ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Philadelphia Rebels jumped out to an early lead but couldn’t hold off a late Rochester push, falling 4–3 in a shootout to the Jr. Americans on Saturday night at the Rochester Ice Center. Despite the loss, the Rebels earned a hard-fought point on the road to close out the weekend.
Philadelphia came out firing in the opening frame, controlling possession and setting the tone early. Forward Michael Mathison opened the scoring with a snipe from the slot midway through the first period — his second goal of the season — to give the Rebels a 1–0 lead.
The Rebels doubled the lead 43 seconds into the second period as Brayton Frick wired a wrist shot for his third goal of the campaign.
Rochester responded in the second period, capitalizing on a few turnovers to swing momentum. The Jr. Americans scored three unanswered goals — from Jackson Schouten, Ryan Flaherty, and Colin Dustin — to take a 3–2 lead heading into the final frame.
The Rebels pushed back hard in the third, generating sustained pressure in the offensive zone and finally breaking through. Broxton Ingle tied the game at 3–3 early in the period, firing home a rebound in front of the net. The equalizer sent the game to overtime, where both teams traded chances but couldn’t convert.
In the shootout, Keenan Dewberry scored the lone goal to lift Rochester to the 4–3 win.
Goaltender Ilja Nikitins was strong in net for Philadelphia, turning aside 33 of 36 shots through regulation and overtime. Florian Wade earned the win for Rochester, stopping 20 of 23.
The Rebels finished 0-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. With the shootout loss, Philadelphia moves to 6–11–0–2 on the season and will look to bounce back next weekend when they return home to host the Johnstown Tomahawks at Hollydell Ice Arena.