The Rebels will travel to Odenton, MD this weekend for a two-game series against the East Division leading Maryland Black Bears at the Piney Orchard Arena. Friday’s game begins at 7:00PM while Saturday’s contest starts at 6:30PM.
This will be the first of five straight road games for the Rebels, after playing the previous five at the friendly confines of the Hollydell Ice Arena where they posted a 4 – 1 record outscoring their opponents by the combined score of 26 – 13.
Including this weekend, Philadelphia has eleven games remaining in the regular season, six of them are on the road. Seven of the eleven games are against opponents ahead of them in the standings. While the Rebels sit in the seventh place, they are only four points behind the sixth and final playoff spot currently held by the Northeast Generals, and the Rebels have three games in hand on Northeast. The Generals have eight games remaining with five of them at home, and four games against teams that are underneath them in the standings.
Brock Jones will be playing in his 100th NAHL game Friday night.
Black Bears vs. Rebels Overview
The Black Bears have won four of the previous six meetings between the teams outscoring the Rebels by a combined margin of 17 to 12. The last time they played was back on January 19 and 20 when the Black Bears swept the two-games at Hollydell by a total score of 5 – 2. Their last game was on January 20 when Maryland’s Owen Lepak stopped all eighteen shots he faced to lead the Black Bears to a 1 – 0 victory.
In the first six games, the Black Bears went 4 for 25 (16%) on the powerplay. Jesse Horacek leads Maryland with eight total points (2 goals and 6 assists) against the Rebels while Riley Ruh has the most goals against Philadelphia (four). Netminders Owen Lepak and Colin Ronan have a combined 1.82 goals against average and .930 save percentage with one shutout.
The Rebels have gone 3 for 28 (11%) so far against Maryland on the man advantage this season. Sonny DiNubile has three points (1 goal and 2 assists) to lead the Rebels in total points against the Black Bears. Charles Panchisin has the most goals (two) against Maryland. Rebels netminders have a combined 2.48 goals against average and .930 save percentage.
Black Bears Overview
Maryland sits atop the East Division with a 35-11-2-3 record for 75 points, three more than the second place Maine Nordiques. Maryland is looking to become the first team since the original Rebels to win back-to-back-East Division regular season championships (the Rebels won it the first three years of the division). They are coming off a two-game road sweep over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The Black Bears have won six of their last ten games.
Maryland has scored 172 goals (11th in the league), and they have allowed 117 (3rd best in the league). They have converted on 19.4% of the chances on the man advantage (11th in the league), and their penalty kill is at .816% (third best in the league).
Dimitry Kebreau has the most total points on the Black Bears with 45 (14 goals and 31 assists) while Jeremi Tremblay has a team high 17 goals. Tremblay also has the most game winning goals with six. Tracye Johnson has a team best +25. Luke Amell leads the team in penalty minutes with 149.
Black Bears’ goalies have a combined 2.12 goals against average and a .916 save percentage with six shutouts.
Rebels Overview
The Rebels are in seventh place in the East Division with a 22-25-0-2 record for 46 points. They are coming off a two-game home sweep over the Rochester Jr. Americans. They have won two in a row and seven of their past ten games. They have recorded a point in each of their last eight games.
Philadelphia has scored 155 goals (17th in the league), and they have allowed 170 (22nd in the league). They have converted on 16% of the chances on the man advantage (23rd in the league), and their penalty kill is at .832% (9th in the league).
Panchisin leads the team with 50 total points (21 goals and 29 assists) and goals (21). Paddy Fortune and Jones each have two game winning goals. Panchisin also has a team best +17. Julian Brown has the most penalty minutes with 92.
Rebels netminders have a combined 3.26 goals against average and .906 save percentage with two shutouts.