Wildcats double-up on Titan
Bathurst, NB, Saturday, September 12th, 2015 – For their second home game of the season, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan played host to the Moncton Wildcats, whom snuck away with a 6-3 victory.
The Titan came out with the eye of the tiger, Jeffrey Viel and Antoine Morand giving the Titan a two goal lead before the half way point of the first frame. However, once the second period began, the Wildcats began a five goal comeback, the surge coming off the sticks of Maximilian Glaessl, William Bower, Will Smith and twice from Stephen Johnson. Morand would once again give hope to the home team, but it would be insufficient as Kelly Klima found the back of the net in the closing minutes of the third period.
It truly was one of those nights where the Titan seemed snake bitten, outshooting the Wildcats by a healthy 45 to 37 margin. Zachary Fortin was solid in goal for Moncton, turning away 42 shots, while at the other end of the ice, Reilly Pickard made 15 saves and Daniel Vautour 16 in split duty.
Morand, the weapon of mass destruction
Rookie forward Antoine Morand followed up his previous night’s outing with an even better showing, not only by scoring two goals on five shots, but also by winning 68% of his one-on-one duals in the face-off circle, a total high enough to make even Mark Simpson jealous.
Our congratulations to Antoine on scoring his first career goal, which, naturally, came on a wrist shot.
A larger-than-life showdown awaits … Morand vs Veleno
The Titan’s next home game will be on Sunday, September 27th as the Saint John Sea Dogs will be in town. The game will be very significant as it will be the first time Joseph Veleno faces off against the Titan.
Last June, Veleno became the first player in QMJHL history to be granted exceptional player status, thus allowing him to continue his career in junior hockey despite being only 15 years of age.
Simultaneously, this will be the first time that both Veleno and Morand take to the ice against each other with their new teams, both young men having been the first two picks in last season’s QMJHL Draft.
The Maximus Boulevard opens its doors
The game against the Sea Dogs will also be the first time the Maximus Boulevard opens its doors. This new initiative for the Titan’s youngest fans will allow them to partake in activities before games and during intermissions.
Determined to offer a world class in game experience, the Titan are proud to offer such innovations to their fans. 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
Moncton Wildcats line combinations
Liam Murphy – Stephen Johnson – Zack MacEwan
Will Smith – William Bower – Manuel Weiderer
Éric Léger – Kevin Klima – Kelly Klima
Ethan Crossman – Kyle Tibbo – Lane Cormier
Garrett Johnston – Adam Holwell
Zachary Malatesta – Maximilian Glaessl
Matthew Klebanskyj – Sacha Guay
Zachary Fortin
Sébastien Dupré
Players not in uniform Jacob Sweeney, Conor Garland, Cameron Askew, Marcus Tesink et Noah Corson
Acadie-Bathurst Titan line combinations
Christophe Boivin – Antoine Morand – Egor Popov
Daniil Miromanov – Nicholas Blanchard – Jake Smith
Vladimir Kuznetsov – Samuel L’Italien – Jordan Maher
Yan Plourde – Campbell Pickard – Jeffrey Viel
Nicholas Dumulong – Mark Trickett
Anthony Beaulieu – Françis Thibeault
Andrew Cordssen-David – Elijah Francis
Reilly Pickard
Daniel Vautour
Players not in uniform: Mark Simpson, Xavier Vinetti, Guillaume Brisebois, Félix Boivin et Arthur Miller
