Titans go .500 to start road trip

Published on February 8, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


TRENTON, NJ - The Trenton Titans (22-16-5) split the first four matches of their six-game road trip to take sole possession of second place in the North Division. They opened their trip with a 5-4 loss to the Toledo Storm on Wednesday before falling to the Cincinnati Cyclones for the first time this season, 4-1, on Friday night. Trenton rebounded and made the weekend a success with a 4-2 triumph over the Dayton Bombers on Saturday and a 6-5 overtime victory versus the Cyclones on Sunday. The Titans complete their road stretch this weekend with games against the Augusta Lynx and Columbia Inferno on Friday and Saturday respectively.

COMEBACK STRUCK DOWN: The Titans were able to score the all-important first goal on the road against the Toledo Storm after a wrist shot from Troy Riddle found the back of the net, but the home team would go on to notch the next five, thanks in part to two markers by Storm forward Mike Walsh. Though trailing 5-1 coming into the third period, Trenton mounted a furious rally as Mark Pandolfo and Les Haggett scored in a span of 2:08 to make it 5-3. Scott Bertoli's power play goal then pulled the Titans within one with 4:21 remaining, but they would be unable to muster the game-tying tally.

GUSTED AWAY BY CYCLONES: For two periods of hockey, Trenton had put forth a solid road effort against the Cincinnati Cyclones as Mike Pandolfo and Sam Ftorek traded goals for a 1-1 tie going into the final period of regulation. The Cyclones, however, blew the game wide open in the third as Ftorek picked up his second goal of the evening and Jean-Michel Daoust lit the lamp twice in a span of thirty-four seconds to make the final score 4-1 in favor of Cincinnati.

SHOOTING DOWN THE BOMBERS: The parallels between Saturday's game versus Dayton and the previous night's contest against Cincinnati became apparent as the Titans were once again tied with the road team going into the third period, 2-2. Jim Henkel made sure this time Trenton would come away with the win as he tipped in Scott Bertoli's centering feed with just 3:50 left in the contest. Les Haggett, who had three points (1g, 2a) on the evening, iced the game with an empty-netter. Joel Martin picked up the victory, stopping all but two of the 31 shots he faced.

DRAMA AT HIGH NOON: The Titans and Cyclones quickly turned around from their Saturday night match for a noon-time start on Sunday and provided their most dramatic and highest-scoring game of the weekend. Scott Bertoli had seemingly put the game away when he gave Trenton a 5-3 lead with 7:04 remaining, but Sam Ftorek cut the lead to one at 15:36 and Jean-Michel Daoust picked up a power play goal with just 1:31 left in the game to send it into overtime. There, Mike Pandolfo's third goal in three games and 33rd of the season clinched the victory for the Titans, 6-5.

HOW ABOUT HAGGETT?: The Titans' second-year forward finished the weekend with a flourish as he registered a goal and two assists both Saturday and Sunday to help his team to victories over the Bombers and Cyclones. Haggett put up seven points (3g, 4a) in four games this week and currently ranks second on the team with 39 points (13g, 26a) and 26 assists.

DOWN RIGHT OFFENSIVE: Trenton has scored four or more goals in four of their last five games, registering a 3-2-0 record. The Titans currently rank sixth in the ECHL with an average of 3.63 goals a game and are number one in the North Division with 156 goals scored.

PRETTY GOOD PK: The Titans' penalty kill units have allowed just three power play goals over their last six contests. The PK went 25-for-28 (89.3%), while the team posted a 3-2-1 record during that stretch. Despite their recent success, Trenton's penalty kill is 17th in the league at 82.0%

QUICK HITS: Gregg Naumenko is one away from his 100th pro win...The Titans are 10-0-1 when Troy Riddle has a multi-point game... Trenton is 6-2-1 in the third contest of a three-game weekend...They are 17-5-2 when allowing three goals or less...Troy Riddle tied a team season high with three assists on Sunday against Cincinnati...Mike Pandolfo still leads the league with 33 goals and ranks second in the ECHL with 15 power play goals.

UPCOMING GAMES

Friday, February 9, 7:35pm - Titans @ Augusta Lynx

The Titans make their only visit to Augusta (25-20-2) this season in what will also be their second and final contest of the year against the Lynx. Augusta got the better of Trenton in the first match-up, 7-5, at the SBA on January 26 for what was the Lynx' first victory in the all-time series between the two teams. Tied for fifth in the ECHL in scoring with 57 points (20g, 37a), Ryan Lang helped lead Augusta to a 10-1-1 record in the month of January. The Lynx, however, are 0-2-1 in their last three games and sit in fourth place in the South Division.

Saturday, February 10, 1:05pm - Titans @ Columbia Inferno

This game marks the only contest between the two squads this season and the first meeting since a 4-2 win for the Titans on January 9, 2003. The Inferno are led in scoring by former Trenton defenseman Mike Jarmuth (11g, 27a) and former Reading Royal Jeff Miles (13g, 25a), both with 38 points. Columbia has managed just one win in their last seven games (1-3-3) as they are now 16-22-7 in 2006-07 and remain in sixth place in the South.

TITANS GAME BROADCASTS: Tune in as the Voice of the Titans, Mike O'Brien, brings you all of the Titans hockey action live on WBCB-1490AM Sunday through Thursday and WTSR-91.3 FM on Friday and Saturday. Fans can also watch or listen in on the Titans website, www.trentontitans.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Video broadcasts are available for a charge of $6 per game, while audiocasts are free of charge. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

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ECHL Stories from February 8, 2007


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