B12

PETER ASSAFF
Titan Trail

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The Acadie-Bathurst Titan will look to bounce back from a frustrating weekend when they face off against a familiar foe tonight.

After losing a pair of one-goal games on home ice last Friday and Saturday, Acadie-Bathurst will face off against their longtime provincial rival the Moncton Wildcats this evening at 7 p.m. at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre. It is the first time the two teams will meet this season.

"Like we've said since Day 1, I think the effort is very important, the work ethic," Titan head coach Ron Choules said Tuesday. "The character of the team will be in the forefront, to see how we bounce back."

Through their first 10 games of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season, the Wildcats have yet to lose in regulation time with both defeats coming in overtime. The Titan, meanwhile, are on a four-game losing streak and have slipped to 5-4-3 after falling 2-1 to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday and 2-1 in overtime to the Victoriaville Tigres the following night.

"I think we had a hell of a game against Cape Breton," said Choules. "Although we didn't get any points, I thought we deserved at least one. Victoriaville wasn't our best outing, probably our worst outing of the year. I mean our effort was not there or our work ethic. We had a good practice and some good meetings and I have a good feeling that (tonight) we will come out with guns blazing and have a good effort."

It is the start of a busy week for the Titan, who play four games in the next five nights. After facing off against the Wildcats tonight, they'll travel to Saint John to play their other provincial rivals, the Sea Dogs, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station. Then it is back home Saturday for a 7 p.m. start against the Prince Edward Island Rocket before travelling to Charlottetown to complete a two-game series with the Rocket on Sunday at 4 p.m. Choules said it will be important for the players to do make sure they are ready each night.

With 19-year-old centre Eric Faille out of the lineup nursing a hand injury, expected to keep him on the sidelines until early next month, the Titan will rely heavily on veteran forwards Spencer Jezegou and Tomy Joly for leadership. Both were involved in fights during last Friday's loss to Cape Breton, with Jezegou receiving a game misconduct midway through the second period. Choules said it is important for his key forwards to compete hard, but to play smart.

"My philosophy is to always compete, but sometimes you have to use your head too," he concluded. "I don't want these guys going out there and fighting all the time, they are very key components of our team. Although it is great to play with emotions and play good competitive hockey, we have other guys on our squad who can take care of things like that."

Peter Assaff is the sports editor for the Northern Light in Bathurst. His Titan Trail column appears Wednesday in the Telegraph-Journal. He can be reached at passaff@nbnet.nb.ca.