Michael Young scored four goals and Chris Carroll added a pair to help lead the visiting Titans to a 7 – 2 win over the Maine Nordiques. It was the Red Buckets sixth straight victory, and ninth over the Nordiques this year.
Young has terrorized the Nordiques this season. It was the second time this year that he has scored a minimum of three goals in a game against them. In fact, 50% of Young’s 16 goals this year have been against Maine.
Anthony Calafiore (1 goal and 2 assists), Chris Carroll (2 goals and 1 assist) and Ryan Coughlin (3 assists) each had a three-point game.
The Titans scored three unanswered goals in the first seven minutes of the game to jump out to a quick 3 – 0 lead.
Calafiore opened the scoring just forty-nine seconds into the game. After David Posma intercepted a Nordiques pass in his own slot, he pushed it up to Carroll at the blueline. Carroll head manned the puck up to Levente Keresztes breaking down the near side boards. As Keresztes gained the offensive zone line on a three-on-one, he made a cross-ice pass through the slot to Calafiore who redirected the puck past Maine’s goaltender Avery Sturtz for Calafiore’s team high 19th goal of the season.
Carroll doubled the Titans lead at five minutes into the game. After Calafiore won the draw deep inside the Nordiques zone, the puck went back to Anthony Mollica at the far side point. As Mollica skated down the wall, he made a centering pass out front from the bottom of the faceoff circle that was redirected by Carroll in the slot and past Sturtz to make it a 2 – 0 game.
Two minutes later Carroll scored his second goal of the game to make it 3 – 0. After Stephen Willey picked up the loose puck behind his own net, he chipped it up the far side boards to Keresztes at the half wall. The Budapest, Hungry native made a behind-the-back pass up to Calafiore at center ice. As Calafiore gained the offensive zone line on a two-on-one with Carroll, Calafiore made a cross-ice pass from the top of the faceoff circle down low to Carroll who redirected past Sturtz for his tenth goal of the season and eighth as a Titan.
Posms was called for boarding with 5:09 remaining in the period. Twenty-six seconds later Maine’s Tyler Gaulin put the home team on the board. The Nordiques’ Nicholas Bernardo set up the play at the top of the near side faceoff circle and passed the puck back to Reese Farrell at the point. As Farrell skated towards the top of the slot, he passed the biscuit to Gaulin on his left. As Gaulin entered the far side faceoff circe, he made a toe drag move around a Titans defender and took a wrist shot that beat Ben Charette short side to make it a 3 – 1 game.
Gaulin cut the Nordiques deficit within one just 3:33 into the second period. After Maine’s Matthew Connor brought the puck into the offensive zone, he took a shot that was blocked by Posma at the top of the slot but the puck rolled to the far side point where it was retrieved by Connor. Connor wrapped the puck around the board where it up by Ignat Belov behind the Titans net. Belov made a centering pass out from to Gaulin who took a wrist shot that was saved by Charette but the rebound came right back to Gaulin who lifted the puck over the fallen Titans goalkeeper and into the net for his sixth goal against the Titans this season.
It then became the Young show.
Young doubled the Titans lead with 4:36 left in the second period. After Own Luik kept the puck in the offensive far side point, he passed up to Coughlin at the top of the circle. Coughlin made a cross-ice pass back to Eric Charpentier at the near side point and Charpentier took a wrist shot that was redirected by Young past Sturtz to make it a 4 – 2 game.
Posma was called for kneeing with 3:38 remaining in the middle stanza to give the Nordiques the man advantage. Eighteen seconds later Young made it a 5 – 2. While Maine was trying to setup behind their own net, Calafiore was forechecking hard and disrupting the playing. As Gaulin picked up the loose puck to the back and left of Sturtz, Gaulin tried to pitchfork the puck out in front but it was intercepted by Young who immediately took a one-timer that beat Sturtz short side. It was the Titans third shorthanded goal against Maine this season.
Young added two goals in the third to close out the scoring to give the Titans the 7 – 2 win.
Charette turned aside 23 of 25 shots while Sturtz stopped 31 of 38 in defeat. Click here for the box score.
The teams will play the second game of the two-game series tonight at 7:00PM at The Colisee.