The visiting Danbury Hat Tricks scored five, third period goals in less than seven minutes to comeback and defeat the Rebels 7 – 3 in game one of this home-and-home series. With the loss and the New Hampshire Mountain Kings win, the Rebels now find themselves four points out of the sixth and final playoff spot.
It was the most goals the Rebels had allowed in a game this season.
Danbury’s Niko Tournas opened the scoring just 1:23 into the game. The Tricks’ Ryan Lukko picked up the loose puck at the top of his own end and passed it up to Tournas at center ice. As Tournas gained the line, he cut slightly towards his right and took a wrist shot that went bar down behind Rebels netminder Anthony Sciere for Tournas’ first of two goals of the contest.
Danbury’s Luke Golisano was called for head contact at with 6:48 remaining in the period to give the Rebels the man advantage. Forty-five seconds later, Ryan Bunting evened the score. Luke Janviriya started the play at the top of the far side faceoff circle and skated back towards the near side boards. Janviriya turned and sent a pass along the blueline to Billy Sheridan who took a shot that was saved by Tricks netminder John Reburn but the rebound came out to Bunting in the crease and Bunting jammed the puck into the back of the net for his nineteenth goal of the season.
Hudson Weber-Stewart gave the Rebels their first lead of the game at 2:30 into the middle stanza. Linas Dedinas picked up the loose puck at his own half wall and passed the biscuit to a breaking Weber-Stewart on his right, who skated through center ice and into the offensive zone with a burst of speed. As Weber-Stewart gained the line, he cut towards the center of the ice and used a Danbury defenseman as a screen and took a shot that beat Reburn high, short side for Weber-Stewart’s fifth goal of the season and first in seven games.
The Tricks’ Alexis Billequey evened the score at two at 5:42 of the second. Danbury’s Ameen Ghosheh picked up the puck behind the Rebels net and skated towards the far side boards. As he started to turn towards his right, Ghosheh made a centering pass out to Kai Elkie in the slot. Elkie made a backdoor tap pass to Billequey on his left and Billequey took a one-timer that beat the outstretched Sciere for Billequey’s fifteenth goal of the season.
Thirty-four seconds later Abzal Alibek gave the Rebels a 3 – 2 lead. Alibek started the play at the far side halfway and passed it to Charlie Spencer in the slot. Spencer turned and sent the biscuit back to Joe Stauber at the point. Stauber took a clapper that was blocked out front and the rebound came right out to Alibek who slammed the puck into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season as well.
Danbury then scored five, unanswered goals in less than seven minutes starting with 9:20 remaining in the game. As Bryce Strand started to skate out of his own end, he went to make an outlet pass but it was knocked down by the Tricks’ Brendan Boring at center ice. Boring passed the puck up to David Utkin who was breaking down the near side wall. As Utkin gained the line, he went around Strand and cut through the goalmouth and deked around Sciere and deposited the puck into the back of the net to even the score at three.
Fifty-one seconds later Danbury’s 6’9” defenseman Jack Harney gave the Tricks the lead for good. With a scrum at the far side halfwall in the Rebels zone, the puck squirted free to Danbury’s Andrew Gibbons who cut back towards the point and made a cross-ice pass to Harney at the near side point. Harney stepped up and took a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Sciere for Harney’s first goal of the season.
Two minutes later Ghosheh gave the Tricks a 5 – 3 advantage. Billequey picked up the loose puck behind the Rebels net and skated towards the far side corner and back along the boards. As he circled towards the half wall, he made a center pass to Kai Elkie in the slot. Elkie took a shot that bounced off the post and Strand’s glove and into the back of the net for Ghosheh’s eleventh goal of the season.
Salvatore Cerrato made it 6 – 3 with 3:43 remaining in the game, and Tournas scored his second of the game forty seconds later to close out the scoring and make it a 7 – 3 game.
Sciere stopped 31 of 38 shots while Reburn picked up his first NAHL win turning aside 27 of 30. Click HERE for the complete box score.