Charles Panchisin scored twice while Kris Samitis, Jared Coccimiglio, Ryan Bunting, Paddy Fortune, and Otto Polokovs lit the lamp to lead the visiting Rebels to a 7 – 4 win over Danbury to split the weekend series between the teams.
The victory snapped the Rebels’ four–game losing streak to put their record at 8 – 11 on the season.
Samitis opened the scoring with 7:12 remaining in the first period. After Panchisin won the draw deep inside the Danbury zone, Samitis picked up the loose puck and went behind the Hat Tricks net. As he circled around to the right of Danbury’s goaltender CJ Kier, Samitis sent the biscuit through the goalmouth and Panchisin took a shot that was saved by Kier, but Samitis jammed home the rebound into the empty for his eighth goal of the season.
Samitis was called for hooking with 3:44 remaining in the period to give Danbury the man advantage. Thirty-five seconds later Coccimiglio doubled the Rebels’ lead. As the Tricks Jacob Roberson skated through center ice, Coccimiglio poke checked the puck off Roberson’s stick and Coccimiglio walked in all alone on Kier and beat the Danbury net minder for Coccimiglio’s sixth goal on the year.
It was the Rebels third short-handed goal this weekend.
Bunting gave the Rebels a 3 – 0 lead just forty-seven seconds into the middle stanza. Ryan Vaites intercepted a Danbury pass at center ice along the near side boards and passed it up to Fortune. As Fortuned gained the line, he stopped at the faceoff circle and sent a pass through the slot to Bunting who redirected the puck past Kier for Bunting’s second of the season.
After Julian Brown was called for cross-checking just two minutes into the middle stanza, Danbury’s Grant Dietz got the Tricks on the board at 3:37 of the second when he beat Jack Fialkoff short side.
After Samitis was called for roughing with 7:40 remaining in the period, Roberson scored the Tricks second powerplay goal of the evening just twenty seconds on the man advantage when he scored on a one-timer that beat Fialkoff to make it a 3 – 2 game.
A minute later Panchisin scored his first of the game after he intercepted a Danbury pass at the Rebels near side point. After skating around a Tricks defender, Panchisin went through center ice and into the offensive zone on a breakaway as he beat Kier on a backhander to make it a 4 – 2 game.
Fortune made it 5 – 2 with 3:22 remaining in the period. Sonny DiNubile started the play at the top of the point and passed the puck to Bunting on his left at the far side half wall. Bunting made a cross-ice pass to Fortune who took a one-timer that beat Kier for Fortune’s second goal of the weekend.
Less than a minute later Polokovs made it 6 – 3 after receiving a nice feed from Panchisin who was to the left of Kier and Panchisin made a centering pass out front to Polokovs who redirected the biscuit past Kier for Polokovs ninth goal of the year.
Danbury’s Marcus Lupo scored two goals in the third to bring the Tricks within two put Panchisin scored an empty net goa with 1:58 remaining to make it 7 – 4.
Fialkoff stopped 32 of 36 shots while Kier turned aside 26 of 32. Click HERE for the complete box score.
Next weekend the Rebels will play a home and home series with the New Jersey Titans. Friday’s contest will be held at the Hollydell Ice Arena and it will be military appreciation night.
