The visiting New Jersey Titans scored three, third period goals en route to a 5 – 3 win over the Rebels in game one of this home-and-home series between the teams. The game had been tied at two entering the final stanza.
Linas Dedinas, Ryan Bunting and Nick Bianchi lit the lamp for the Rebels.
New Jersey’s Archer Brown opened the scoring at 9:22 into the first period. With the Rebels moving the puck in the offensive zone, Luke Janviriya took a shot from the top of point that was blocked by Brown and the rebound bounced to Jack Hillier by the near side boards. After skating through center ice and into the Rebels zone, Hillier made a cross along the top to slot to Brown who took a wrist shot that beat Rebels goalie Beau Lane long side to make it a 1 – 0 game. Lane was starting his first home contest with the Rebels after meeting the team out at the league’s Showcase in September.
Dedinas, who was celebrating his twentieth birthday, evened the score with 1:49 left in the first. Michael Mathison picked up the loose puck at the top of his own end and skated through center ice and into the Titans zone. As he gained the line, has passed the biscuit to Dedinas on his left and Dedinas took a wrist shot from the near side faceoff circle that beat New Jersey goalie Austin McNicholas short side for Dedinas’ second goal of the season.
Ryan Vaites was called for tripping just forty-nine seconds into the middle stanza. Twenty-six seconds later New Jersey took their second lead of the game. With the Titans’ Blake Jones setting up the play at the apex of the slot, he passed the biscuit to Ryan Shaw at the far side circle. Shaw cut through the slot towards his left and took a wrist shot that found its way through a screen and past Lane to make it a 2 – 1 game.
Bunting evened the score at two at 8:23 into the second. After Charlie Spencer won the draw deep inside the Titans zone, the puck went back to Janviriya at the far side point. As Janviriya brought the puck up along the end wall, he passed to Bunting who tapped passed the biscuit to Spencer behind the cage. Spencer made a centering pass out front to Bunting who redirected the biscuit past McNicholas for Bunting’s fourth goal of the season.
New Jersey’s Ryan Novo gave the Titans their third and final lead of the night at 4:56 into the third period. As Hillier brought the puck into the offensive zone along the near side boards, he dished off the puck to Shaw on his left. As Shaw went to the end wall, he made a centering pass through the goalmouth to Novo who redirected the puck past Lane to make it a 3 – 2 game.
With 8:33 remaining in the contest, New Jersey doubled its lead to 4 – 2. After the Titans won the draw deep inside the Rebels zone, the puck went back to New Jersey’s Lucas Marshall at the far side point. Marshall took a shot that was saved by Lane but the Rebels netminder wasn’t able to control the rebound and the Titans Caden Wells kept jabbing at the puck and the biscuit eventually squirted free and into the back of the net.
Thirty-eight seconds later Nick Bianchi cut the Rebels deficit to one. As Bianchi brought the puck out of his own end along the far side boards, he made a long cross-ice pass to Billy Sheridan. As Sheridan gained the line, he stopped at the top of the near side faceoff circle and made a great backdoor pass through the slot that Bianchi redirected past McNicholas to make it 4 -3.
Hillier scored an empty net goal with 1:21 left in the game to close out the scoring and make it a 5 – 3 contest. McNicholas stopped 29 of 32 shots while Lane turned aside 23 of 27. Click HERE for the complete box score.