Photo Credit: Kelsey Lee-Violet Turtle Photography

For the Northeast Generals, they came into the weekend needing five of six points to make the playoffs. They got all six points. The first two victories came against the Eastern Division Regular Season Champions, the New Jersey Titans. The Generals now move on to face a veteran team looking to get to the Robertson Cup that they have recent success against to fall back on.

Their win today came in overtime against the team that represented their division in the Roberston Cup last season, the Maine Nordiques. The win came packaged with plenty of drama, as it took two Evan Orr goals along with a Paul Minnehan tally and a Brent Keefer marker in overtime to secure two points. The team came back from 3-1 down to the Nordiques and secured a playoff spot by heading to overtime against a team that has given them fits as of late.

On the day Head Coach Bryan Erikson was full of praise for his team and organization.

He said “ What a great weekend by the boys! Came up huge when it mattered most.

We have talked a lot in that last few weeks about mental maturity and when we fell down 3-1 I just told everyone to stay composed and focus on what has worked for us. And we did that. Credit to our captains Dave, Box, Paul, Kyle and Keefer for running a great bench and locker room. I am really proud of this group and happy for our owners and Matt Dibble and our coaching staff.

And Keefer is just awesome. excited for him! Big players make big plays in big moments. That’s Keef.( he said this about the game winner by Keefer).”

Now the climb can start. This group is six wins away from heading back to Blaine for a chance to win the Robertson Cup. While the team has a big challenge ahead of them, they cannot be counted out. This group is a playoff team thanks in part to a legacy left by the 2000 born class who fought through adversity last year in a pandemic marred season featuring minimal home games.

It is built on by a group of returners hungry to do better, key acquisitions like Orr, and more. In tight games this team more often than not has found ways to win. Now they head to the biggest stage in this sport, ready to prove themselves as the lights get brighter and the eyes on all of them, playing for their futures in hockey and for each other, grow more numerous.

Box Scores

New Jersey Titans 3 at Northeast Generals 4 – Status: Final
Friday, April 15, 2022 – New England Sports Village

New Jersey 0 1 2 – 3
Northeast 2 0 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Northeast, Jennersjö 3 (Minnehan, Corcoran), 1:08. 2, Northeast, Scott 19 (Gordon, Ardagna), 11:13. Penalties-Dumas Njt (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor), 16:29; Orr Nte (roughing-minor, unsportsmanlike conduct – 10 minute), 16:29; Posma Njt (interference-minor), 17:39; Ardagna Nte (tripping-minor), 19:31.

2nd Period-3, New Jersey, Carroll 14 (Charpentier), 14:03. Penalties-Karlsson Njt (holding-minor), 3:25; Takacs Njt (holding-minor), 7:13.

3rd Period-4, New Jersey, Calafiore 26 (Karlsson), 0:35. 5, New Jersey, Young 24   1:12. 6, Northeast, Krause 18 (Minnehan, Andreychuk), 12:06 (PP). 7, Northeast, Andreychuk 19 (Orr, Minnehan), 13:25 (PP). Penalties-Carroll Njt (high sticking-double minor), 6:26; Calafiore Njt (roughing-minor), 10:51; Luik Njt (cross checking-minor), 12:22; Charpentier Njt (boarding-minor), 13:11; Schroeder Nte (tripping-minor), 19:51.

Shots on Goal-New Jersey 5-14-9-28. Northeast 16-13-9-38.
Power Play Opportunities-New Jersey 0 / 1; Northeast 2 / 7.
Goalies-New Jersey, Takacs 29-8-3-0 (38 shots-34 saves). Northeast, DeYoung 25-12-0-1 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-177
Referees-Steven Saul.
Linesmen-R. Beck, Ben Eisenhunt.

New Jersey Titans 1 at Northeast Generals 3 – Status: Final
Saturday, April 16, 2022 – New England Sports Village

New Jersey 0 0 1 – 1
Northeast 3 0 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Northeast, Tolan 10 (Andreychuk, Schubert), 5:28. 2, Northeast, Jennersjö 4 (Keefer, Minnehan), 14:35. 3, Northeast, Schubert 10 (Tolan, Friberg), 19:42. Penalties-Cremen Njt (tripping-minor), 7:22.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Dumas Njt (slashing-minor), 3:35; Young Njt (roughing-minor), 15:52; Boczar Nte (roughing-minor), 15:52; Grable Njt (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor), 20:00.

3rd Period-4, New Jersey, Coughlin 16 (Ring), 8:44 (PP). Penalties-Ramm Nte (boarding-minor), 5:27; McCarthy Nte (cross checking-minor), 7:26; DeYoung Nte (delay of game-minor), 8:00; Cremen Njt (tripping-minor), 15:28; Posma Njt (boarding-minor), 16:13; Feczko Njt (head contact-minor), 19:28.

Shots on Goal-New Jersey 11-12-6-29. Northeast 11-14-9-34.
Power Play Opportunities-New Jersey 1 / 6; Northeast 0 / 8.
Goalies-New Jersey, Charette 12-5-0-0 (11 shots-8 saves); Takacs 29-8-3-0 (23 shots-23 saves). Northeast, DeYoung 25-12-0-1 (29 shots-28 saves).
A-379
Referees-R. Beck.
Linesmen-Ben Eisenhunt, Steven Saul.

Maine Nordiques 3 at Northeast Generals 4 (OT) – Status: Final OT
Sunday, April 17, 2022 – New England Sports Village

Maine 2 1 0 0 – 3
Northeast 1 2 0 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Northeast, Orr 8 (Schubert, Andreychuk), 2:59. 2, Maine, Meiers 12 (Gibbons), 5:39. 3, Maine, Kurrle 4 (Schmiedlin, Pattison), 11:01. Penalties-Bernardo Mne (roughing-minor), 16:55.

2nd Period-4, Maine, Orloff 5 (Schmiedlin, Kurrle), 11:44. 5, Northeast, Minnehan 23 (Keefer, Jennersjö), 13:35. 6, Northeast, Orr 9 (Gordon, Boczar), 17:23. Penalties-Cooper Nte (high sticking-minor), 13:47.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gibbons Mne (tripping-minor), 4:41; Kimball Mne (boarding-minor), 18:19.

OT Period-7, Northeast, Keefer 19 (Orr, Scott), 0:57. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Maine 9-9-6-1-25. Northeast 21-10-15-5-51.
Power Play Opportunities-Maine 0 / 1; Northeast 0 / 3.
Goalies-Maine, Sturtz 16-17-4-1 (51 shots-47 saves). Northeast, DeYoung 25-12-0-1 (25 shots-22 saves).
A-
Referees-R. Beck.
Linesmen-Ben Eisenhunt, Steven Saul.

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