JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Philadelphia Rebels were unable to overcome an early deficit and fell 4–1 to the Johnstown Tomahawks on Saturday night at 1st Summit Arena, closing out the two-game series with a split.
Johnstown opened the scoring in the first period when Shane Tronoski converted to give the Tomahawks a 1–0 lead. The Rebels generated chances but were limited to seven shots in the frame.
The Tomahawks doubled their lead in the second period as Emerson Marshall buried a chance off a feed from Jack Genovese to make it 2–0. Despite an 11-shot second period from Philadelphia, the Rebels couldn’t solve Johnstown goaltender Zack Ferris.
Just 58 seconds into the third, Nick Jarmain extended the Tomahawks’ advantage to 3–0. Philadelphia responded midway through the period when Brayton Frick put the Rebels on the board to cut the deficit to 3–1. Frick’s goal was his seventh this season, and he’s found the back of the net in three of the last four contests. The push was short-lived, however, as Charlie Zetterkvist answered minutes later to seal a 4–1 win for Johnstown.
Ben Varsa made 18 saves for Philadelphia, while the Rebels outshot Johnstown 27–22, but couldn’t string a third-period comeback together.
Philadelphia returns home next weekend as it battles New Hampshire with the series opening on Friday.