Northeast’s Ryan Remick scored the lone goal in a shootout to give the visiting Generals a 5 – 4 win over the Titans last night in game one of this two-game series.
Michael Young put the Titans on the board first with 2:14 remaining in the opening period. Sylas Oberting picked up the loose puck behind his own net and started to skate around the cage and made a long outlet pass to Brady Hildreth at center ice along the near side boards. As Hildreth started to slightly skate back towards his own blueline, Hildreth found a breaking Young at center ice. As Young gained the line, he leaped over a sliding Northeast defender in the slot and took a wrist shot from the bottom of the far side faceoff circle that beat Generals goalie Toby Hopp high glove side for Young’s tenth goal of the season.
Young’s goal was the only blemish for Hopp whose play kept the Generals in the game by stopping 21 of 22 shots in the period.
After entering the zone on a two on one, Northeast’s Jake LaRusso took a wrist shot from the slot that beat Titans netminder Zak Brice long side to knot the score at one just 1:15 into the middle stanza.
Remick gave the Generals their first lead of the night just a minute and twenty seconds later. After Northeast’s Joseph McGraw gained the line, he made a pass from the slot to Remick on his left, and Remick took a wrist shot just inside the far side faceoff circle that beat Brick high short side for Remick’s fifth goal of the season.
Levente Keresztes scored his first goal of the game at 5:43 into the third period. After Keresztes dumped the puck behind the Generals net, it was picked up by Northeast’s Douglas Friberg. As Friberg started to move the puck towards the near side corner but he was being pressured by Young. Frieberg made an ill-advised blind pass towards his own slot that was intercepted by Keresztes who wristed the biscuit past Hopp to make it a 2 – 2 game.
The Titans regained the lead just forty-eight seconds later on Dominik Bartecko’s sixth goal as a Red Bucket. After Anthony Calafiore brought the puck into the zone along the far side wall, he went to make a center pass in the slot to Joe Harney, but the biscuit went off the skate of a Northeast defender and right to Bartecko who wristed a shot down low and past Hopp for Bartecko’s twelfth point in eight games as a Titan.
LaRusso tied the game just fifteen seconds later after he scored right off the draw that was won by Sizten Jennersjo at the Titans far side faceoff circle.
LaRusso completed his hat trick with 8:28 remaining in the contest in what mirrored his second goal of the game when LaRusso scored off the draw at the same spot. It was his nineteenth goal of the season.
Keresztes scored his second goal with 1:30 remaining in regulation to even the score at four. After Young had the puck at the near side corner, he passed it back to Eric Charpentier at the point Charpentier took a snapshot from the point that was deflected by Keresztes out front and past Hopp for Keresztes eleventh goal of the season.
After regulation and overtime came to a close, the game went to a shootout where Remick scored the only goal between both teams to win it for the Generals.
Brice stopped 27 of 31 shots while Hopp turned aside 43 of 47. Click here for the complete box score.
The teams will meet again tonight at 7:30PM with the Titans annual Teddy Bear Toss. All fans who bring a bear will receive free admission.