Despite being outshot 3 to 1, five different Rebels scored and Owen Crudale stopped 55 shots to lead Philadelphia to a 5 -3 win over the visiting Rochester Jr. Americans.
It was the Rebels sixth win in their last seven games, and they have earned a point in their last seven straight contests. With the win and Northeast’s loss to Johnstown, the Rebels find themselves six points behind the Generals for the sixth and final playoff spot with the Rebels having three games in hand.
Jared Coccimiglio, Billy Sheridan, Brayton Frick, Luke Minard and Jett Otwell lit the lamp for Philadelphia.
The Rebels took a 3 – 0 within the first fifteen minutes of the opening period, and Coccimiglio’s highlight reel goal started the scoring at 6:09 into the game. Sonny DiNubile brought the out from behind his net and passed the biscuit through the slot to Ryan Vaites on his left. Vaites sent the puck up to Thomas Neu at center ice and Neu immediately made a shuttle pass to the breaking Coccimiglio in the neutral zone. As Coccimiglio gained the line, he made a spin-o-rama move around Jr. American’s defenseman Dexter Kichline at the near side faceoff dot and Coccimiglio made a backhanded shot that beat Rochester goalie Danick Leroux high, short side to make it a 1 – 0 game.
Sheridan made it 2 – 0 at 8:52 of the first. With the puck in the Rebels zone at the high slot, Frick knocked Rochester’s Gabriel Cull off the biscuit which was picked up by Klaus Jogi. As Jogi reached center ice, he passed to Sheridan on his right – who had just gotten off the bench and onto the ice. As Sheridan entered the offensive zone, he went towards the far side corner and took a sharp angle shot from the goal line that went off Leroux’s left pad and into the net for Sheridan’s seventh goal of the season.
Frick made it 3 – 0 with a nice redirect pass from Bryce Strand. Otwell picked up the loose puck at the top of his own near side faceoff circle and sent it up to Minard at center ice, and Minard made a cross-ice pass to Strand breaking down the far side boards. As Strand gained the line, he was able to get around Rochester’s Alex Zakrzewski and make a backhanded pass to Frick in the slot and Frick redirected the puck past Leroux for Frick’s second goal of the season.
Matteo Disipio put the visitors on the board with twenty-two seconds remaining in the first. After Rochester’s Massimo Gentile won the draw deep inside the Rebels zone, the puck went back to Disipio at the top of the far side faceoff circle who took a step towards the slot and Disipio took a wrist shot that beat Crudale long side.
At 9:37 of the second, Rochester was called for a bench minor for having too many men on the ice. Thirty-one seconds later Gentile scored a shorthanded goal to cut the Rebels lead in half. After the Rebels dumped the puck into the Jr. American’s zone, it was picked up by Zakrzewski who turned to his left and cleared the puck into center ice where it went of the shin pads of Vaites and straight to Gentile who gained the line on a two-on-none break with Luca Leighton. Gentile sent a pass to Leighton on his left at the top of the slot, and Leighton sent a return pass to Gentile who took a wrist shot that beat an outstretched Crudale for Gentile’s team high 28th goal of the season.
Minard made it 4 – 2 with 1:45 left in the middle stanza. Josh Galizia brought the puck up through center ice and into the offensive zone. As Galizia gained the line, he passed the puck to Shane Carr on his right. Carr sent the biscuit back to at the top of the near side faceoff circle, and Minard took a wrist shot that went off Leroux’s blocker and into the net for Minard’s fifth of the season.
Leighton made it 4 -3 with 3:25 remaining in regulation when he picked up the rebound on the doorstep and backhanded the puck into the back of the net for this 24th of the season. Otwell put the game out of reach just thirty-two seconds later to close out the scoring and make it 5 – 3.
Crudale had a .948 save percentage while Leroux stopped 12 of 17 shots. Click HERE for the complete box score.
