The Rebels will travel to Elmira this weekend to take on the Aviators for a pair of games at the LECOM Event Center with the Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15 contests both beginning at 7:00PM. There is only a point that separate the Rebels and Aviators in the standings, although the Rebels have a game in hand. While the Rebels are currently in eighth place, they are only six points behind the New Hampshire Mountain Kings for the sixth and final playoff spot. The fight for the last spot is so tight between the last place team (Northeast Generals) and sixth place team is only seven points.
Aviators and Rebels Overview
This will be the third and final time these teams will meet with each team winning a pair of games, although the Rebels have outscored the Aviators by a margin of 13 – 11 in the previous four games played. The last time they met was two weeks ago at Hollydell with the Rebels winning the first game 6 – 1 and the Aviators winning the second game 3 – 0.
The Aviators are 2 for 12 (17%) on the man advantage. Sean Williams (three assists), Curtiss Sturgeon, Jude Hunt and Clarence Beltz (all three with 1 goal and 2 assists) each have three points against the Rebels while Matthew Maglio has a pair of goals against Philadelphia. Elmira’s goaltenders have a combined 3.19 goals against average and .920 save percentage with one shutout (Wesley Jefferson-Swint II).
The Rebels are 4 for 19 (21%) on the man advantage. Their four powerplay goals came in one game. Caesar Björk (4 goals and 1 assist), Brock Jones (2 goals and 3 assists) and Ryan Bunting (1 goal and 4 assists) each have five points against Elmira while Björk has the most goals against the Aviators (4). Rebels netminders have a combined 2.74 goals against average and .909 save percentage with no shutouts against Elmira.
Aviators Overview
Elmira is currently in ninth place in the East Division with a 19-28-3-1 record for 42 points (28th in the league). They are coming off of an away split against the Johnstown Tomahawks losing the first game 4 – 3 and winning the second contest 3 – 2. They have won three out of their last five games and four out of their last ten. They possess a 7-16-3-1 home record and 12-12-0-0 away record.
The Aviators have scored 142 goals (23rd in the league), and they have allowed 193 (32nd in the league). They have converted on 14.78% of the chances on the man advantage (30th in the league), and their penalty kill is at 75.27% (33rd in the league). They have scored 30 power play goals (26th in the league) and four shorthanded goals (28th in the league). They have given up eight shorthanded goals (10th in the league). Their powerplay at home is 10.09% and penalty kill is 72.48%. The Aviators powerplay on the road is 20.21% while their penalty kill is 79.22%.
Beltz leads the Aviators with 38 total points (15 goals and 23 assists) while Sturgeon has the most goals (16). Jett Otwell has the most game winning goals with four. Ben Norris has a team high +5. Charlie Vincent leads Elmira with 98 penalty minutes.
Elmira’s goaltenders have a combined 3.82 goals against average and .888 save percentage with three shutouts. Andrew Ness has a team best 3.37 goals against average and .903 save percentage.
Rebels Overview
The Rebels are currently in eighth place in the East Division with a 20-27-2-1 record for 43 points (27th in the league). They are coming off an away split against the Mountain Kings losing the first game 3 – 2 and winning the second game 3 – 2 in overtime. They have won three out of their last five games and five of their past ten contests. They have split their past seven series. The Rebels have a 14-8-2-1 home record and a 6-19-0-0 away record.
Philadelphia has scored 142 goals (22nd in the league), and they have allowed 164 (20th in the league). They have converted on 15.68% of the chances on the man advantage (27th in the league), and their penalty kill is at 81.41% (20th in the league). They have scored 29 power play goals (28th in the league) and have allowed eight shorthanded goals (9th in the league). They have scored four shorthanded goals (25th in the league). Their powerplay at home is 23.71% and penalty kill is 83.96%. The Rebels powerplay on the road is 6.82% while their penalty kill is 78.48%.
Charles Panchisin (14 goals and 28 assists) and Björk (18 goals and 24 assists) lead the Rebels in total points with 42 while Björk has the most goals (18). Ruslan Jamaldinov has a team high four game winning goals. Zach Spagnuolo has a team best +12. Jones has a team high 117 penalty minutes.
Rebels’ goaltenders have a combined 3.14 goals against average and .911 save percentage with one shutout (Owen Crudale). Crudale leads the team in wins (17), goals against average (2.83) and save percentage (.922).
After this weekend, the Rebels are home against the Maryland Black Bears for a pair of games. They will finish the season with a Tuesday night game in New Jersey and then have a pair of home and home games against Danbury.
