Chris Garbe scored a tying goal late in the 3rd period, but it wasn’t enough as the Titans lost to the Generals 4-3 in a shootout on Sunday night at the New England Sports Village.
The Titans, who dropped both games in Northeast this weekend, fell to 7-4-1-1 while the Generals sit at the top of the East Division with a record of 14-6-0.
Nick Boyagian recorded his fifth point in as many games while Todd Goehring scored his first goal with the Titans this season. Brandon Perrone made 32 saves in the losing effort while Generals goalie Marko Sturma made 32 saves in the win.
Mike Egan opened the scoring for the Northeast midway through the 1st period by jamming home a rebound in front of the net.
Just over three minutes later, Chris Garbe forced a turnover in the corner and set up Goehring for a one-timer in the slot to even the score at one. Then at 15:36, Tate Singleton controlled the puck on a pass from Boyagian and beat Generals’ goaltender Marko Sturma from the right faceoff circle. The power-play goal gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead.
After a deadlocked 2nd period, Louis Boudon resumed the scoring 48 seconds into the 3rd period, as he found a loose puck in front of the Titans’ goal cashed in to even the score at two. A few minutes later, Justin Kelley gave the Generals a 3-2 lead by scoring on a goalmouth scramble.
With time winding down in the 3rd, Kyle Jeffers took a shot from the point that went through traffic and beat Sturma to knot the score at three, and eventually force overtime.
Both teams had chances to end the game in the last minute of overtime. Colin McCabe had a breakaway but was denied by a sliding Perrone, while Boyagian and Hunter Alden were stopped at point-blank range by Sturma just as the clock expired.
In the first round of the shootout, Nick Boyagian went to his forehand and got Sturma out of position, but was robbed at the last second as Sturma got his stick down to make a sprawling save. Both goalies traded saves until the third round, as Justin Jallen snuck a shot under Perrone to give the Generals their second win in a row.
The Titans will look to bounce back with a three-game set at Johnstown where they will face the Tomahawks. It will be the first time the two have faced each other since the East Division semi-finals last year, where the Titans won their first ever playoff series.
The first game is on Friday night at 7:30, and all of the action will be streamed on hockeytv.com.