LEWISTON, ME – The Philadelphia Rebels (26-29-2-1, 55 pts) finish up their Inaugural Season on Friday and Saturday nights when they visit the Maine Nordiques (32-23-2-1, 67 pts).
Here are five things to know ahead of the season-ending series:
1. Season Finale
Riding a three-game win streak after sweeping Johnstown to finish their home schedule, the Rebels travel to Maine to wrap up their season with a two-game series.
The Rebels have been a strong road team this season, going 13-11-2-0 in road contests so far.
2. Brock Rocks
In Friday’s win over Johnstown, forward Brock Jones recorded a career-high four-point night.
Jones shattered his previous career high of one point, with a two-goal, two-assist night to help jump-start a five-goal third period for the Rebels. Jones scored just 15 seconds into the third and Philadelphia held on from there.
Jones added an assist in Saturday’s win to lift his season total to six goals and six assists.
3. King Kuba
Jakub Krbecek started March about as hot as a goaltender could be, shutting out his opponent in the first three games of the month.
A nearly 262-minute shutout streak was snapped on March 10 against Maine. All in all, Krbecek allowed two goals or less in nine consecutive games, before struggling some on the road against Johnstown in a three-game series on March 24-26.
Krbecek bounced back last weekend against Johnstown, stopping 95 of 99 total shots he faced. For his efforts, Krbecek was named the East Division First Star of the Week.
4. Last Time Out
After five-consecutive one-goal games against Johnstown went the wrong way for the Rebels, they bucked that trend with a 2-1 overtime win last Thursday night to open their final home series.
The Rebels and Hawks battled to a tie through 40 minutes in the last two games of the series, before Philadelphia blew each game open with big third periods.
On Friday, it was a five-goal third period to claim a 6-1 win. Then, they repeated it on Saturday with a four-goal third and a 5-2 victory to sweep Johnstown and eliminate the Hawks from playoff contention.
5. Matchup
Philadelphia enters after that three-game sweep against Johnstown at home last weekend. Maine comes into the weekend winning its previous game against New Jersey, but had lost six-straight prior to that.
The Rebels will hit the road to Maine to try and snag a pair of wins to end the season on a strong note.
Friday’s game begins at 7:05, while Saturday’s puck-drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Both games can be streamed live on HockeyTV.
