Titans take series lead with 4-1 win in Game 3
Andrew Takacs made 32 saves in a 4-1 win on Wednesday night.
East Division Finals, Game 3: New Jersey 4 @ Jamestown 1 (New Jersey leads series, 2-1) - Nick Ring, Tommy Bannister, Billy Feczko and Ryan Coughlin scored to give the visiting Titans a 4-1 win over the Jamestown Rebels and give the Titans a 2 to 1 lead in the East Division Finals.
It was clearly the best of the three games the Titans have played in the series, but it was the Rebels who had the early momentum as Jamestown’s Tyler Stern scored just 2:07 into the game to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
With play in the neutral zone, the Rebels’ Nathan Jurrens dumped the puck into the Titans near side corner where it was picked up by David Posma. Posma sent a wraparound pass along the end wall to a teammate in the far side corner, but it bounced off his skates and went directly to the Rebels’ Trever Burns who took a sharp angle, short side shot that was saved by Titans netminder Andrew Takacs, but the rebound came right out to Tyler Stern on the doorstep and Stern poked it into the net for his first goal of the playoffs.
Then it was all Titans who went onto score four unanswered goals to give them the game and the series lead.
Nick Ring scored midway through the first period to tie the game at one. Colin Grable picked up the loose puck at the top of his own slot and skated to center ice and dumped the biscuit deep into the Rebels zone and just to the right of Jamestown’s goalie Noah Suggs. As Rebels defenseman went to backhand the puck to clear it, he fanned, and the biscuit went right to Ring who beat Suggs long side for this second goal of the series.
Tommy Bannister scored just thirty-two seconds into the middle stanza to give the Titans a 2 – 1 lead. After Chris Carroll won the draw deep inside the Rebels zone, the puck went back to Reece Brednich at the end of the faceoff circle. Brednich took a shot that was blocked. As the puck came down from the air, Brednich was able to retrieve it and pass the biscuit to Carroll at the half wall. As Carroll went towards the goal line, he passed it back to Bannister at the faceoff dot, and the assistant captain snapped the puck past Suggs long side for Bannister’s first goal of the playoffs.
Feczko doubled the Titans lead at 5:16 into the third period. As the Rebels went to clear the puck from their own near side half wall, it was gloved down by Levente Keresztes at center ice and he passed the puck to Feczko on his left. As Feczko gained the line, he took a clapper from the top of the far side faceoff circle that beat Suggs long side for Feczko’s first goal of the playoffs.
With 2:02 remaining in the game, Brednich was called for cross-checking to give the Rebels man advantage. With Suggs pulled to have it 6 on 4, Coughlin took a long shot that went into the empty net with 1:19 left in the contest to close out the scoring.
Takacs stopped 32 of 33 shots while Suggs turned aside 42 of 45.
