Weekend preview: 2/23 – 2/24; Rebels and Titans play home-and-home series

Feb 22, 2018

The Rebels and New Jersey Titans will play a home-and-home series this weekend. Friday night’s game will be played at the Class of 1923 Arena beginning at 7:10pm while Saturday night’s game will begin at 7:00pm at Middletown’s Ice World. This will be games two and three of five consecutive contests between these two teams, which concludes next weekend when both games are at Ice World.

Rebels vs. New Jersey Titans
The Rebels have won seven out of the eleven times these two teams have faced each other this year, including the last five straight games. The Rebels have outscored the Titans by a total score of 32 – 28. The last time these two teams met was this past Monday when Brandon Stanley scored two goals and Eli Billing turned aside all 27 shots he faced as the Rebels defeated the Titans 3 – 0 in a President’s Day matinee game.

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 35 (17%) on the powerplay against Philadelphia. Goaltenders Matt Ladd and Brandon Perrone have a combined 2.82 goals against average and a .916 save percentage with no shutouts.

Stanley has the most points against the Titans with nine (6 goals and 3 assists). He also has scored the most goals against them with six. He is followed by Adam Peck’s (2 goals and 5 assists) and Eric Olson’s (3 goals and 4 assists) seven points respectively against New Jersey. The Rebels are 6 for 33 (18%) on the powerplay. Netminders Eli Billing and Ryan Keane have a combined 2.45 goals against average and .919 save percentage with one shutout (Billing).

New Jersey Titans Overview
The Titans enter this weekend’s series with a 22-16-3-2 record with 49 points.  They currently reside in third place, eighteen 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 – 0 road loss to the Rebels. 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 a league best +32.

New Jersey has scored 149 goals (tied for fourth best in the NAHL) in forty-three games. They also have allowed 126 (ninth best in the league).  The Titans are ninth in the league on the powerplay (21.7%) while they are nineteenth in the league on the penalty kill with at 74.7%.

New Jersey’s netminders have a combined 2.60 goals against average and a .922 save percentage with one shutout (Perrone).
Rebels Overview
The Rebels enter this weekend with a 32-10-3 record for 67 points. They are in first place in the division, and they are seventeen points ahead of the second place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. They also are seventeen points away from clinching their third straight regular season East Division championship. The Rebels are 4 – 1 in their last five games, and they are coming off of a 3 – 0 home win against the Titans.

Luke Radetic leads the Rebels in total points with forty-two (22 goals and 20 assists). He is followed by Aaron Maguyon’s thirty-nine (18 goals and 21 assists).  Jensen Zerban (15 goals and 16 assists) and Ryan Patrick (16 goals and 15 assists) each have thirty-one points respectively. Radetic leads the team in goals with twenty-two. Peck and Zerban each have three game winning goals. Olson has the most penalty minutes on the team with 96. Carson Moniz has the team’s best +/- with a +17.

Philadelphia has scored 157 goals in forty-five 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 28.7% of their chances, and they are ranked sixth in the league on the penalty kill having prevented the opposition from scoring 84.6% of the time.

Billing and Keane have a combined 2.14 goals against average and a .916 save percentage with three shutouts (Billing has two).