Three goals in the third period salvaged a point, and Nikita Meshcheryakov had the shootout winner as the New Jersey Titans defeated the Philadelphia Rebels in a shootout on Tuesday night at the Hollydell Ice Arena in southern New Jersey.
The Rebels got on the board with the only goal of the first period just over halfway through to take a lead into the first intermission. A power play goal 4 minutes into the second extended their lead to 2, but Meshcheryakov scored 1:05 after to get New Jersey on the board for his 18th of the season, assisted by Simon Becar and Dominick Bartecko. However, another power play goal with under 2 to go in the period would restore the two goal lead for Philadelphia going into the third period.
Using that momentum, the Rebels made it 4-1 just 1:04 into the final period. But, the Titans showed a tenacious resilience. First, Bartecko responded under 2 minutes after the Philadelphia goal to cut the deficit to two with his team leading 23rd of the season, with Ryan Friedman and Johnny McMahon getting the assists. Jack Hillier then ricocheted a puck from behind the net off the Rebels’ goaltender and in for his 13th, with Meshcheryakov picking up the lone helper. Then, with under 5 minutes to play, Matt Henry wristed a shot from the blue line off the post and in for his 3rd of the year, assisted by Logan Renkowski and Ryan Novo, and New Jersey had erased a 3 goal deficit to force overtime. The extra frame would not be enough, but in the 4th round of the shootout, Meshcheryakov roofed a backhanded shot for the only goal in the tiebreaker, securing the 5-4 come from behind victory.
Meshcheryakov was named the First Star of the game with a goal, assist, and shootout winner. Zak Brice stopped 33 of 37 shots, including multiple worthy of the highlight reel, to be named the Second Star. With the victory, the Titans move within points of Johnstown and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. New Jersey’s schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they will travel up to Maine this weekend to face a Nordiques team on the precipice of retaking first place in the division. Games are scheduled for Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday at 7:00pm.