Game preview: Titans visit Rebels for President’s Day Matinee

Feb 19, 2018

The Rebels will host the New Jersey Titans today at 4:20pm in a President’s Day matinee. This will be the eleventh meeting between the two teams, and it will be the first of five straight games they will play against each other. With the Rebels win this past Friday night, they are the only East Division team at the moment to have clinched a spot in the Robertson Cup playoffs – the third straight year for them.

Rebels vs. New Jersey Titans
The Rebels have won six out of the ten times these two teams have faced each other this year, including the last four straight games. However, this has been an extremely close series with the Rebels outscoring the Titans 29 – 28. Three of the four wins the Titans have against the Rebels this year have been at the Class of 1923 Arena. The last time these two teams met was on Wednesday, February 14 when Aaron Maguyon scored in overtime to give the Rebels a 4 – 3 come from behind victory in overtime.

Tyler Antonucci (1 goal and 6 assists), Matthew Cameron (6 goals and 1 assist) and Andrew Husted (2 goals and 5 assists) each have seven points against the Rebels this year. Cameron has scored the most goals against them with six. The Titans are 6 for 30 (20%) on the powerplay against Philadelphia. Goaltenders Matt Ladd and Brandon Perrone have a combined 2.80 goals against average and a .919 save percentage with no shutouts.

Adam Peck (2 goals and 5 assists) and Brandon Stanley (4 goals and 3 assists) each have seven points against the Titans. Stanley has scored the most goals against New Jersey with four. The Rebels are 5 for 29 (17%) on the powerplay. Netminders Eli Billing and Ryan Keane have a combined 2.70 goals against average and .909 save percentage with no shutouts.

New Jersey Titans Overview
The Titans enter this afternoon’s game with a 22-15-3-2 record with 49 points.  They currently reside in third place, sixteen points behind division leading Philadelphia but one point behind second place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Titans have won three of their last five games, and they are coming off of a 3 – 1 home win over the Northeast Generals. Nick Boyagian leads the team in total points with thirty-four (16 goals and 18 assists). He is followed by Hunter Alden’s thirty-one points (8 goals and 23 assists) and Ryan Naumovski’s thirty points (12 goals and 18 assists). Cameron has the most goals on the team with seventeen. Naumovski has the most game winning goals with four. Holden Biebel leads the team in penalty minutes with 104. Spencer Stanley has the best +/- ratio with an amazing +32.

New Jersey has scored 149 goals (fourth best in the NAHL) in forty-two games. They also have allowed 123 (eighth best in the league).  The Titans are seventh in the league on the powerplay (22.4%) while they are nineteenth in the league on the penalty kill with at 74.7%.

New Jersey’s netminders have a combined 2.59 goals against average and a .923 save percentage with one shutout (Perrone).
Rebels Overview
The Rebels enter this afternoon’s game with a 31-10-3 record for 65 points. They are in first place in the division, and they are fifteen points ahead of the second place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The Rebels are 4 – 1 in their last five games, and they are coming off of a 3 – 2 home win against the Northeast Generals.

Luke Radetic leads the Rebels in total points with forty-one (22 goals and 19 assists). He is followed by Maguyon’s thirty-nine (18 goals and 21 assists) and Jensen Zerban’s thirty-one (15 goals and 16 assists). Radetic leads the team in goals with twenty-two. Peck and Zerban each have three game winning goals. Eric Olson has the most penalty minutes on the team with 96. Carson Moniz and Zerban have the team’s best +/- with a +15 respectively.

Philadelphia has scored 154 goals in forty-four games (second most in the league), and they have allowed 98 (fourth best in the league). The Rebels lead the league on the powerplay having converted on 28.8% of their chances, and they are ranked sixth in the league on the penalty kill having prevented the opposition from scoring 84.1% of the time.

Billing and Keane have a combined 2.19 goals against average and a .914 save percentage with two shutouts (one each).