Ryan Bunting scored a pair of goals while Ruslan Jamaldinov, Caesar Björk, Linas Dedinas and Drew Belleson hit the back of the net to give the Rebels a 6 – 4 win over the visiting Johnstown Tomahawks to snap Philadelphia’s four game losing streak.
The game was delayed 1:14 minutes in the second period due to a broken glass pane.
Jamaldinov opened the scoring at 5:34 into the first period. After Ali Alibek brought the puck into offensive zone, he fed the biscuit to Björk on his left. As Björk skated towards the end of the far side faceoff circle, he turned and fired a shot on net that was blocked out front by a Tomahawks defender but the rebound went off his back and straight to Jamaldinov who did a complete circle and then shot the puck up and over the glove hand of Johnstown netminder Zack Ferris for Jamaldinov’s twelfth goal of the season.
Björk doubled the Rebels lead at 9:04 of the first. With Björk pressuring in the offensive zone, the puck went into the near side corner where it picked up by Johnstown’s Charlie Zetterkvist who tried to chip the puck off the boards but it was intercepted by Jamaldinov at the point. Jamaldinov skated up along the near side boards and as he reached the corner, he made a centering pass to Björk in the slot, who one-timed it past Ferris for Björk’s team high 14th goal of the season.
After Joe Stauber was called roughing with 2:53 remaining in the first, Ryan Flaherty put Johnstown on the board a minute and a half later. The Tomahawks’ Tate Pecknold started the play at the near side point and sent the puck down low to Adam Ondris. Ondris made a centering pass through the goalmouth to Flaherty who took a one-time, back door pass and slammed the biscuit past Rebels netminder Owen Crudale to make it a 2 – 1 game.
With 4:41 remaining in the middle stanza and play in the Johnstown zone, Ryan Vaites was bringing the puck back up along the far side boards as the Tomahawks’ Markas Samenas went to knock Vaites off the puck but Samenas missed the check and crashed into a glass pane smashing it and resulting in the 1:14 minute delay.
A minute after play resumed, the Rebels regained the two-goal lead on Belleson’s second goal of the season. Jared Coccimiglio brought the puck up along the far side boards into the Johnstown end. As Coccimiglio reached the half wall, he sent the puck downlow to Billy Sheridan who was to the right of Ferris. Sheridan made a nice feed through the goalmouth to Belleson who redirected the biscuit past Farris for Belleson’s first goal since September 27 against the New Mexico Ice Wolves.
The Rebels then scored two goals thirty-nine seconds apart beginning with Ryan Bunting at 4:51 into the third to make it a 4 – 1 game. Then Linas Dedinas scored his third goal of the year to make it a 5 – 1 game.
Johnstown then scored three successive goals to make it a 5 – 4 game but Bunting added an empty net goal with twenty-four seconds remaining to close out the scoring and make it a 6 – 4 game.
Crudale stopped 49 of 53 shots while Ferris turned aside 32 of 37. Click HERE for the complete box score.