After a big win on Friday night, the Rebels knew they were in for a tough contest on Saturday in Johnstown as emotions from the night before ran high. The Rebels fought off several ups and downs during the game, and in the end, they took three of four points on the weekend despite the fact that the Tomahawks edged the Rebels 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
Despite the physical play, the Rebels controlled play in the 1st period. Luke Picek took a tripping call that put the Rebels on the power play. Dom Garcia then put the Rebels up 1-0 with his seventh goal on the season at 6:46 into the open period with assists from Michael Merulla and Ryan Cusin.
Picek put the Rebels on the power play again after a check from behind penalty. Brennan Kapcheck fed Michael Merulla who beat Tomahawks goalie Andrew Lindgren to put the Rebels up 2-0.
The Rebels were dealt a blow with five minutes left in the second as Austin Swingle went for the puck on the boards and was hit from behind and injured. Swingle was taken off the ice on a stretcher with his teammates visibly shaken.
As the distraught Rebels began the third period, Johnstown’s Anthony Parrucci got the home team on the board two minutes into the third when he beat Trevor Micucci to cut the deficit in half. A Johnstown power play set up Luke Lynch’s game tying goal sending the game into overtime.
Johnstown’s Tommy Horn scored the game winner in overtime giving the two teams a split over the weekend. The Rebels trail first place New Jersey by four points but are ahead of the third place Tomahawks by two. Click here for the box score.
