SEWELL, N.J. — The Philadelphia Rebels (19-28-3-6) built an early two-goal lead, but the Maine Nordiques (32-21-2-2 rallied for a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night.
Philadelphia came out strong in the opening period, striking twice on the power play to take control. Abzal Alibek opened the scoring, finishing a setup from Mikey Conlon, before Thomas Klochkov added another man-advantage goal later in the period to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead after one.
Maine responded in the second period as Austin Borggaard got the Nordiques on the board, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Borggaard struck again in the third period, tying the game and capping a steady push from Maine over the final 40 minutes.
In overtime, the Nordiques completed the comeback. Borggaard generated a backhand breakaway chance that was turned aside by Rebels goaltender Ben Varsa, but Damon Myers followed up on the play and tapped home the loose puck for the game-winner.
Varsa made 29 saves on 32 shots in a strong effort for Philadelphia, while Lukas Fursten stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn the win for Maine. The Nordiques outshot the Rebels 32-27 and applied consistent pressure after the first period.
Philadelphia finished 2-for-4 on the power play, while Maine went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.
Despite the loss, the Rebels showed a strong start and built an early lead, but were unable to hold off Maine’s late push as the Nordiques completed the comeback in overtime.