharin. As Murphy reached the top of the faceoff circle, he sent a cross-ice pass to Kharin who redirected the puck past Titans netminder Patrick Pugliese for his sixth goal of the season.

With 2:35 into the middle stanza, Nick DeSantis was called for tripping to give the visitors the man advantage. As time was winding down on the power play, Ryan Poorman set up the play at the top of the point. He passed the puck down to Bennett Stockdale at the top of the circle. Stockdale circled back towards the top of the slot and took a long wrist shot that was deflected by Murphy past Pugliese to make it a 2 – 0 game.

It was then the Titans turn to score three unanswered goals in the second period.

At 7:28 of the period, Michael Outzen put the Titans on the scoreboard. After a faceoff deep inside the Tomahawks zone, the puck went back to Johnstown’s Brendan Blair who sent a high clearing pass off the glass, but it was gloved down by Danny Dimon at the far side point. Outzen picked up the loose puck and went to make a centering pass, but it hit Johnstown’s Tristan Poissant in the leg. As the puck fell, DeSantis picked it up and passed it to Dimon breaking along the boards. As Dimon reached the goal line, he made a centering pass out front that Outzen redirected past Tracy for his thirteenth goal of the season.

Johnstown’s Ethan Webb was called for interference at 8:16 of the period to put the Titans on the power play. Nineteen seconds later Kyler Head tied the game. Ole Andersen picked up the loose puck at the top of the near side faceoff circle and made a backhand pass towards the net that hit a Tomahawks’ defender. Matt Cameron picked up the puck and skated towards the goal line. As Cameron took a shot, it was blocked out front and picked up by Dimon. The assistant captain took a turnaround shot that was blocked but Head slapped it in past Tracy to make it 2 – 2.

With 3:12 left in the period, Brad Zona was called for interference to give the Tomahawks the man advantage.  Halfway through the power play Poissant took a quick shot from the top of the near side faceoff circle that went wide of Pugliese and rolled up along the boards. As Johnstown’s Max Kouznetsov tried to keep the puck in the zone, he lost control of it and Cade Penney picked it up and entered the offensive zone on a two-on-one with Cam Gendron. As Penney reached the faceoff dot, he sent a cross-ice pass to Gendron who redirected the puck past Tracy to give the Titans their first lead of the game with 2:21 remaining in the second.

Johnstown’s Matthew Doyle would knot the score at three just 1:53 into the third period. Webb picked up the loose puck at the top of his own faceoff circle and passed up to Kouznetsov who entered the offensive zone along the near side boards. As Kouznetsov skated across the goal mouth, Pugliese made the save but Doyle jammed in the rebound for his second goal of the year.

Gendron was called for high sticking at 6:09 of the third to give the Tomahawks the man advantage. Less than a minute later the Tomahawks regained the lead on Carson Gallagher’s seventeenth goal of the season. After Gallagher took a shot that was blocked out front, the puck went to the far side half wall where it was picked up by Stockdale. Stockdale passed it over to Gallagher at the top of the slot and he took a shot that found its way through a maze and past Pugliese to give the Tomahawks the 4 – 3 lead.

Johnstown’s Poorman scored a power play goal with 7:14 left in the game to close out the scoring.

Pugliese stopped 32 of 37 shots while Tracy turned aside 35 of 38. Click here for the box score.

The loss ended a Titans five game win streak also concluded a five game homestand in which they went 4 – 1. They now will travel to Maine for the second time three weeks to play the Nordiques next weekend.

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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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Nordiques roll past Titans 7 – 2

Maine’s Cannon Green scored two goals while Isaiah Fox and Noah Kane each had a goal and an assist to lead the Nordiques to a 7 – 2 win over the visiting New Jersey Titans. It was the Titans first game in twenty days due to the holiday break and their worst defeat this season.

Kane got the Nordiques on the board first with 5:21 left in the opening period. After Timmy Kent won the draw at the Titans far side faceoff circle, the puck went back to Kane who took a snap shot that founds its way through traffic and off the far side post and past Titans goaltender Patrick Pugliese to give the Nordiques a 1 – 0 lead.

Mac Wiseman was called for holding at 5:17 into the second period to give the Nordiques the man advantage. Seven seconds later the home team doubled their lead. Kent won the ensuing draw and the puck went right back to Ignat Belov at the top of the circle. Belov sent it back to the top of the point to Fox who passed the biscuit to Casper Söderling on his right. Söderling took a shot that was tipped by Green out front and past Pugliese to make it 2 – 0.

Maine took a 3 – 0 just twenty-one seconds later after Green’s first goal of the game.  Kyler Head knocked down a Maine’s outlet pass at the half wall, but as he tried to pass it down low it was intercepted by Fox who passed it up to Kevin Pitts along the near side boards. Pitts skated down the ice and walked in all alone on Pugliese and beat the Titans netminder long side for his eleventh goal of the season.

The Nordiques’ Jack Strauss was called for holding with 6:41 remaining in the second period to give the Titans the man advantage. Mitch Machlitt brought the puck into the offensive zone, but Maine’s Ethan Prout knocked the puck off his stick, and the loose biscuit was picked up by Matt Cameron in the high slot. Cameron skated towards the net and took a shot that was saved by Maine’s goaltender Wesley Mankowski but Machlitt knocked in the rebound to put the Titans on the board and make a 3 – 1 game.

The Titans started the third period on the power play and sought to make it a one goal game. Looking to set up the play behind his own net, Ole Andersen skated through the goal mouth and was stripped off the puck by Fox who passed back to Pitts at the top of the slot. Pitts passed it back to Fox who redirected the puck through Pugliese’s five hole to give Maine a 4 – 1 lead.

Nick DeSantis cut the Titans deficit in half at 5:11 into the third. After Mankowski stopped the puck and left it to the right of his cage for Luke Anntonacci, the Nordiques defenseman look to set up the play and skated behind his own net and into the near side corner. Antonacci went to pass the puck up to Belov but he was knocked off the biscuit by Josef Glamos and the puck went back to Brad Zona at the near side point. Zona took a clapper that DeSantis tipped out front and past Mankowski to make it a 4 – 2 game.

Kyle Jeffers and Matthew Iasenza were called for slashing and tripping respectively to give the Nordiques a five-on-three-man advantage. After Kent won the draw the puck went back to Cole Ouellette at the far side point. As Quellette looked to set up, he sent a pass over to Kane on his right. After a couple of return passes, Kane sent the puck back to Quellette who took a snapshot that found its way through a screen and past Pugliese to give the Nordiques a three goal lead at 8:31 of the final period.

Green and Caden Pattison added insurance goals to close out the scoring and give the Nordiques the 7 – 2 victory.

Pugliese, who had to make several key saves to keep the Titans in the game, stopped 31 of 38 shots while Mankowski turned aside 34 of 36. Click here for the box score.

With the Titans loss and the Johnstown Tomahawks 7 – 0 win over the Jamestown Rebels, New Jersey’s lead over the Tomahawks in the East Division is down to one point, although the Titans have five games in hand.

The Titans will look to avoid their first sweep of the season as they play the Nordiques again tonight at 7:00 PM.

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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