LEWISTON — The Maine Nordiques are trying to finish the regular season with some momentum heading into the playoffs.
Maine earned its second straight win, defeating the Philadelphia Rebels 7-4 at The Colisee on Friday.
It was a coming-out party for forward Kim Hilmersson, who had two goals and two assists for the Nordiques.
He now has six goals and nine assists in 50 games.
Hilmersson, of Uppsala, Sweden, credits being on a line with his other two Scandinavian teammates: Henrik Hallberg (Sweden) and Filip Wilberg (Norway).
“Those guys are amazing players, and they find me when I am open and I find them when they are open,” Hilmersson said. “They are aware of everything; they are amazing to play with.”
It was a new line which was put together with the Nordiques (33-23-3,69 points) resting a few players for the playoffs.
Hallberg also had two goals and two helpers. Wiberg had a goal and three assists.
“That was a pretty productive line; it has all the good elements of good chemistry,” Maine Nordiques coach Matt Pinchevsky said. “We were resting Jonny (Meiers), but you have the same element of speed, maybe a little bit more power — who are we kidding, a lot more power in Kim Hilmersson. You have the best faceoff guy in the entire league (in Filip Wiberg) having you start the puck every time. You have a gifted goal-scorer (in Henrik Hallberg), who took the time he needed to heal up from his injury and get back in his groove as well.”
The Rebels’ (26-30-3, 55 points) season ends this weekend, but they are trying to end the season on a high note.
“It’s (about) finishing out our journey,” Rebels coach Justin Hale said. “We are trying to get back to .500 and we are close to that, and we are still fighting for guys to get college scholarships. There’s a respect thing and we want to show the league that we are going to be relevant next year.”
Aidan Coupe gave the Nordiques a 1-0 lead nearly four-and-half minutes into the first period, with Patrick Schmeidlin and Oliver Genest recording the assists.
Hilmersson stretched the lead to 2-0 about 12 minutes into the first period. John Paul Steele and Hallberg set the goal up.
“JP Steele shot it and I tipped it off a Rebels defenseman’s shoulder right into the net,” Hilmersson said. “It was a little lucky; I was just happy (to be) in the right spot.”
Hallberg beat Philadelphia goalie Jakub Krbecek a minute and a half after Hilmersson’s goal for a 3-0 Maine lead. Hilmersson and Nicholas Bernardo had the helpers.
Wiberg scored his 17th goal of the season 8:39 into the middle frame, with Hallberg notching an assist and Sterling Wolters having the other.
The Rebels got going offensively in the final 10 minutes of the second when Otto Pauls Polakovs cut the deficit to 4-1 roughly two minutes after Wiberg’s goal.
Maine Nordiques’ Laurent Trepanier responded by tipping in a Kellen Murphy shot. Captain Brendan Gibbons had the second assist.
Carter Casper beat Maine goalie Kael DePape (14 saves) with a shot that just went underneath the crossbar over DePape’s left shoulder in the final minute of the second period.
Pinchevsky said the Nordiques are still working on the mental side of the game.
“I think we skipped a couple of details in that (second) period that put us in this mindset of, ‘Are we going to screw this up?'” Pinchevsky said. “We have things in between the ears that we still have to iron out. I liked our pace, I liked our speed — I don’t think it was an overly physical game. There were some good takeaways.”
Philadelphia rode the momentum into the third period when Kristians Samitis got the Rebels within 5-3 three minutes into the stanza.
Hallberg iced the game when the puck slid to him in the slot and his slap shot beat Krbecek (15 saves) cleanly. Wiberg and Hilmersson added to their point totals with assists.
Luke deVries scored a power-play tally for Philadelphia with just under two minutes remaining in the third period.
The Rebels were 1 for 2 on the man-advantage, while Maine didn’t have any opportunities.
Hilmersson capped the scoring with a breakaway tally to extend Maine’s lead to 7-4.
The Teams meet in Lewiston again Saturday at 7 p.m.
Hale, who played in the 2014 NCAA Division III Frozen Four in Lewiston for Wisconsin-Stevens Point, losing in the national championship game to St. Norbert’s, is still trying to get his first coaching win at The Colisee.
“We got one win at the Frozen Four, but still looking for that first win this season,” Hale said.
FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES SCHEDULE SET
The Nordiques will begin the NAHL Robertson Cup Playoffs next weekend as the third seed in the East Division. They will take on the second-seeded New Jersey Titans in a best-of-five series, beginning in Middletown, New Jersey, for Game 1 and Game 2 next Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.). Game 3 will be Thursday, April 27, at The Colisee at 7 p.m.
If necessary, Game 4 will be Friday, April 28, at The Colisee at 7 p.m. The series would move back to New Jersey for Game 5, if needed, on Sunday, April 30 for a 7 p.m. faceoff.
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