REBELS (45-10-4) at TOMAHAWKS (39-15-4)
Location: Johnstown, Pennsylvania | War Memorial Arena
Game Time: Tonight (7:30 p.m.), Saturday (7:00 p.m.)
THE JOHNSTOWN TOMAHAWKS
This season, the Aston Rebels and the Johnstown Tomahawks have battle in close contests. This bitter rivalry has seen the Rebels get the better of the Tomahawks as Johnstown has a record of 2-6-2 against Aston.
In the most recent meeting between these two clubs, Johnstown split a home series by picking up a crucial.
Back on March 17, the Tomahawks used the luck of the Irish to defeat the Rebels 2-1 in overtime. Donovan Ott fired home a goal early in overtime for the team’s first victory over the Rebels since October 2016. Nick Bruce also found the back of the net.
The next night, the Hawks went down 2-0 to the Rebels after goals from Andrew Noel and Dom Garcia.
However, Bruce would continue his hot streak with two goals of his own to draw both teams into a 2-2 before Rebels forward Andrew Bellant tallied the game-winning goal midway through the third period.
Player to Watch
Evan Somoza is riding a three-game goal scoring streak in the regular season finale this weekend. Look for Somoza to use his speed to track down pucks and create chances.
ASTON REBELS
Coached by Joe Coombs, the Rebels locked up their second consecutive East Division championship two weekends ago. And they wrapped up the regular season crown this past weekend with a victory over the New Jersey Titans.
Leading the way for the Rebels in scoring is Andrew Bellant with 54 points (26 goals, 28 assists). The second-year forward has been a consistent scoring threat for the Rebels and is their main contributor on offense.
Bringing production from the blue line is Arizona State-commit Gvido Jansons who has scored an impressive 19 goals from the back end. Along with that mark, he has added 27 assists. Jansons will be teammates with Tomahawks captain Filips Buncis next season with the Sun Devils.
The Rebels will face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights in the first round of the 2017 Robertson Cup Playoffs.
Player to Watch
Evgeny Yakovlev is a towering 6-3 Russian forward who has been an established physical presence for a hard-working Rebels team. He will be consistent threat on the ice and will draw plenty of attention from Hawks defenders.