ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Philadelphia Rebels came out strong but couldn’t withstand a relentless Rochester push, falling 5–2 to the Jr. Americans on Friday night at the Rochester Ice Center.
Philadelphia struck first midway through the opening period when forward Billy Sheridan buried his second goal of the season to give the Rebels a 1–0 lead. Sheridan’s tally came off a sharp feed from Abzal Alibek on an odd-man rush. The Rebels generated several strong shifts off the forecheck in the opening frame and limited Rochester’s chances despite being outshot 13–6.
The game turned early in the second period as Ryan Shaw scored twice within the first 1:59 to swing momentum in the Jr. Americans’ favor. Despite the early goals against, the Rebels settled back into their structure and began pushing the pace offensively, earning multiple power-play opportunities late in the period.
Philadelphia capitalized on the man advantage when Charlie Spencer sniped home his fourth goal of the season, wiring a wrist shot top shelf to tie the game 2–2.
The third period, however, belonged to Rochester. The Jr. Americans regained the lead early in the frame when Keanan Dewberry scored in tight, followed by Colin Dustin extending the advantage midway through the period. Shaw completed his hat trick with a goal in the final minutes to seal the 5–2 decision.
Goaltender Ben Varsa made 34 saves on 39 shots for Philadelphia, while Jensen Carlstrom stopped 19 of 21 shots to earn the win for Rochester.
The Rebels finished 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. With the loss, Philadelphia fell to 6-11-0-1 and will look to bounce back in Saturday’s rematch at 7 p.m.