The New Jersey Titans withheld a furious third period comeback from the visiting Rebels to win 4 – 3 in game one of this two-game home and home series. The Rebels trailed 2 – 0 and 4 – 2 in final period. Thomas Neu, Ruslan Jamaldinov and Ryan Vaites scored third period goals. Jamaldinov, Vaites and Charles Panchisin each had two points. Anthony Sciere stopped 36 of 40 shots in his Rebels debut.
Titans veteran Johnny McMahon opened the scoring at 4:51 into the first period. After New Jersey dumped the puck deep into the Rebels zone, Sciere, who had been playing with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, went to retrieve the puck and left it for Drew Belleson at the goal line. As Belleson went behind his own cage and started towards the near side corner, he was stripped off the biscuit by the Titans Owen Leahy who made a centering pass out front to McMahon and he slammed the puck past Sciere for McMahon’s first of the season.
New Jersey doubled their lead at 7:48 into the middle stanza. Leahy picked up the loose puck behind the Rebels net and made a pass back to Blake Jones at the top of the slot. Jones took a wrist shot that was deflected out front and landed directly to Jack Roberts, who was to the left of Sciere. Roberts lifted the puck up and over the fallen Rebels netminder to make it a 2 – 0 game.
Entering the third, the Rebels did have their chances in the first two periods but were unable to convert, particularly mid-way through the second when Jared Coccimiglio was awarded a penalty shot but was denied by Titans goalie Austin McNicholas.
The Rebels were finally able to get on the board when Neu scored his sixth of the season at 7:45 into the third. Vaites started the play from the top of the slot and took a wrister that Neu directed out front and past McNicholas to cut the Rebels deficit in half.
The Titans then scored two goals within 18 seconds apart to go up 4 – 1, first starting at 9:20 of the last stanza. After Leahy brought the puck into the zone along the near side boards, he went behind the Rebels net where Leahy was knocked off the biscuit by Vaites but the puck went directly to Brock Jones near the corner. Jones went to rim the puck but it hit Leahy in the back, and he picked it up and wrapped around the cage and stuffed it in short side past Sciere to make it a 3 – 1 contest.
Immediately after the draw, the puck went into the Titans zone and was picked up New Jersey’s Archie Brown who made a bounce pass off the near side boards to James Schneid. As Schneid gained the line, he skated towards the bottom of the faceoff circle and made a pass through the slot to Jack Hillier who redirected the puck past Sciere to make it 4 – 1 New Jersey.
A minute later Jamaldinov cut the Rebels deficit in half. After Caesar Björk intercepted a Titans pass at the top of his own blueline, he brought the puck up along the near side boards and into the offensive zone. As Björk gained the line, he passed the puck to Jamaldinov on his right and Jamaldinov simply wristed the biscuit long side past McNicholas.
Vaites scored with forty-seven seconds remaining in the game to bring the Rebels within one but it wasn’t enough as the game ended 4 – 3. Austin McNicholas stopped 29 of 32 shots. Click HERE for the complete box score.
