The Maine Nordiques are officially the No. 2 seed in the NAHL East playoffs after a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Titans on Friday at Middletown Ice World in Middletown, New Jersey.
The loss to Maine (37-15-6, 80 points) and the Maryland Black Bears' 4-1 victory over the Johnstown Tomahawks on Friday gave the Nordiques a lead over the Black Bears (41-13-5). , 87 points) and take the lead. seed.
Kellen Murphy gave the Nordiques an early 1-0 lead and Zion Green had an assist.
The lead lasted only 15 seconds. Christopher Crumins of the University of Vermont scored to tie the game for the Titans (34-22-3, 71 points).
Ryan Norvo and Dominique Riberi added goals in the second period to extend New Jersey's lead to 3-1.
The third period was a goal fest. First, Nikita Meshcheryakov extended his lead to 4-1. Midway through the period, Charles Tardif scored for the Nordiques.
Dominic Bartecco's shot sailed past Maine Nordiques goalie Thomas Heaney for a 5-2 lead. Maine defenseman JP Steele then beat New Jersey goaltender Zachary Blythe to close the gap to 5-3.
Jack Hiller scored the winning goal for the Titans in the final minute of the game.
Forward Jake Bernadette and defensemen Luke Chappelle and Evan Orlov each had an assist for the Nordiques in the third period.
The series between Maine and New Jersey continues Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Nordiques announced they will open their division semifinal series with home games in Colise on April 19th and 20th. The decisive fifth leg, if necessary, will also take place on April 28th at Colizet.
The Nordiques' regional semifinal opponent has not yet been determined, and the dates and locations for Games 3 and 4 have also not been determined.
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