Weekend Preview
January 3, 2019 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Philadelphia Rebels News Release
This weekend the Rebels will be on the road for their first set of games in 2019, as they take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights for the next four-straight games. The Knights are the only team in the East Division to have not beaten the Rebels. Jamestown is currently 6-0 against the Knights and are hoping to add two more to that total by the end of this weekend. If the Rebels can win tomorrow, they will set a record for the longest win streak this season at five. Wilkes-Barre is sitting dead last in the East with an overall record of 11-19-1(23PTS). Whereas the Rebels overall record is 19-9-2-1(41PTS) good for second place in the East. With a sweep over the Knights this weekend it could propel the Rebels into the top five in the league depending on how some other teams perform.
Streaks:
The Rebels are on a four-game win streak, two of those four wins came against the Knights. Wilkes-Barre is on a four-game streak as well but in the form of losses. The last time the Rebels went 6-0 against a team during the season was when they were in Aston in 2016-2017 and it was against the Northeast Generals. Aston would finish the season with a perfect record of 11-0 against the first-year Generals.
Jim Glynn is two games away from tying the longest-point streak in the NAHL this season. Over the past 12 games Glynn has helped on 11 goals and has even scored four of his own. The last game of 2018 for the Rebels was one Glynn will not forget because it was the game where he set the record for the longest-point streak in franchise history. What made it even more special is that he got to do it in front of his family.
Home away from home:
With the Rebels making the four-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Pittson, PA tomorrow they must feel confident knowing it is the only arena they have not lost in this season. This will also be the last trip to the Revolution Ice Centre the Rebels will be making this regular season, so they are hoping to end it on a good note. Having played four games already there, the Rebels have recorded 12 goals and only allowed five.
Goaltending:
For the Rebels, deciding who to put between the pipes is becoming a difficult discussion for Head Coach Joe Coombs and Assistant Coach Josh Brown. They have two solid netminders that are both in the top 15 for goalies overall. Noah West recorded his second shutout of the season right before the team went on their holiday break. Also, Ryan Keane came in third for goalies in goals-against average for the month of December with 1.20. A main reason for that is he has won seven straight starts.
On the flip side, Wilkes-Barre has been struggling to find consistency in net. Samuel Vyletelka is winless this season (0-9) with a 3.55 GAA. His counterpart Zach Stejskal is 11-10-1 with a save percentage of .938%. The main reason he is second in SV% for goalies is that he has faced 864 shots, saving 810 of those, putting him also in second for saves in the league. To put that in perspective, Ryan Keane has seen 486 shots in just 20 games, two fewer than Stejskal has played.
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