SEWELL, NJ – Saturday night, the Philadelphia Rebels (23-29-2-1, 49 pts) finished off a weekend series with the Maryland Black Bears (39-15-4-0, 82 pts) with a 4-3 loss.
For the second night in a row, the Black Bears opened the scoring. Kal Essenmacher’s deflection with 13:28 left in the first period gave Maryland the early 1-0 lead. Philadelphia killed off both Maryland power-plays in the opening period.
The Rebels offense woke up in the second period. Carter Casper tied the game at one apiece 4:39 into the period. Connor Sedlak finished his chance, giving the Rebels a 2-1 lead, 5:23 into the middle frame. After multiple penalties, Greg Spitznagel connected on the power play for his 11th of the season, sending Philadelphia into the room with a 3-1 lead.
Seconds into the third period, Hunter Ramos tallied his second goal in as many nights, shrinking the Rebels’ lead to just one goal. He scored on a 2-on-0 break. Christian Catalano tied the game 5:03 into the final frame. Gunnar VanDamme scored during four-on-four to put Maryland ahead 4-3 with just over nine minutes to play.
Philadelphia pulled Jakub Krbecek late to try and tie the game, but couldn’t find the equalizer. Krbecek made 41 saves in the loss.
The Rebels will be back in action Thursday at Hollydell Ice Arena as they host the Johnstown Tomahawks. Puck drop will be at 8 p.m., and the game can be streamed on HockeyTV. Admission will be free for all fans.
