This past weekend the Rebels faced off against the New Jersey Titans for the last two games against one another of the regular season. With the Rebels locking up 2nd place all they had to do now is wait to see who claims 3rd, which was currently held by the Titans. The Rebels have dominated the Titans this season posting a season-series record of 4-2-1-1 and have won the last five meetings. The Titans had a lot to play for though as the Knights and Generals were playing three-straight games against each other this past weekend. The reason why those three games were important for the Titans was because if they lost both games to the Rebels and Northeast won all three games, they would be within two points on New Jersey with four games left.
On Friday, both teams came ready to play. The first period did not provide us with any goal scorers but what it showed was a possible first round match-up for both teams and neither side was giving the other an edge. While the Titans did out-shoot the Rebels in the 2nd period 11-7, one of those seven the Rebels threw on Brandon Perrone did find the back of the net and it came off the stick of James Crossman (15), his first as a Rebel. When the final period of regulation started the Rebels were up by one and were gunning for another one. Colin Schmidt (8) snapped one short side to beat Perrone with 12:30 gone in the 3rd period. Down by two and with time winding down the Titans pulled Perrone to get the extra attacker out on the ice in hopes to tie the game and force overtime. With just seven seconds left, Zach Nazzarett (14) found the loose puck and beat Ryan Keane ending his shutout. Keane did end up getting the victory as the Titans ran out of time to try to mount a full comeback. One main takeaway from game 11 between these two East Division rivals was that there was no love lost for one another. It had every aspect of a playoff game.
The following night the Rebels went with Noah West in between the pipes and the Titans stuck with Brandon Perrone. The final regular-season game between these two teams marked the fifth game decided by one goal. There was only one goal scored during the entire game and it was in favor of the home team. It took until the 2nd period for someone to score and it was Eric Manoukian scoring his third of the season. The physical play from the night before sure did carry over though as there was a fight between Rebels’ forward Hunter Johannes and Titans’ forward Kyler Head with 3:00 minutes left in the middle period. Unfortunately, with their loss the Rebels lost their six-game win streak against the Titans and it also ended their nine-game point streak against the 3rd place team. It was Perrone’s third shutout of the season and the fourth time the Rebels had been shutout this season. Although, a positive from that is that the Rebels have won every game following being shutout.
The Titans did punch their ticket to the Robertson Cup Playoffs after the Generals and Knights battled their 3rd game out in a shootout. Although, the Generals did win Friday and Saturday keeping them in contention for the 3rd place spot. They are five points behind NJT and only three ahead of WBS. This weekend the Rebels will end their regular season series with the Generals in Attleboro, MA. While the Titans face last place Maryland. The Rebels could find out who they will face in the 1st round of the post-season depending on how Northeast plays against them and how New Jersey does versus Maryland. If it turns out that the Rebels will face the Titans, you will want to buckle up for that series as every inch of the ice will have to be earned. For ticket information call 716-484-2624 and make sure to follow us on social media.
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