LEWISTON, ME – The Philadelphia Rebels (17-18-1-1, 36 pts) make their first trip of the season to face the Maine Nordiques (18-15-1-1, 38 pts) this weekend.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Road Rebels
The Rebels play seven of their eight February games on the road. Overall, the Rebels are in the midst of a stretch with eight-of-nine games away from Hollydell Ice Arena.
This season, the Rebels have won 10 of their 17 road contests, earning points in 11 of them.
The Rebels are 6-0-1-0 in their last seven road games.
2. Captain Connor
Connor Sedlak led the Rebels in the month of January with six goals and six assists. During the month, Sedlak took over the team lead in goals and points.
Sedlak has 21 points in his last 18 games. In total, the Rebels co-captain has 14 goals and 14 assists this season.
3. January Honors
The Rebels had three players take home Honorable Mention prizes from the North American Hockey League’s January awards.
Sedlak earned the award for his 12-point month, while Jakub Krbecek posted a .922 save percentage and six wins in the month on his way to being named on the awards list.
Sonny DiNubile was also named an honorable mention for the first time. DiNubile’s month of January featured his first-career goal and seven of his season-total 13 points.
4. Last Time Out
To finish January, Philadelphia swept a home-and-home with New Jersey. It was the second home-and-home series between the two teams in three weeks.
The Rebels took three of the four contests, including both last weekend after a pair of 3-2 victories.
Friday’s win came at home before Kris Samitis scored in the eighth round of a shootout on the road in Saturday’s win.
Krbecek made 30 saves and stopped seven of eight Titans in the shootout to secure the win.
5. Scouting the Nordiques
Brendan Gibbons leads the way for Maine’s offense, scoring 11 times and adding 25 assists this season for 36 points.
The Maine power play is a threat, converting at 22.1% of the time. That unit is led by Gibbons and Henrik Hallberg. The duo has combined for 28 points on the power play this season.
Hallberg leads Maine with 14 goals this season.
Friday’s game begins at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday’s starts at 7. Both games can be seen on HockeyTV.
