Rebels force Game 5 with triple OT win

April 20, 2018

East Division Semi-Finals, Game 4: Philadelphia 4 @ Northeast 3 (3OT) (Series tied 2-2) - Jensen Zerban scored 5:29 into triple overtime to give the visiting Philadelphia Rebels a 4-3 win over the Northeast Generals to force a fifth and deciding game in the East Division Semi-Finals. The Generals took a 1-0 lead with 7:25 left in the first period on Louis Bourdon’s first goal of the series. The Generals made it 2-0 later in the 1st period as Matt Demelis scored a power play goal. After trailing by two going into the second period, the Rebels came back and scored three straight goals. The Rebels made it 2-1 as Brandon Stanley tipped home a past Northeast goalie David Fessenden to cut the Generals lead in half with 5:24 into the second. Stanley also had a hand in the Rebels second goal as he skated towards the near side faceoff circle and took a wrister that was saved by Fessenden but Eric Olson tucked in the rebound past the fallen Northeast netminder. The Rebels took their first lead late in the period as a shot from the point  went wide, but it hit the end boards and took a crazy bounce right out to Alex Frye who was to the left of Fessenden and he poked in the rebound with 3:40 left in the second to give the Rebels a 3-2 lead. In the 3rd period, the Generals would tie it with 3:07 remaining in regulation. Jeff Skinner skated towards the faceoff dot, he took a sharp angle shot that was saved by Keane but Colin Bilek would poke the puck past him to make it a 3-3 game. After playing two overtime periods highlighted with several key saves by Fessenden and Keane, Zerban would become the hero in the third overtime period. Aaron Maguyon would pick up the loose puck at the top of the near side faceoff circle and pass it up to Ryan Patrick. As Patrick gained the line in the offensive zone, he passed the puck over to Zerban on his left. As Zerban skated towards the net, he deked towards his right and beat Fessenden short side to win the game. Both goalies played exceptionally well. Keane stopped 50 of 53 shots while Fessenden turned aside 54 of 58. Boxscore

 

South Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Shreveport 1 @ Corpus Christi 5 (Shreveport leads series, 2-1) - With their backs against the wall, the IceRays got off to a terrific start on Thursday night and never looked back, completing a convincing 5-1 victory against the Shreveport Mudbugs to live to fight another day. Another strong start to the game was in store for the IceRays, who made an early statement that they would not be lightly conquered by Shreveport. At 9:07, Dakota Concannon ripped a shot from the left half wall. The puck found some daylight on the near post and leaked through Jaxon Castor’s equipment, and the Rays managed to draw first blood for the second consecutive game. Adam Kadlec displayed excellent skill as he toe-dragged around a defender before feeding a nice pass between the circles for Rylee St. Onge, who tapped the puck into an open net for his second goal of the series and a 2-0 lead. Shreveport began to tip the scales in their favor in the second period, scoring a goal just 3:11 into the middle frame. Nikolai Jenson pinched down to the bottom of the right circle, and the puck fluttered his way before he smashed it past Chad Veltri to cut the Mudbugs’ deficit in half. In the last minute of the second stanza, Brendan Miller pursued the puck in the offensive zone, forced a turnover, and centered a pass for Larry Jungwirth. Jungwirth executed a brilliant maneuver from his forehand to his backhand before shoveling the puck past Castor to re-extend the Rays’ lead to two. In the 3rd period, the IceRays made it 4-1 as Noah Roofe found himself on a 2-on-1 rush with St. Onge on his right. Rather than risking the pass, Roofe took the shot and perfectly placed it inside the right post, beating Castor past his glove. St. Onge added his third point of the night off a circle-to-circle one-timer, beating Castor cleanly through the five-hole at 51:44 to give the Rays a 5-1 lead. Veltri had a rock-solid game in net stopping 25 of a possible 26 saves to earn his first playoff win as an IceRay. Castor was pulled in exchange for Gustavs Grigsals late in the contest, and the Latvian made all three saves in relief. Castor stopped 15 of 20 shots. Boxscore