DANBURY, CT– In their first road game of 2023, the Philadelphia Rebels (13-16-1-1, 28 pts) traveled to Connecticut to face off against the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (2-27-3-2, 9 pts). The Rebels held a perfect record against Danbury coming into the game and they improved to 6-0 in the season series with a 5-2 win.
Philadelphia jumped out to an 3-0 first-period lead with goals from Max Hamstad, Connor Sedlak, and a short-handed goal from Tyler Stern. Jakub Krbecek made 10 saves to blank the Hat Tricks in the period.
Sean Matthews scored for Danbury just 1:45 into the second period. He shot a rebound past Krbecek for his first goal of the season. Later, with 7:05 left in the middle frame, David Overbeeke scored his first career NAHL goal, reducing the lead to 3-2.
Oliver Band’s deflection late in the second period restored the Rebels’ two-goal lead going into the second intermission. The goal was Band’s fifth of the year and was assisted by Dom Foglia and Sedlak, who each recorded their second points of the game.
Entering the third with a 4-2 lead, the Rebels packed it defensively, not giving the Hat Tricks any ice to work with offensively. With 9:12 left in the game, Klaus Jogi potted his seventh goal of the year.
In the winning effort, Krbecek stopped 29 of 31 shots. The Rebels registered 25 shots on net. Philadelphia also did a good job staying out of the penalty box, giving the Hat Tricks only one power play all afternoon.
The Rebels are back on the ice this weekend when they have a home-and-home series with the New Jersey Titans on Friday and Saturday night. Both games start at 7:30pm EST and can be streamed on MyHockeyTV. Friday’s game will be on the road in Middletown, NJ before the teams return to Hollydell Ice Arena on Saturday night.
