The Skatin’ Rebels traveled to Phoenix for their last away series of the semester, defeating Grand Canyon 3-2 in the first game of the weekend.
Team leader Max Johnson kicked off the scoring six minutes into the game, knocking the puck behind Antelope goaltender Scott Kasaboski with an assist coming from Ezekiel Estrada.
The lead didn’t last long with Cole Golden scoring for the Antelopes less than a minute later, with Justin Rudyk having an assist and tying it up at 1.
Both teams struggled to get another goal for the remainder of the period, going back and forth on the ice for possession.
UNLV ended the period with 16 shots on goal, compared to Grand Canyon’s nine shots.
Brendan Fehlig scored his first goal as a Rebel early in the second period, assisted by Cole Wyatt to put the Rebels back in the lead 2-1.
"Yeah it felt good, it was nice to get the monkey off the back,” Fehlig said. “We’re still not satisfied with our game though so we’re going to regroup and hopefully have a better game tomorrow.”
Similar to the first period, six penalties were taken in the second period, splitting it up evenly between the two teams.
With 58 seconds remaining on the clock, Rebel Max Johnson and Antelope Cameron Neaylon entered the penalty boxes for unsportsmanlike conduct making it a 4-on-4 game.
The third period started with a man short on both sides, with a little over a minute left on the penalties.
It didn’t take long for Jacob Cummings to even the score out once again, tying the game with an unassisted goal.
The Rebels fought for control of the puck, and with 5:26 remaining, Nick Flanders scored an unassisted goal to put UNLV on top once again, 3-2.
"Yeah, it felt good,” Flanders said. “The whole team has been working pretty hard these past couple weeks so we knew [the win] was gonna come, it was just a matter of time.”
For the remainder of the night, the Rebels played the passing game to prevent any more scoring from the Antelopes.
With a minute to go, Grand Canyon pulled their goalie for an empty net but was unable to take advantage of the extra man on the ice.
The Rebels outshot the Antelopes 44-28 to win the game. Goaltender Zach Wickson made 26 saves of the night.
"I was kind of upset, definitely not up to standards,” head coach Anthony Greener said. “Lucky to win, I guess... I know that we are much better than this. We’ll move on tomorrow night.”
The three stars of the night were awarded to Flanders with the game-winning goal, Fehlig with his first goal of the season, and David Lenzin.
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