The reigning NAHL Robertson Cup Champion New Jersey Titans start their 2022-23 season on the road against the Maryland Black Bears as they begin their quest to repeat as national champions.
Both games will be played at the Piney Orchard Arena in Odenton, MD. Friday’s contest begins at 7:00PM while Saturday’s starts at 7:30PM.
This will be the fourth time in the past five years that these teams have met to begin their respective season, with all four series beginning in Odenton. The Titans swept the first two series, and last year they split with Maryland winning the opening game 5 – 0, and the Titans won the second game 4 – 3 in overtime.
Black Bears vs. Titans
Last season the Titans won eight out of the twelve games by a combined score of 38 – 33. Three of the Red Buckets wins were in overtime while one (the last time they faced each other back on April 9) was in a shootout (2 – 1). Titans’ returners Brendan Dumas and Levente Keresztes each had ten total points against Maryland. The Titans were 12 for 51 (24%) on the powerplay while Maryland was 8 for 44 (18%) on the man advantage.
Black Bears Overview
Last season the Black Bears finished in fifth place in the East Division with a 29-19-6-6 record for 70 points, 15 behind division winner New Jersey. They scored 189 goals on the season and allowed 176.
Titans Overview
The last time we saw the Titans play was on Tuesday, May 24th when they defeated the Anchorage Wolverines 3 – 0 in the NAHL Robertson Cup Championship. The Titans are the first Eastern Division team ever to win a Robertson Cup.
The Red Buckets will be returning twelve members from last season’s championship team. They are: Ben Charette, Eric Charpentier, Scott Cremen, Blake Farrell, Owen Luik, Coleman Nee, Tyler Sanborn, Marcus Sang, Michael Young, Sylas Oberting, Dumas and Keresztes.
The Titans home opener will be on Friday, September 30th at 7:30PM against these same Black Bears.