SEWELL, N.J. — Alex Lunski scored twice and Ilja Nikitins made 26 saves as the Philadelphia Rebels cruised to a 5–1 win over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Friday night in the first game of a two-game set.
Philadelphia (10-12-1-3) struck early and controlled the pace throughout, backed by a 46–27 advantage in shots.
The Rebels opened the scoring early in the first period when Charlie Spencer cashed in on a power-play rebound in front, lifting Philadelphia to a 1–0 lead. Minutes later, the Rebels doubled the advantage on a clean passing play. Ryan Ickes fed Lunski in the slot, and the forward buried it to make it 2–0.
New Hampshire (7-13-1-2) answered late in the period when Tyler Dahms hammered home a one-timer on the power play, cutting the deficit to 2–1 after 20 minutes.
The Rebels broke the game open in the second. With 4:18 left in the period, Jordan Brothers extended the lead when he battled into the crease and finished in tight for a 3–1 margin. Less than two minutes later, Dylan Moran scored his first goal as a Rebel, jumping on a breakaway and finishing with a smooth move to push the lead to 4–1.
Philadelphia wasn’t done. On a 2-on-1 rush moments later, Lunski collected a feed, cut to his backhand, and lifted the puck past New Hampshire goaltender Gavin Weeks for his second goal of the night and a commanding 5–1 advantage through two periods.
Neither team scored in the third, though the frame included several roughing minors and misconducts as the game tightened physically. Both clubs finished 1-for-3 on the power play.
Nikitins held the Mountain Kings scoreless for the final 44 minutes and posted a .963 save percentage. Weeks stopped 41 shots in the loss for New Hampshire.
Philadelphia will aim for a sweep when the teams meet again on Saturday night.