Elmira netminder Wesley Jefferson-Swint II stopped all 39 shots he faced to lead the visiting Aviators to a 3 – 0 win over the Rebels to split the weekend series between the teams. It was Wesley Jefferson-Swint II first career shutout.
It was the fourth time this season the Rebels have been shutout. In all, it was a gritty and back and forth game.
Elmira’s Curtiss Sturgeon scored the eventual game winning goal on the man advantage with 6:56 remaining in the first period. As Bryce Strand’s penalty was winding down, the Aviators’ Luke Sakala brought the puck into the Rebels zone along the far side boards. As he reached the hash marks, he stopped and sent the biscuit back to Andrew Horn at the point. Horn made a cross-ice pass to Gavin Duckworth who stepped up and took a wrist shot from just outside the faceoff circle that Rebels goalie Owen Crudale wasn’t able to fully catch and the rebound went right to Sturgeon who jammed the puck into the back of the net to make a 1 – 0 game.
Matthew Maglio doubled the Aviators lead at 5:35 into the middle stanza right as their powerplay had ended. Maglio picked up the loose puck in the offensive zone’s near side corner and made a cross-ice pass back to Jett Otwell at the top of the far side faceoff circle. Otwell cut towards his right and sent a return pass downlow to Maglio who took a one-timer that beat Crudale to make it a 2 – 0 game.
Clarence Beltz scored an empty net goal with thirty seconds remaining in the game to make it 3 – 0. Crudale turned aside 35 of 37 shots. Click HERE for the complete box score.
Despite the loss, the Rebels are still in eighth place in the division with eleven games remaining in the season. They are a point behind seventh place Northeast with three games in hand, and they are five points behind the sixth place New Hampshire Mountain Kings who are currently in the final playoff spot. The Rebels have two games in-hand on New Hampshire.
The Rebels will travel to New Hampshire on Wednesday to begin a very important two-game series on Thursday against the Mountain Kings. Of the Rebels remaining eleven games, four are at home and seven are on the road. After the series against New Hampshire, the Rebels will face the Aviators again in Elmira before they return home on March 21 and 22 to face the Maryland Black Bears.
