The Titans will travel to Johnstown to play the East Division leading Tomahawks for a two-game series beginning tomorrow night at the 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial. Friday night’s game begins at 7:30 PM while Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Tomahawks and Titans Overview
This will be the final regular season series between the teams (games 11 and 12). The Tomahawks have won six of the ten previously played games by a combined score of 39 – 23. Each team has won a game in a shootout, and the Tomahawks have one shutout victory (March 27). All four of the Titans wins against Johnstown have been at the Middletown Sports Complex.
The last time these teams met was on March 26 and 27 when the Tomahawks swept the Titans at the War Memorial by a combined score of 11 – 1. Johnstown’s Josh Graziano recorded a 22 save shutout on March 27 when the Tomahawks toppled the Titans 3 – 0.
John Gelatt leads the Tomahawks with 10 points (4 goals and 6 assists) against the Titans while Jay Ahearn has scored the most goals (five) against New Jersey. Johnstown is 8 for 39 (21%) on the powerplay, although they have given up three shorthanded goals against the Titans. The Tomahawks goalies have a combined 2.37 goals against average and .909 save percentage with one shutout against the Titans.
Levente Keresztes leads the Titans with nine total points (2 goals and 7 assists) against the Tomahawks while Jake LaRusso and Evan Werner each have three goals against them. The Titans are 6 for 36 (17%) on the powerplay against Johnstown, although they themselves have given up three shorthanded goals against the Tomahawks. The Titans goalies have a combined 3.55 goals against average and .911 save percentage with no shutouts against Johnstown. Christian Stoever has appeared in the last four straight games against the Hawks posting a 2 – 2 record.
Tomahawks Overview
The Tomahawks currently lead the East Division with a 30-8-2-3 record for 65 points (third most in the league). They are coming off a 3 – 2 home loss against the Maryland Black Bears, and they are 7 – 3 in their last ten games. The Tomahawks have scored 176 goals (second in the league) on the season while they have allowed 111 (fifth in the league). Johnstown is 38 for 183 (20.8%) on the powerplay (sixth in the league), and they have allowed twelve shorthanded goals (most in the league). The Tomahawks are 86.5% efficient on the penalty kill (fifth in the league).
Ahearn leads the team in total points with 49 (23 goals and 26 assists) and goals (23). while Gelatt leads the team with five game winning goals and team best +28. Max Neill leads the team in penalty minutes with 107.
Johnstown’s goaltenders have a combined 2.46 goals against average and .911 save percentage with three shutouts (Sam Evola has two).
Titans Overview
The Titans are currently in third place in the East Division with a 22-16-2-5 for 51 points. They are coming off a 5 – 1 road win against the Maine Nordiques (the Titans swept Maine last weekend), while they have won four of their last ten games. New Jersey has scored 155 goals on the season (fourth in the league) while they have allowed 145 (17th in the league). The Titans have converted on 17.4% (31 for 178) of their chances on the powerplay (12th in the league). They have allowed six goals while on the man advantage. The Red Buckets are 85.1% efficient on the penalty kill (eighth in the league). The Titans have scored the most shorthanded goals in the league with 12.
Nick Seitz leads the team with 35 total points (16 goals and 19 assists) while Werner leads the team in goals (17). Seitz and LaRusso each have three game winning goals. Anthony Mollica has a team best +18. Brad Zona has a team high 115 penalty minutes.
The Titans have a combined 3.00 goals against average and .917 save percentage with two shutouts (Stoever and Loudon Hogg).