Jamestown, NY – Fueled by a two-goal performance by defenseman Noah Szretter, and a return to Jamestown by goaltender Jon Howe, the Rebels (8-8-1-1) snapped their 7-game home losing streak, defeating the New Jersey Titans (14-7-1-0) by a score of 3-2 on Saturday night at the Northwest Arena.
Similarly to Friday night, the opening period was a scoreless duel for the vast majority of the frame, until New Jersey’s Ethan Wongus netted his first goal of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at 18:14. Rebels goaltender Jon Howe, who played in 17 games with the team during the 2019-20 season, made his return to the team and stopped 10 shots in the first period alone.
Something sparked the team during the first intermission, as Jamestown would come out swinging in the second frame, scoring three unanswered goals. Noah Szretter tied the game 1-1 for the home team at 5:53 with his third goal of the season. Shortly after a big penalty kill by Jamestown, Szretter would add another, his second of the game and fourth of the season, giving Jamestown the 2-1 lead at 16:21. The momentum kept rolling, as captain John Lundy extended the Jamestown lead to 3-1 with his team-leading 9th goal of the year just over a minute later at 17:25.
The final period was another tight-knit battle, with Jamestown killing off another New Jersey power play and Howe standing tall in net. The Titans would finally break through, however, as Rocco Testa-Basi netted his 7th goal of the season, shrinking the Rebels’ lead to 3-2 at 13:10. New Jersey kept the pressure on, but the hometown Rebels would keep the visitors off the board again, securing the 3-2 victory, their first on home ice this season.
Howe, who spent the beginning of this year in Amarillo with the Wranglers, would end up turning aside 20 of New Jersey’s 22 shots to earn his first win of the year with Jamestown. Titans netminder Andrew Takacs, who earned the win on Friday night, stopped 20 of Jamestown’s 23 shots.
For the Rebels, Jak Vaarwerk, Reid Lune, Carter Casper, Marcus Kivela Carlzon, John Musella, and Jack Kircher all tallied an assist in the victory. No power play goals would be scored in the contest, as Jamestown finished 0/2, and New Jersey 0/4 with the man advantage.
NOTES: Jon Howe appeared in 3 games with Amarillo, posting a 1-0 record. This victory moves him to 2-0 overall on the year. His last victory in a Rebels uniform came on February 1, 2020, a road win in Maryland … The Jamestown victory snapped both a 7-game home losing streak for the Rebels, as well as a 8-game winning streak for the Titans. The previously last recorded victory on home ice for Jamestown came on March 6, 2020, a 5-3 win against New Jersey … Jak Vaarwerk’s assist was his 12th of the season, he currently leads the Rebels in that category … Jamestown will next be on the road for a set of games with the Northeast Generals on Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20.
