The Johnstown Tomahawks will wrap up the 59-game regular season this weekend at home versus the Philadelphia Rebels to try and knock Danbury out of the final playoff spot in the East Division. Danbury recording one or less points in their weekend finale versus the Maryland Black Bears, followed by a Tomahawks’ sweep of Philly would be ideal, pushing us into 6th place by one point. If Danbury fails to record any points, the Hawks’ magic number would be to produce three points on the weekend.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Rebels have had quite the history in the NAHL with four different city name changes since the 2015 season. From 2015-17, the team was known as the Aston Rebels. Then there was a solo season with the introduction of the Philadelphia Rebels. However, the initial “Philadelphia” season was short-lived as they were changed to the Jamestown Rebels for the next four years until 2022. After all, the Rebels have made their way back to Philly and have been known as the “Philadelphia Rebels” once again to present day, since the 2022-23 season.
Last year the Tomahawks and Rebels faced off six times, which is standard for most in-division matchups. The Tomahawks weren’t very successful versus the sub-.500 Philadelphia team last season losing the season series 4-2. The first four games were played in Philadelphia while the last two were inside the 1ST SUMMIT ARENA in Johnstown. Despite the 4-2 series loss, the Tomahawks were definitely not outplayed entirely. Each of the six games was extremely tight with the largest margin of victory coming at just two goals. The last three games of the series were just one goal games, with one finishing in a shootout. The Tomahawks did wrap the series on a positive note however, winning 4-3 on home ice.
SEP 20TH – 3-1 L IN PHILADELPHIA
SEP 21TH – 5-3 L IN PHILADELPHIA
JAN 17TH – 6-4 L IN PHILADELPHIA
JAN 18TH – 3-2 W IN PHILADELPHIA
FEB 14TH – 2-1 SOL IN JOHNSTOWN
FEB 15TH – 4-3 W IN JOHNSTOWN
REBELS WIN SERIES FOUR GAMES TO TWO
2025-2026 SEASON SERIES SO FAR
NOV 7TH – 4-1 L AT PHILADELPHIA (1-0 PHI)
NOV 8TH – 2-1 SOW AT PHILADELPHIA (1-1)
NOV 21ST – 5-3 L IN JOHNSTOWN (2-1 PHI)
NOV 22ND – 4-1 W IN JOHNSTOWN (2-2)
APR 3RD – TBD IN JOHNSTOWN
APR 4TH – TBD IN JOHNSTOWN
2025-2026 KEYS TO THE MATCHUP
- The blueprint will be laid out this weekend, and the Tomahawks have just one job. WIN.
- The Tomahawks have been involved in some high-scoring shootouts as of late with 49 total goals scored in the last five-contests
- A mix of high-powered offense and defensive breakdowns all around
- The Rebels have lost five straight and been eliminated from playoff contention for about two weeks now and have next to nothing to play for
- Never underestimate the team who has the opportunity to play spoiler. Philadelphia will know exactly what the stakes are coming into the weekend
- The Rebels are led offensively by Jordan Brothers who has recorded 36PTS this season (17G, 19A)
- The Tomahawks are led by captain Nick Jarmain who has scored as many goals (36) as Brothers’ has points on the season
- Special teams will continue to play a huge factor over the weekend with the Hawks’ power play heating up as of late and now clicks at a 23% clip on the season
GOALIE MATCHUP
JTN
- Ferris: 13-17-5-3 | 3.34GAA | .892 SV%
- Oleksiienko: 8-5-0-0 | 3.24GAA | .910 SV%
PHI
- Nikitins: 13-20-0-4 | 2.90GAA | .910 SV%
- Varsa: 8-5-0-0 | 3.23GAA | .898 SV%
BY: DREW P. PFEIL