The New Jersey Titans were swept for the first time on the road within the division this season on Saturday night, falling to the Maine Nordiques by a score of 5 to 2. The Nordiques would get on the board first, just 3:21 into the game, when a shot from the point hopped off the kick plate to an awaiting Maine stick. The Nordiques would double the lead at 16:38, but Leo Schwartz answered for the Titans with 1:32 to go in the period with a one timer from the top of the circle for his 2nd of the year. Johnny McMahon and Ryan Novo picked up the assists, and New Jersey went into the first intermission trailing 2-1.
Quick to regain the momentum of the game, the Nordiques made it 3-1 less than two and a half minutes into the second period. Simon Becar would go between his legs to put home an Ethan Wongus rebound with 2:18 remaining to once again pull the Titans within one. Matt Henry picked up the other helper on the Slovakian defenseman’s 2nd of the season.
However, New Jersey was limited to just 6 shots in the third period, and a hoped for comeback never materialized. A pair of goals late, including an empty netter, put the game out of reach and handed the Titans their third loss in their past four games. Dylan Krick made 26 saves in the losing effort. With the loss, the Titans miss an opportunity to move back into the playoff picture, falling to a record of 13-12-1 and remain in 7th place.
The Titans will take to the road once more next weekend, visiting the third place Northeast Generals, making the trip to Attleboro for the second and final time in the regular season. Faceoff is scheduled at 7:00pm on Friday, December 8th, and 7:30pm on Saturday, December 9th. Both games will be available to watch on NAHLtv.