The New Jersey Titans saw their winless streak extend to 6 games as they fell to the Northeast Generals by a score of 6-2 on Friday night at the Canton Ice House in Canton, Massachusetts.
A strong start to the game saw the Titans generate a few offensive chances while maintaining puck possession. However, after weathering the first effort from New Jersey, the Generals were able to get on the board first at the 8:56 mark when a defensive lapse allowed a General to bang home a shot from point blank range to take the 1-0 lead. A power play goal with under 2 minutes to play in the opening frame put the Titans down a pair of goals going into the first intermission.
Alex Papaspyropoulos drew New Jersey within one with his team leading 3rd goal of the season 2:24 into the second period. Lucas Marshall blocked a Generals’ dump-in at the Titans blueline to spring Papaspyropoulos on a 2 on 1 with Nik Reich. Using the rookie as a decoy, Papaspyropoulos roofed a shot over the Northeast goaltender’s glove. The Titans were not able to maintain the momentum, as the Generals retook a 2 goal lead 2:35 later with the eventual game winner. A power play goal later in the period meant the Titans would trail 4-1 after 40 minutes of play.
Again the Titans were able to score first in the third period when Nikita Meshcheryakov forced a turnover deep in the Northeast zone, setting up Shawn Leary alone in front for his second goal of the season. Ryan Shaw picked up the other assist, while Meshcheryakov and Leary are now tied for the team lead with 5 points apiece. That would be it for New Jersey’s offense, and a pair of goals were the exclamation point as the Generals sent the Titans to their 6th straight loss by a score of 6-2.
New Jersey will not have much time to retool with a rematch against Northeast scheduled for 7:00pm tomorrow night, Saturday, October 4th. The Titans will look to build momentum going into a 3 game week that concludes the 11 game road trip to open their season with the home opener against the Philadelphia Rebels on Saturday, October 12th. Tickets can be purchased by following this link.