Matteo Menotti scored the lone goal for the Titans in a 5-1 loss to the Jamestown Rebels on Friday night at Northwest Arena.
It’s the fourth time in a row the Titans have lost to the Rebels, and the team has not won a game at Northwest Arena since October. Brandon Perrone made 22 saves out of the 27 he faced, while Rebels goaltender Noah West only had to make 13 saves to help the Rebels clinch a spot for the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
The Rebels jumped to a 1-0 lead 3:30 into the game. Jimmy Glynn made a centering pass to Niki Jasko, who corralled the pass off his skate and went to the backhand, slipping a shot past Brandon Perrone.
The Long Island native goaltender got his revenge on Nikki Jasko early in the second period by making his best save of the game. A shot bounced off the end boards and went right to Jasko, and it appeared that he had an open net to shoot at. Perrone lunged over to the far post and made a tremendous sprawling save to keep the puck out.
The Rebels jumped to a 2-0 lead regardless, a pass from Antonio Venuto was blocked, but he shoveled a backhander in from a sharp angle for his 15th goal of the season. Matteo Menotti got the Titans on the board when he rushed into the Rebels’ zone on a two-on-one rush, and flung a wrist shot over the glove of West. Jamestown answered back 11 seconds later, however, when Zach Brydges punched in a rebound off an odd-man rush.
New Jersey went to the power play early in the third period, but it only backfire when Brody Medeiros lost control of the puck at the blue line, sending Connor Linton on a breakaway as he ripped a shot high-glove side for a shorthanded goal while extending the lead. A few minutes later, Linton caught a stretch pass and entered the zone on a two-on-one rush. He slid a quick pass to Jasko on the left side, and he just managed to slip a shot by Perrone for his second goal of the night.
The Titans will look to bounce back in the second end of a back-to-back. They face the Rebels tonight at Northwest Arena with a puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The game will be available for streaming on hockeytv.com.
Photo Credit: Pete MacDonald (Twitter: @PMacDonald51)