Nikita Meshcheryakov’s four goals in two games was the high point for the Titans as they split a two game set against the Johnstown Tomahawks this weekend in Pennsylvania, winning 4-2 on Friday before falling 6-4 on Saturday at the 1st Summit Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial.
Friday began with a tightly contested opening frame in the first meeting between the teams this season. Last year, New Jersey won seven of their eight games against the Tomahawks, but the first period ended with no score. The offenses opened up in the second, and the Titans struck twice on the power play, courtesy of Reece Brednich’s 5th of the season and Nikita Meshcheryakov’s 2nd. Johnstown would respond, tying the game with 17 seconds to go in the period. However, New Jersey was able to regain the upper hand on Meshcheryakov’s second of the game at 13:31, and Ethan Wongus put the exclamation mark with a breakaway goal with 2:46 remaining to snap the Titans’ 3 game losing streak. Dylan Krick stopped 27 of 29 shots sent his way for the West Chester, Pa native’s third win of the season.
Saturday saw a slew of penalties early, with New Jersey gaining a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes of play with power play goals from Meshcheryakov and Dominick Rivelli, though surrendering a power play goal as well. Ryan Friedman made it 3-1 at even strength, but another power play goal against made it 3-2, and the Tomahawks tied the game before the period expired. Meshcheryakov scored his 4th of the weekend to give the Titans another lead, but Johnstown scored three unanswered in the third, including the game winner in the final minute, to give New Jersey their 8th loss of the season, and 4th in their last 5 games.
Next for the Titans is their lone regular season trip to Rochester, NY, with games at 8:00pm on Friday and 7:30pm on Saturday at the Rochester Ice Center. New Jersey and Rochester split their first two games of the season, both in Middletown, three weeks ago. The games will be available on NAHLtv.
The New Jersey Titans, proud members of the North American Hockey League, are entering their ninth season at the Middletown Sports Complex in Middletown, NJ. The 2022 Robertson Cup National Champions, the Titans have made the playoffs in every season since their founding in 2015. Single game tickets are now on sale for the 2023-24 season home opener versus Rochester on September 29th. Season tickets are on sale here, and provide a discounted admission to attend every game at the Middletown Sports Complex. Follow the New Jersey Titans on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok today!