Titan rookies lose first game in overtime
Bathurst, NB, Friday, August 19th, 2016 – Today was the big day as the Hub City Showcase kicked off in Moncton. The first match-up featured the Acadie-Bathurst Titan rookies taking on the Charlottetown Islanders, which saw the Prince Edouard Island natives skating away with a four to three overtime victory.
Kynan Berger, Cole Rafuse and James Roy each found the back of the net for the Titan while Kyle McGrath, Connor Kirby, Matthew Smith and Chad Tucker replied for the Islanders. It is worth noting that the Titan surely deserved a better faith as Mario Pouliot’s men outshot the Islanders by a 29 to 23 margin.
Between the pipes, Luke Oliver and Joel Goguen split duties, respectively turning away nine and 17 shots, while at the other end of the ice, Gabriel Waked was solid for the Titan in a 19 save effort.
Lemay-Champagne shines
Amongst all players on both teams, one would be hard-pressed to find a skater whom was more skilled with time and space than William Lemay-Champagne was. Indeed, after a calm first period, the Titan prospect found his groove in the second frame and was a perpetual menace in the offensive zone, especially while his team was on the power play.
Even if he was limited to a single assist, there is little doubt that he will be player to watch during the rest of the weekend.
What a goal by Roy!
Clearly, James Roy did not want to miss his chance to make a grand entrance, as he scored a spectacular goal in the second frame. Approaching the opposing net on a breakaway, Roy faked a shot then slid the puck to his back, all the while on his backhand, and then fired a top corner shot which left no chance to the opposing netminder.
Waked with a solid outing
And finally, it is worth mentioning the performance of the Titan’s masked man. Indeed, Gabriel Waked proved he was up to the challenge as he was consistently square to the puck throughout the game and came up with a key glove save in the overtime period.
Next game
The Titan rookies will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, as they take on the Halifax Mooseheads’ freshmen.
On the other hand, the veteran players will play their first pre-season game on Wednesday, August 24th against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Please note that this game will offer free admission to all fans, with the only thing being asked of them, is to have the generosity to make a donation to the Club Richelieu, which will be present that night.
Tickets are available at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre box office, by phone at 549-3200 or 1-877-549-3200 or online at admission.com
Game notes
Acadie-Bathurst Titan line combinations
Cole Rafuse – Kynan Berger – Daniil Sokolka
Charles-André Cypihot – Marc-André Lecouffe – Keegan Gauthier
James Roy – Justin Guitard – Emery Côté-Tanguay
Aaron Brisebois – William Lemay-Champagne
Nikolas Beauchamp – Francis Thibeault
Jérôme Gravel – Noah Dobson
Nicolas Oliver – Jacob Boucher
Igor Galygin
Gabriel Waked
Danil Timchenko
Power Play
Charlottetown: 0/4
Acadie-Bathurst: 0/2
