A pair of goals in both games this weekend would not be enough as the New Jersey Titans lost to the Maine Nordiques by scores of 6-2 on Friday night and 5-2 on Saturday.
Friday night would see the Titans skate at The Colisee in Lewiston, Maine, for the first time this season. A scoreless first period would yield to Reece Brednich’s 7th goal of the campaign 20 seconds into the period, assisted by Dominik Rivelli and Matej Teply, but that would turn out to be the only lead earned by the Titans over the weekend. A pair of Nordique goals in less than a minute, and the eventual game winner four minutes later would put the game ultimately out of reach. Rivelli cut the deficit in half for his 9th of the year intercepting a breakout pass, but the Titans offense couldn’t muster another goal, and three more by Maine in the third period added the exclamation mark for the East Division’s second place team.
Saturday night saw the Titans again surrender the first goal of the game, adding to an unsettling trend this season. Maine would double the lead in the final five minutes of the first stanza, but Leo Schwartz answered back for New Jersey in his 101st NAHL game. Johnny McMahon and Ryan Novo picked up the helpers on Schwartz’s second of the year. The Nordiques regained the two goal lead 2:26 into the second, but Simon Becar’s 2nd of the year with 2:18 to go again drew the Titans within one. Ethan Wongus and Matt Henry got the assists, as New Jersey’s blueline had an offensively productive weekend. However, that was all the offense would produce, and a pair of goals late, including an empty netter, sealed the 5-2 defeat.
Now with a record of 13-12-1, the Titans trail Johnstown for the 6th and final playoff spot in the division as they approach the halfway point of the season. New Jersey will look to get back into the winning column with a pair of games in Attleboro, Massachusetts, against the 3rd place Northeast Generals this upcoming weekend. It will be the last trip to the Bay State during the regular season for New Jersey. The games are scheduled for 7:00pm on Friday, December 8th, and 7:30pm on Saturday, December 9th. Both games will be available to watch on NAHLtv.