Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights vs. Aston Rebels Overview
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights visit IceWorks on Friday night for the Rebels only game of the weekend. This will be the twelfth and final time these two teams meet during the regular season, and the Rebels have won nine of the eleven games. Aston has outscored the Knights 46 – 21. The Rebels two losses were on the road. If the regular season were to conclude now these two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs – just like last year.
The Knights have three players who have six points against the Rebels: Kristian Acosta (4 goals and 2 assists), Sam Antonitsch (2 goals and 4 assists) and Curtis Carlson (3 goals and 3 assists). Acosta has scored the most goals against the Rebels with four. WBS is 4 of 34 (12%) on the power play. The Knights goaltenders have a 3.90 goals against average and a .872 save percentage. Grant Valentine has appeared in seven of the games. He has allowed 24 goals, and he has a .871 save percentage.
Gvido Jansons leads the Rebels with thirteen points (8 goals and 5 assists) against the Knights. He is followed by Drew Blackmun’s eleven points (5 goals and 6 assists) and four players who each have ten points: Andrew Bellant (6 goals and 4 assists), Brennan Kapckeck (2 goals and 8 assists), Aaron Maguyon (4 goals and 6 assists) and Evgeny Yakovlev (2 goals and 8 assists). Jansons has scored the most goals against the Knights with eight. The Rebels are 8 of 37 (22%) on the power play. Mareks Mitens and Jack Leavy have a combined 1.63 goals against average and .932 save percentage with three shutouts (all Mitens). Mitens has appeared in nine of the games and he has allowed eleven goals with a .949 save percentage.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Overview
The Knights are currently in fourth place in the East Division with a 23-23-1-3 record for 50 points through 50 games. They are 31 points behind the Rebels. WBS is coming off of a 3 – 2 shootout loss against the Johnstown Tomahawks back on February 25. The Knights have won four out of their last ten games. The Knights have scored 155 goals (tenth most in the league) and have allowed 157 (thirteenth in the league) through 50 games.
The Knights’ Matt Kidney and Paul Maust each have thirty four points (each has 14 goals and 20 assists). Sam Antonitsch has thirty two points (16 goals and 16 assists). Antonitsch has the most goals on the team with 16. Dorian Dawson leads the Knights defensemen with 30 points (7 goals and 23 assists).Kidney and Maust each have three game winning goals.
WBS is twenty second in the league on the power play with a 15.6% conversion ratio while they are ranked seventh in the league on the penalty kill preventing the opposition from scoring 84% of the time. Elijah Latimer leads the team with 101 penalty minutes. Maust has the team’s best +/- ratio of +15.
Goaltenders Grant Valentine and Matteo Esposito have a combined 3.03 goals against average and a .909 save percentage with three shutouts.
Aston Rebels Overview
The Rebels lead the East Division with a record of 40-9-1 for 81 points through 50 games, ten left in the regular season. Aston has the best record in the North American Hockey League. They are coming off of a 3 – 2 win over the Johnstown Tomahawks, and they have won nine of their last ten games. They are on an eight game win streak. The Rebels have scored 177 goals (third best in the league) and have allowed only 88goals (least amount in the NAHL) through 48 games.
The Rebels are led by Andrew Bellant’s 46 points (24 goals and 22 assists). He is followed by Gvido Jansons (8 goals and 22 assists) and Drew Blackmun’s (16 goals and 24 assists) 40 points each. Bellant also leads the team in goals with 24 and game winning goals with five. Jansons also leads the team’s defensemen with 40 points.
The Rebels are ranked third in the league on the power play with a 23.4% conversion ratio while they are ranked third in the league on the penalty kill preventing the opposition from scoring 85.8% of the time. Bellant leads the team with 146 penalty minutes. Brennan Kapcheck and Ryan Solomon lead the team with a +34 +/- ratio.
The goaltending tandem of Mareks Mitens (1.54 GAA and .931 SV%) and Jack Leavy (1.92 GAA and .912SV%) has a combined 1.73 goals against average and a .921 save percentage with sixteen shutouts.
