SEWELL, NJ – The Philadelphia Rebels (23-23-1-1, 48 pts) host the Maine Nordiques (27-17-2-1, 57 pts) for a weekend series at Hollydell Ice Arena.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. King Kuba
Goaltender Jakub Krbecek enters the weekend touting a 251 minute and 36 second shutout streak. Through Krbecek’s stellar play, the Rebels have blanked their opponent in four consecutive games, and five of their last six.
Krbecek recorded his first career NAHL shutout on Feb. 24 at Maryland, before giving up a pair of goals the next night. Since then, Krbecek has stopped 136 consecutive shots.
The netminder’s .933 save percentage is second best in the NAHL behind Wisconsin’s Gavin Moffatt (.943). Krbecek, however, has faced nearly double the amount of shots as Moffatt.
Krbecek sits 50 minutes and 8 seconds behind Jake Sibell’s (Aberdeen) NAHL record shutout streak set in 2020-21.
2. Playoff Positioning
After Tuesday’s win brought the Rebels’ record even for the first time since September, Philadelphia is in the heat of a playoff race.
The Rebels are seven points behind Northeast for the fourth, and final, playoff spot in the East Division. Philadelphia is nine points behind third-place Maine ahead of this weekend’s series.
Of the Rebels final 12 games, four are against Maine and six are against fifth-place Johnstown.
Should the Rebels take care of a majority of those 10 games, they will be in a prime position to qualify for the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
3. Gone Streaking
With a playoff position in sight, the Rebels’ four-game winning streak has come at a crucial time.
In each of their last four games, the Rebels have scored 3 or more goals. This season, the Rebels are 20-3-1-0 when scoring 3 or more times.
With four-straight shutouts, the Rebels haven’t needed every one of those tallies, but the Rebels have exceeded their season average for goals scored in each of the last four contests.
In their last three shutout-wins, the Rebels have scored four goals in each game.
4. Last Time Out
Behind a 40-save shutout from Krbecek, the Rebels took down the New Jersey Titans 4-0 on Tuesday night.
It was the second time Krbecek blanked the Titans in a week, making 45 saves on Feb. 28. The Rebels wrapped up their season-long dominance of the Titans, finishing the eight-game season series with six wins and 13 points in the standings.
The Rebels road record improved to 13-9-1-0 with Tuesday’s win and Philadelphia improved to 4-0 this season at the Middletown Ice World Arena.
5. Matchup
This weekend will be the fifth and sixth times the Rebels face off against the Nordiques. Maine has taken the first four contests, but the teams have only played twice since November.
The last meetings came in Maine in the first weekend of February, but Philadelphia has won six of nine since that series. Maine comes in having won seven of 10 since that series.
Massive standings points will be on the line at Hollydell Ice Arena this weekend.
The Rebels will be wearing limited-edition St. Patrick’s Day jerseys this weekend which will be auctioned off via DASH Auctions.
Bidding is open now and will close on Wed. March 15 at 8 p.m.
Click the following link to place your bid: https://bit.ly/3ZrStg3
Friday’s game will begin at 8 p.m. while Saturday’s puck-drop is scheduled for 7:30. Both games are available on HockeyTV and admission is free for all fans.
