BLAINE, MN – The Philadelphia Rebels (1-2-0-0, 2 pts) suffered their second-straight loss in a 3-1 defeat to the Kenai River Brown Bears (2-1-0-0, 4 pts) on Friday afternoon.
David Deputy took advantage of the Rebels power play late in the third period and notched his first NAHL goal to bring the Rebels within a goal in the final two minutes. Deputy joined the Rebels this season to make his Junior hockey debut along with seven other Rebels forwards.
Outside of the Rebels lone goal, Kenai River capitalized early as Ashton Christman put the Brown Bears on the board first in the opening period. Christman’s goal was the only tally on the board when the teams returned to the ice for the third period.
After a slew of Jack Fialkoff stops in the third period, Kenai River’s Garett Drotts found a loose puck in front and slipped it into the goal.
Following Deputy’s tally to cut the Kenai River lead in half with 1:56 left in regulation, Philadelphia pulled Fialkoff for the extra skater, but was unable to generate a scoring chance before Kenai River scored in the Rebels’ empty net.
Although letting up two goals, Fialkoff was impressive in his NAHL debut, saving 33 of 35 shots and making an excellent save to prevent the Brown Bears from scoring in the final moments of the second period.
The Rebels will take on the Shreveport Mudbugs Saturday at 12 p.m. CT/1:00 p.m. ET as they look to even out their record at the 2022-2023 NAHL Showcase. The game can be seen on HockeyTV.
