Despite scoring three powerplay goals, the visiting New Jersey Titans fell 4 – 3 last night to the Northeast Generals at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, MA in a seesaw battle.
Northeast opened the scoring with 7:56 remaining in the opening period. The Generals’ Tyler Cooper picked up the loose puck at center ice and passed it over to Ricky Boysen just outside the Titans zone along the far side boards. As Boysen gained the line and reached the faceoff dot, he made a cross-ice pass back to Cooper who redirected the puck up high and past an outstretched Christian Stoever to make it a 1 – 0 game.
Fifty-five seconds later former Titan Matthew Boczar went to the sinbin for cross-checking to give New Jersey the man advantage. As time was winding down on the powerplay, Nick Seitz tied the game at one. After Evan Werner brought the puck into the offensive zone, he went to take a backhanded shot on net that was blocked out front and the biscuit went to the far side corner. After a scrum, captain Jake Suede came away with the puck and passed it out front to Seitz who one-timed it past Northeast netminder Hugo Haas short side for his nineteenth goal of the season and fifth against the Generals.
Just 4:49 into the middle stanza, Stoever was called for delay of game to give Northeast the man advantage. Halfway through the powerplay, the Generals regained the lead on Boysen’s twelfth goal of the year. Northeast’s Alexander Tertyshny picked up the loose puck behind his own net and as he reached the top of his own near side faceoff circle, he sent a long stretch pass that went off the stick of Cooper and directly to Stoever. As Stoever went to clear the puck, it was intercepted by the Generals’ Ryan Gordon at the top of the near side faceoff circle. Gordon took a shot on net the was deflected out front by Werner and past a sliding Stoever into the back of the net. Boysen was credited with goal.
Northeast’s David Andreychuk was called for slashing at 8:02 into the second to give the Titans the man advantage. Fifty-two seconds later Suede tied it at two. After a Generals shorthanded scoring attempt failed, the rebound came out to Werner who skated around his own net towards the far side boards and made a cross-ice pass back to Suede along the boards. Suede passed the puck up to Seitz who entered the Generals zone and took a shot on net that was saved by Haas, but Suede tucked in the rebound for his twelfth goal of the year.
With 2:19 remaining in the second, Titans affiliate player Colin Grable scrapple with Northeast’s Dylan Schuett in the New Jersey near side corner. As the two were wrestling, Stoever came out of his net to assist the young defenseman and was called for a third man-in violation and received a game misconduct, and he was replaced by emergency goalie Justin Dickinson (Dickinson played for the Titans Youth 18UAAA team during this past season).
Anthony Mollica was called for roughing just 1:30 into the final period to give the Generals the man advantage. Twenty-four seconds later Northeast took the lead. Playing 4 on 3 hockey and setting up the play in the Titans zone, the Generals’ Jake Dunlap had the puck at the top of the near side faceoff corner and passed it down to Boysen. As the two players switched places, Boysen sent a cross-ice pass to Jonathan Young who took a one-timer from the top of the far side faceoff circle that beat a sliding Dickinson long side to make it a 3 – 2 game.
Northeast’s John Musella was called for unsportsmanlike conduct with 9:38 remaining in regulation to put the Titans on the powerplay. Twenty-two seconds later Suede tied it. Jack Ring picked up the loose puck at the top of his own slot and passed it over to a breaking Werner down the near side boards. As Werner gained the line, he made a cross-ice pass to Suede at the top of the faceoff circle and the captain took a shot that went off Generals’ defenseman Adam Smith’s skate and past Haas to make it a 3 – 3 game.
With 5:17 left in regulation, the Generals took the lead for good on Dunlap’s ninth goal of the year. Northeast’s Paul Minnehan picked up the loose puck at center ice and backhanded a pass to Tertyshny just outside the Titans near side blueline. Tertyshny made a shuttle pass up to Dunlap who skated in all alone on Dickinson and beat the Titans netminder through the five hole to close out the scoring and the game.
Stoever and Dickinson combined to stop 31 of 35 shots while Haas turned aside 38 of 41. Click here for the box score.
The Titans will close out their 2020-21 regular season tonight at 7:00 PM in game two of this two-game series against the Generals.