SEWELL, N.J. — The Philadelphia Rebels (19-28-2-6) jumped out to an early lead, but the Maine Nordiques (31-21-2-2) responded with six unanswered goals to earn a 6-1 win Friday night.
Philadelphia opened the scoring just over four minutes into the game on the power play, as defenseman Joe Stauber finished off a setup from Billy Sheridan to give the Rebels a 1-0 advantage and spark the crowd on Billet and Family Night. The goal for Stauber was his 10th of the season and fifth in March.
Maine answered later in the first period and quickly took control, scoring four times in the opening frame to build a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. The Nordiques continued their push in the second period, adding two more goals to extend the lead to 6-1.
Aslan Zhussupbekov led the way for Maine with two goals, while Marshall McCharles, Dawson Anderson, William-Francisco Parent, and Josh Itri each added a goal in the win. The balanced offensive attack helped the Nordiques maintain momentum throughout the night.
Ilja Nikitins got the start in net for Philadelphia, stopping 3 of 7 shots before Ben Varsa entered in relief and turned aside 23 of 25 shots over 44:24. Despite the scoreline, Varsa made several key saves to keep the Rebels competitive as Maine continued to apply pressure.
Matthew Wood earned the win for Maine, stopping 16 of 17 shots. The Nordiques outshot the Rebels 32-17 and went 2-for-3 on the power play, while Philadelphia converted on its lone opportunity.
After a strong start, the Rebels were unable to regain momentum following Maine’s first-period surge. Philadelphia will look to bounce back Saturday night when the two teams meet again on Team Picture Night.