BLAINE, MN – The Philadelphia Rebels (1-1-0-0, 2 pts) suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday afternoon in a 5-1 defeat to the Wisconsin Windigo (1-1-0-0, 2 pts).
Rebels goaltender Jakub Krbecek followed a 39-save win with another solid performance, making 37 saves in Thursday’s loss. However, after facing an early barrage of Windigo shots, Krbecek surrendered two first-period goals on 17 shots.
“He’s used his athleticism, his size, his structure and he’s had that clutch moment in the sense that there’s been some ‘must have’ saves,” said head coach Justin Hale. “And he’s answered the call.”
Near the midway point of the second period, Wisconsin extended its lead to three goals and held that advantage into the third.
With a third-period power play, the Rebels were able to solve Wisconsin netminder Max Beckford for the first time when Maxwell Hamstad scored his first goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game.
Late in the third, the Rebels elected to pull Krbecek for an extra attacker with an offensive zone faceoff, but Wisconsin won the draw and carried down the ice to score in the empty net.
The Rebels continue the NAHL Showcase on Friday with a contest against the Kenai River Brown Bears. Friday’s game will begin at 11:30 a.m. CT/12:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on HockeyTV.
