Thomas Neu scored a pair of goals and Klaus Jogi added another in the Rebels 3 – 1 win over the visiting Maine Nordiques to close out the 2023-24 season. Jakub Krbececk stopped 31 of 32 shots in his final junior game. The win split the season series between the teams.
Neu opened the scoring just thirty-eight seconds into the game. After the Rebels dumped the puck deep into the Nordiques zone, Maine’s Evan Orloff picked up the biscuit at his own end wall and tried to send it up the near side boards but it was intercepted by Charles Panchisin at the hashmarks. Panchisin turned and sent the puck back to Julian Brown who took a shot on net that was redirected by Neu past Nordiques goalie Thomas Heaney to make it 1 – 0.
Maine’s Cole Estey evened the score at 4:49 of the first. The Nordiques’ Tomek Haula picked up the loose puck at the top of his own far side circle and send a cross-ice pass to Jake Bernadet at center ice who skated down the near side boards and into the offensive zone. As Bernadet gained the line, he went to the bottom of the faceoff circle and made a centering pass out front that was redirected by Estey and past Krbecek for Estey’s first goal of the season.
After a scoreless second period, Jogi gave the Rebels the lead for good at 7:44 into the third period on a nice individual effort. Ryan Vaites brought the puck up out of his own zone and towards center ice but a Nordiques’ defender poked the puck off him which went immediately to a trail Jogi. As Jogi gained, the line, the split the Nordiques defense and took a wrist shot from the slot that beat Heaney blocker side for Jogi’s eleventh goal of the season.
Neu gave the Rebels a two-goal lead with 4:33 remaining in the game. With the puck in the Nordiques zone, Jared Coccimiglio brought the back along the far side boards and cut to the top of the slot where it passed the biscuit to Vaites at the near side point. Vaites took a wrist shot that was redirected by Neu and passed Heaney for Neu’s fifth goal of the season.
Heaney turned aside 28 of 30 shots. Click here for the complete box score. The win gave the Rebels their 26th of the season. They finished the year in seventh place but were in playoff contention until the second of the last day in the 2023-24 campaign.
