The New Jersey Titans scored in bunches Friday night against the Maine Nordiques.
In a North American Hockey League East Division game, the Titans defeated the Nordiques 12-5 at the Middletown Ice Arena in Middletown, New Jersey.
“It wasn’t good enough; it was a disappointing effort from top-to-bottom,” Nordiques coach Nolan Howe said. “At the end of the day, anytime we aren’t getting the job done, it starts with me as the head coach. I have to find a way to get these guys playing better hockey more consistently and playing with a lot more character.”
It’s the second time in Nordiques history they lost to the Titans by a seven-goal deficit. On February 1, 2020, at The Colisee, New Jersey won 9-2.
Marcus Sang and Michael Young each scored three goals and Tommy Bannister had two goals for the Titans.
The Titans (8-6-1, 17 points) came out strong in the first period with five goals.
Bannister scored his first goal of the period 65 seconds into the game.
After a Tristan Fasig goal tied the game 1-1 for the Nordiques (5-6-0, 10 points), Brendan Dumas put New Jersey up 2-1. Then, Young extended the lead to 3-1.
Forward Aidan Connolly responded for Maine with under six minutes remaining in the opening period. It was his fifth goal of the season, and Tyler Gaulin had the assist.
The first period ended with two goals in the final 62 seconds. Bannister scored while the Titans were shorthanded for his second goal of the period. Rocco Testa-Basi gave New Jersey a 5-2 lead with nine seconds remaining in the period.
New Jersey opened the second period with three straight goals on Nordiques goal Avery Sturtz (19 saves), who replaced starter Gus Holt (11 saves) after the first period. Young scored his second goal of the game to extend the lead to 6-2. Goals by Sang and Justin Solovey that were 30 seconds apart gave the Titans an 8-2 lead.
“We were just way too inconsistent; we lost every phase of the game,” Howe said. “We lost the special teams battle, we got scored on multiple times off of faceoffs, we made selfish plays, we took bad penalties, we got away from what we stand for and how we earn our success.”
Nordiques forward Brendan Kimball notched his first career NAHL goal, beating Titans goalie Andrew Tackes (20 saves). Linemates Dom Marcinkevics and Spencer Bellina set the goal up with eight minutes remaining in the second period.
Maine’s top power-play unit cut the deficit to 8-4 with seven minutes remaining in the middle frame. Gaulin scored for the third time this season, with Ignat Belov and Reese Farrell setting the goal up.
Filip Wiberg, the Nordiques’ first round pick in July’s NAHL Entry draft, opened the third period scoring his first goal of the year.
The Titans went on a four-goal run, with Sang scoring for a second time and Young recording a hat trick for a 10-5 lead.
Sang notched the hat trick to put the Titans ahead 11-5, and Blake Farrell gave New Jersey a seven-goal advantage.
The Nordiques try for the weekend split Saturday at 7 p.m.
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