Team captain Ryan Patrick scored the Rebels first two goals of the game which lead them to a 5 – 1 victory over the visiting Northeast Generals last night.
Looking to follow up on their big win from the previous night, the Generals wanted to get out of the gates quickly. And they did. Too quick. Just twenty-seven seconds into the game.
After the game’s opening faceoff, the puck would go into the Rebels nearside corner. Forward Adam Peck picked up the puck as it came up the boards and sent a bounce pass into the neutral zone where it was retrieved by Generals defenseman Joseph Nagle. Nagle found Colin Belak at the top of the offensive blueline and Belak entered the Rebels zone on a three on two. Belak passed the puck to Luke Perunovich on his left. Perunovich sent a long pass across the slot to a wide-open Justin Jallen who one-timed it into an open net past Eli Billing to make it a 1 – 0 game.
But did the early goal awake the Rebels out of their slumber? Patrick thought so.
After Patrick came out with the puck behind the Generals net following a two-on-two battle, he sent the biscuit back to Aaron Maguyon at the top of the far side faceoff circle. Maguyon tipped the puck back to Carson Moniz at the point. The Rebels defenseman took a shot that was saved by Northeast’s goalie Marko Sturma but the rebound came out to Patrick in the slot. Patrick picked up the rebound and took a shot that was saved by Sturma. As Patrick fell on the ice he would pick up his own rebound and put it past Sturma to tie the game at one with 12:29 left in the first period.
Patrick would give the Rebels the lead for good just two minutes into the second period.
Diarmad DiMurro would pick up the puck at the top of his own blueline after the Generals dumped into the zone for a line change. DiMurro sent a bank pass along his own near side boards into the offensive zone where it was retrieved by Generals defenseman Louis Boudon. Boudon went to pass the puck behind his own net but it was intercepted by Jensen Zerban behind Sturma. As Zerban circled around the Generals net he sent a pass to Patrick in the slot and the Morgantown, WV native put it passed Sturma for his tenth goal on the season to make it a 2 – 1 game.
As the third period passed the midway point, the Rebels wanted to add to their lead. Looking for a line change, Andrew Bellant sent a bounce pass high off the near side boards glass and the puck was picked up by Konur Peterson at the blueline. Peterson would bring the puck into the zone and go around the net and he tucked in the puck passed a surprised Sturma to give extend the Rebels margin to 3 – 1 with 7:53 left in the game.
Four and a half minutes later Zerban made it 4 – 1. Kolby Vegara would pick up the loose puck at center ice along the far side boards and dump it into the Generals zone where Zerban would fight off a Northeast defender for the puck. Zerban, like Peterson, would circle the Generals net and tucked in a wraparound for his team high twelfth goal on the season.
As time was winding down in the game, the Generals found themselves with a 5 on 3 advantage. After a save by Billing, Eric Olson picked up the rebound. As he was falling down to clear the puck he simply sent it all the way down the ice into an empty net to close out the scoring.
Sturma stopped 32 of 36 shots while Billing turned aside 18 of 19. Click here for the box score.
The two teams will finish their third game of the series tonight at 7:35pm at the Class of 1923 Arena at the University of Pennsylvania.
