Zak Brice turned aside all 30 shots sent his way to record his first shutout of the season as the Titans took care of the Generals by a 5-0 score Friday night at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, MA. The first period was one that the teams would be keen to forget. First, an ice malfunction behind the New Jersey net delayed things for around ten minutes, followed by an unpenalized hit from behind that knocked Brian Robertson out of the game with 6:14 to go in the period. With the extended delay as trainers attended to Robertson on the ice, the officials prudently decided to send the teams to their locker rooms for an early intermission. Robertson would require help off the ice, but he has full movement in his extremities and will remain with the team in Massachusetts.
Following the early ice cut, the teams remained deadlocked as the clock finally hit 20 minutes of play. The Titans held the Generals to only 7 shots on goal, recording 12 themselves. On the power play just over a minute into the second period, a goalmouth scramble led to the puck squirting out to Matej Teply, who blasted home a shot to give the Titans the lead at 2:55. Dominick Rivelli and Nikita Meshcheryakov recorded the helpers on the University of Vermont commit’s 3rd goal of the season. Ryan Novo made it 2-0 at 8:26 with a snap shot from the slot, high to the glove side. Jack Hillier and Johnny McMahon received the assists on Novo’s 3rd of the season. New Jersey wasn’t done, as Logan Renkowski scored under three minutes later, going five hole on a breakaway for his 4th of the year. Jake Geraci and goaltender Zak Brice assisted on the play, and the Titans went into the second intermission up 3-0.
The third period would see the Generals generate their best offensive chances of the game, but Brice stood tall with multiple highlight reel saves. Dominik Bartecko put home a Ryan Friedman pass for his 9th of the year, with Leo Schwartz grabbing the other assist at 11:53, followed by Kristofers Krumins finishing a two on one with Arhip Sidarovich at 15:08 to add the exclamation mark, For Krumins, recently invited to training camp by his native Latvia for the upcoming World Juniors Championship, it was his 7th of the season.
It is the first shutout of the season for New Jersey, and the 4th of his NAHL career. His last shutout also came against Northeast, a 3-0 victory on March 17th, 2023. With the win, move into a tie with New Hampshire for the 6th and final playoff spot in the East Division. New Jersey won’t have much time to celebrate, however, as the teams will meet again tomorrow, Saturday, December 9th, with a scheduled 7:30pm start.