SEWELL, N.J. — The Philadelphia Rebels used a dominant first period and a 40-save performance from goaltender Ben Varsa to defeat the New Jersey Titans, 6–2, on Friday night at Hollydell Ice Arena.
Philadelphia (8-11-0-3) opened the scoring pace midway through the first period and never trailed, extending its point streak to four games. New Jersey (10-7-1-2), which entered the night on the heels of a split with Maryland, was unable to slow the Rebels’ pressure.
The Rebels broke through with 7 minutes left in the first period when captain Charlie Spencer fired a wrist shot from the slot to make it 1–0. Less than three minutes later, Brayton Frick doubled the lead, finishing a feed in tight with 4 minutes remaining. Philadelphia struck again in the final seconds of the period, as Jordan Brothers scored with 10 seconds left to give the Rebels a commanding 3–1 advantage after 20 minutes.
New Jersey’s lone goal of the opening frame came from defenseman Ty Creech, who cut the deficit to 2–1 before Brothers restored the multi-goal lead moments later.
The Rebels opened the second period with another quick strike. Less than three minutes in, forward Michael Mathison scored with 17 minutes remaining, extending the lead to 4–1. Philadelphia then capitalized on its first power-play opportunity of the game at 7:23, when Johnny Conlin wired home a snipe on the man advantage to push the lead to 5–1.
Frick capped a dominant middle frame with his second goal of the night, scoring with just four seconds left in the period to stretch the lead to 6–1. The Titans added a late goal in the third, as forward Skogen Schrott beat Varsa with under five minutes remaining, but the Rebels’ early surge had already put the game out of reach.
Philadelphia’s scoring depth was on full display in the win, with several players chipping in on the scoresheet. Alex Lunski picked up a pair of assists, while Charlie Spencer and Jordan Brothers each added helpers to help drive the offensive surge. The trio of forwards all recorded two points in the contest.
New Jersey split its goaltending duties, with Andrei Nikolaev starting and Tyler Rounds entering in relief midway through the second period. Nikolaev stopped 15 of 19 shots before exiting, while Rounds finished with 14 saves on 16 shots.
Philadelphia and New Jersey meet again Saturday evening at Middletown Sports Complex, where the Rebels will look to sweep the home-and-home series.