The visiting Titans drop their final game of the 2021-22 regular season last night 3 – 1 to the Northeast Generals enabling the Generals to complete the weekend sweep over the Red Buckets and keep their playoff hopes alive.
After clinching the regular season title back on March 23, the Red Buckets finished the season with a 2 – 5 record.
Northeast opened the scoring with 5:28 in the first period. The Generals’ David Tolan picked up the loose puck at center ice and skated towards the offensive zone. As he gained the line on a two-on-one with David Andreychuk, Tolan passed the puck to Andreychuk on his right at the top of the slot and Andreychuck sent a return pass to Tolan who took a one-timer that beat Titans goalie Ben Charette for Tolan’s tenth goal of the season.
Sixten Jennersjö doubled the General lead with 5:35 remaining in the first period. Northeast’s Paul Minnehan picked up the loose puck in his own slot and sent a long outlet pass to Jennersjö breaking down the far side wing. As Jennersjö reached the Titans blueline, he passed it up to Brent Keefer who entered the offensive zone. As Keefer skated towards the top of the faceoff circle, he took a shot that was blocked by a Titans defender, but the biscuit came right to Brent Jennersjö who took a wrist shot that beat Charette high glove side for his fourth goal of the season.
The Generals took a commanding three goal lead with eighteen seconds remaining in the opening period. With play deep inside the Generals zone, Tolan picked up the loose puck at his own far side faceoff circle and lifted the biscuit high into the air and it was picked up by a breaking Joe Schubert down the near side boards. As Schubert gained the line, he cut across the slot and deked around Charette and slid the puck between the goalie’s pads and into the net for the former Titan’s tenth goal of the season.
After a scoreless second period, the Titans were able to get on the board at 8:44 of the final period when Ryan Coughlin scored a powerplay goal, his sixteenth of the season and twelfth as a Red Bucket, to make it a 3 – 1 game to close out the scoring.
Titans netminders Charette and Andrew Takacs (who replaced Charette after the first period) combined to stop 31 of 34 shots while Northeast’s goalie Cullen DeYoung turned aside 28 of 29. Click here for the box score.
The Titans wont’ know their first round opponent until around 6:30PM tonight as the Generals host the Maine Nordiques at 4:00PM today. Should the Generals win, they will face the Titans next weekend. Should the Generals lose, the Titans will open the playoffs against the Maryland Black Bears.