The Castlegar Rebels scored three times in the second period, storming back from an early two-goal deficit, en route to a 3-2 win over the Spokane Braves in a penalty plagued game in Spokane on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The Rebels were down by two after 20 minutes after Justin Bonanno scored on the power play at 12:40 and Tyler Peltram added another with just over four minutes to play in the first.
Rebels defenceman Dylan Bowerman got into a scrap with Kurtis Redding with under a minute to play in the opening period, a melee that also involved Bowerman's linemate Brett Leidl. All three were handed game misconducts.
After a too many men call to Castlegar just over a minute into the second, they seemed to settle in and find an extra gear, peppering Braves netminder Jon Manlow with 20 shots and finding the net three times, but never once at even strength.
The Rebels first goal came from forward Jeremy McNeil, who tallied his third of the season on a feed from Kody Disher. The second and third both came off Disher's stick, taking advantage on power plays at 15:26 and 0.11.
There was no scoring from either team in the third but the Rebels maintained most of the pressure, putting 14 more shots on goal versus just seven from the Braves offence.
The Rebels' two power play goals came on nine chances while the Braves managed just one on a whopping 14 opportunities.
Manlow was yanked with about a minute to play in favour of the extra attacker but the Braves were unable to find the equalizer.
Patrick Zubick got the win for Castlegar putting up a wall on 26 of 28 shots.
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The win was the second in as many days for the Rebels, who edged out the Border Bruins in Grand Forks in double overtime the night before.
Despite being outshot 50 - 37 on Saturday, and the Border Bruins finding the net twice with the man advantage, Zubick backed his team to victory.
The Bruins struck first on a goal from Tucker Brown but then three of the Rebels five goals put them up by two. Jeremy McNeil, Aaron Brewer and Diego Bartlett scored within about five minutes of one another, before the Bruins answered back with goals from Cam McLennan and Jackson Purvis knotting things at three.
Bartlett picked up his second of the night just under two minutes into the final period with Matt reed and Leidl assisting on the go-ahead goal. The Bruins however, once again kept pace with Max Newton beating Zubick at 10:01 on the power play.
A first overtime period settled nothing but Seth Schmidt found the perfect time to provide his third of the season, nabbing the game winner at 4:12 of the second overtime.
The Rebels now enjoy a have a well-deserved break before taking on the Braves again in Spokane on Friday, Nov. 8. The next home game will be against Princeton on Saturday, Nov. 9. Then they hit the road again for a game against the Coyotes in Osoyoos on Nov. 10.
The Rebels are now sitting fifth in the KIJHL, third in their division, with a 10-7-0-3 record. The Nelson Leafs lead with 15 wins, no regulation losses and just one overtime loss.