Charles Panchisin scored twice while Michael Mathison and Ruslan Jamaldinov also lit the lamp as the Rebels overcame a two-goal deficit and scored four unanswered goals to defeat the visiting Maine Nordiques 4 – 2.
The victory snapped the Rebels three-game losing streak.
The first period was owned by the Nordiques, scoring two goals but they also outshot the Rebels 21 to 6. The score would have been worst if it weren’t for Rebels netminder Owen Crudale who had to make several key saves to keep the Rebels in the game.
Maine’s leading scorer Laurent Trepanier got the visitors on the board with 8:56 remaining in the opening period. Trepanier set up the play by picking up the loose puck at the near side half wall in the offensive zone and made a cross-ice pass back to Aiden Farro at the far side point. Farro took a clapper that Crudale was able to track through a screen and make a save but the rebound came out to Cole Estey who was to the left of Crudale. Estey took a shot that was stopped by Crudale but the rebound came right out to Trepanier on the door step and Trepanier shot it long side past Crudale for Trepanier’s seventeenth goal of the season.
Two minutes later Damon Myers doubled the Nordiques lead. Myers picked up the loose puck at the far side half wall in the Rebels zone and sent it back to Farro at the point. Farro sent a return pass to Myers who turned and took a shot that was saved by Crudale but the deep rebound came right back to Myers and he wristed the biscuit past Crudale for Myers’ third goal of the season.
Mathison put the Rebels on the board at 7:29 into the middle stanza. Linas Dedinas picked up the loose puck just outside his own far side blueline and skate through center ice and into the offensive zone. As he reached the top of the near side faceoff circle, he stopped and cut towards the middle of the slot. Dedinas took a weak shot that slid through the slot where Brayton Frick – who was playing in his first game since the league showcase back in September – passed the puck to Mathison at the right of the Maine cage, and Mathison jammed the biscuit past Nordiques goaltender Matthew DellaRusso for Mathison’s third of the season.
Jamaldinov tied the game with 4:28 remaining in the second. With the Nordiques trying to clear the zone, the puck went back to Mikey Conlon at the top of the point. Conlon took a shot that deflected off of a Nordiques stick and bounce in the slot where Maine’s Ethan Wongus tried to pitch fork the biscuit out of the zone but Jamaldinov blocked it and took a shot that beat DellaRusso for Jamaldinov’s team high tenth goal of the season.
Panchisin’s first of the game at 7:26 into the third gave the Rebels a 3 – 2 lead. After Brock Jones won the draw deep inside the Nordiques zone, he was able to get around Maine’s Connor McNaughton. As Jones went towards the bottom of the far side faceoff circle, he was able to pass the biscuit to Panchisin on his left in the slot and Panchisin redirected the puck through DellaRusso’s five hole for Panchisin’s first goal since November 1st against the Rochester Jr. Americans.
The Rebels took a 4 – 2 lead with 8:23 remaining in the contest on Panchisin’s second of the game. Jones picked up the loose puck at the top of his own far side faceoff circle and passed it to Caesar Björk on his left. As Björk skated through center ice, he passed the puck to Panchisin on Björk’s left just outside the offensive zone. As Panchisin gained the line, he went towards the near side corner and threw the puck towards the slot where it went off the skate of Maine’s Ethan Rosenoff and past DellaRusso to close out the scoring.
Crudale stopped 39 of 41 shots while DellaRusso turned aside 23 of 27. Click HERE for the complete box score.