Titan beat Wildcats for seventh time this season
MONCTON, N.B. – The Acadie-Bathurst Titan visited the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday night in the eighth meeting of the season between the two provincial rivals. Coming into the game with a 6-1 record against Moncton this season, the Titan put five into the back of the net to beat the Wildcats for a seventh time 5-1.
Midway through the opening frame Keenan MacIsaac stepped into a slapshot and whistled it past Mark Grametbauer to open the scoring. Antoine Morand and German Rubtsov, who was back in the lineup after missing several games with an injury, both got helpers at 11:12. As the buzzer sounded to end the period Nicolas Welsh took a double-minor for a high stick on Jeffrey Viel, and the Titan took full advantage.
Just 1:55 into the second period it was the man himself Viel sent in alone on a breakaway by a beautiful stretch pass from Adam Holwell. Viel came in with two defenders chasing him, went backhand then forehand and slipped it by Grametbauer to make it 2-0. With the Titan still on the man advantage, former Wildcat Ethan Crossman walked into the slot, waited, and fired it top shelf to extend the lead to 3-0 at 3:38. Jakob Pelletier got the Wildcats on the board just past the midway mark cutting their deficit to two-goals at 10:14.
Samuel L’Italien added a shorthanded tally early in the third to restore a three-goal cushion for the visitors. The goal came unassisted at 4:47. Late in the game Jordan Maher capped things off with his 16th of the season giving the Titan a 5-1 victory. L’Italien picked up the lone assist on the goal. Evan Fitzpatrick put together another solid performance turning aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced.
Three Stars:
1st Star – Jeffrey Viel
2nd Star – Adam Holwell
3rd Star – Ethan Crossman
