Jamestown Rebels (31-13-5-3, 70pts) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (21-26-3-1, 46pts)
at Northwest Arena in Jamestown, NY
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Broadcast: HockeyTV
What You Need to Know:
Season Series: 8-1-1
Leading Scorers:
JMT: 52pts, Frye (28g-24a)
WBS: 34pts, Guillemain (10g-24a)
HOME SWEET HOME:
The Rebels will end their four-straight games on home ice this weekend when they take on the 5th place Knights. It will also end the regular-season series between these two teams. In their last 10 games at the Northwest Arena the Rebels are 7-2-1, putting up 33 goals for and allowing 19. Their overall home record is 17-8-1, which is the 6th best in the league. This past weekend they swept the New Jersey Titans and are now on a five-game point streak. Jamestown scored 11 goals through the two games and Noah West only allowed one each night.
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
Wilkes-Barre is coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the New Jersey Titans, putting them one point back of Northeast for the last playoff spot. The Knights and Generals play each other three times next weekend which could determine who will see post-season action. The Knights have made the playoffs every year since they became a team in 2015-16. Wilkes-Barre is 7-3 in their past ten games which has kept them alive in the playoff hunt. From here on out every game for them will be crucial as they have just nine games left until the 2018-19 regular season comes to a close.
NOAH WEST:
A main reason why the Rebels are on a hot streak right now is because of their rookie goaltender, who has been playing like he has been in the league for years. West has played the past five games (team high). It all began when he picked up his 3rd shutout of the season against Maryland on March 1st, all his shutouts are against the Black Bears. He followed that up by allowing three goals the next two games, resulting in a sweep over MYD and a close OTL to Johnstown. With his performance this past weekend, West has moved up to 13th overall for goalies with a 2.40 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .907%. He has an overall record of 11-4-4-1.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
REBELS (F: #26 – Niki Jasko)
Ever since the Rebels franchise started back in ’08 as the Wenatchee Wild there has been at least one player to record a hat trick during the season. Well the streak will live on, as this past Saturday, Niki Jasko put three in the back of the net. The night before he scored two goals becoming the 13th player this season to do so. On Saturday, he scored the Rebels first goal, just like he did the previous two games. He scored five out of the 11 goals the Rebels put up on New Jersey last weekend. Jasko became the second-straight Rebel player to be named East Division Star of the Week, after scoring six goals in three games. The Slovakian native is in his last year of junior hockey and is looking to finish strong as he now has 13 goals on the season (11 with JMT).
KNIGHTS (F: #11 – Jake Fuss)
It is a no-brainer to go with Fuss for this as he was the hero for them just a few nights ago. In the Tuesday game against New Jersey, Fuss not only picked up a helper but also scored the game-winning goal in OT to put his team one point out of a playoff spot (1st GWG of his career). The Connecticut native is in his 3rd year with the Knights totaling 71 regular-season games played (12g-19a). He is 5th on his team in scoring with 27 points (10g-17a). Fuss has played in every game between these two teams this season and has recorded three assists.
