Goaltender Noah West (30) and defenseman Nate Clark (6) are two of only a few returning players for the Jamestown Rebels this season.

P-J file photo

Jamestown Rebels head coach Joe Coombs doesn’t see the 0-2-0-2 record his team played to at this past weekend’s NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota as the end of the world.

But he also isn’t happy with it.

Coombs knows his team has work to do heading into this weekend’s season-opening East Division series in Attleboro, Massachusetts against the Northeast Generals.

“We’re replacing 18 players. Our group is going to take some time,” Coombs said Tuesday evening. “There are a couple of changes we have to make because it’s that time of year and it’s in our nature. … It is a huge step from youth hockey to junior hockey, especially in our league.”

Despite picking up just two of a possible eight points at the Schwan Super Rink, the Rebels could’ve just as easily come away with four wins.

Jamestown’s week started with a 1-0 loss to Austin last Wednesday when the Bruins scored the lone goal of the game 16 minutes into the first period.

“They have a lot more veteran players than we do,” Coombs said of the Bruins. “We were not establishing any offensive zone puck pressure. We were not taking care of the puck and not protecting it. We were chasing the game the whole night.”

Goaltender Noah West stopped 32 shots in that game, but the Rebels were only able to put 20 shots on Austin goaltender Jaxon Friedman.

“We didn’t have enough chances,” Coombs added. “We had three or four ‘Grade A’ chances and gave up seven or eight. They got a goal and we didn’t. For our first game, I thought it was OK.”

Jamestown followed that up with a 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday.

The Rebels led 1-0 just over four minutes into the first period but the Magicians answered less than two minutes later to make it 1-1. The score remained that way until there were just three seconds left in regulation and Minnesota scored the winning goal.

“I really thought it was a game we should’ve won,” Coombs said. “A forward didn’t pick up his check and they scored with (three) seconds left. The game could’ve gone either way. Some guys really showed us that they are going to be decent players in this league.”

West was again impressive in net, stopping 26 of 28 shots he faced.

Things got even more excruciatingly painful Friday against the Kenai River Brown Bears.

Jamestown’s Nate Clark opened the scoring with just over a minute remaining in the first period, but again the Rebels couldn’t hold a lead, giving up the tying goal less than a minute later.

Kenai River took a 2-1 lead early in the second period before Jamestown’s Eric Olson scored the tying goal and Clark scored the go-ahead goal with five minutes left in the second period.

Armed with a 3-2 lead in the third period, the Rebels nearly escaped with their first win, but the Brown Bears tied the game with just 16 seconds remaining to force overtime and an eventual shootout.

“We had a situation late in the game and the only veteran player on the ice was Olson,” Coombs said. “We won the faceoff and had a play called, but it wasn’t executed. We wanted it strong up the wall and (Seth) Bergeron executed it, but our winger got tied up in the dot and didn’t get to the point. They went defense to defense, walked in and buried it.”

After stopping 28 of 31 shots he faced throughout regulation and the extra session, Jamestown goaltender Jon Howe allowed one of two Kenai River shooters to score in the shootout while all three Rebels attempts were unsuccessful.

“Jon Howe played really, really well for his first start in junior hockey,” Coombs said. “It was a little deflating. In overtime we had some chances, but not a whole lot. In the shootout, quite frankly, it was embarrassing. The ice was awful and we made poor decisions on the attempts that we had. It wasn’t good.”

In the final game of the showcase Saturday, Jamestown and Topeka remained scoreless throughout regulation and overtime, but again the Rebels were unable to score in the shootout and Topeka won 1-0 when Shawn Kennedy scored on the Pilots’ third attempt.

“It was 11 hours later and we were playing our fourth game in three-and-a-half days,” Coombs said. “That’s too much hockey. Topeka has 15 returning players. They outworked us from the time the puck was dropped until it was over.”

West was again good enough to win, stopping all 32 shots he faced before the shootout, but Jamestown only registered 12 shots on goal for the game, including none in the second period.

“He’s given us a chance to win just like Howe has,” Coombs said of West. “I like our defense and our goaltending, we just need to grab a couple more players.”

West was named the East Division’s Second Star of the week for his performance in Minnesota.

“This is a level of play that requires your full attention. Last year, Noah got his first taste and I think the first half of the year he was feeling his way around. … When (Ryan) Keane got hurt last year, West played eight straight games and he took a step forward,” Coombs said. “I think he’s matured as a kid and taken a huge step. That’s what we’re waiting for with all of our guys.”

Clark, who scored two goals, had seven shots on goal and led a stout Jamestown defense, was named an East Division Honorable-Mention choice for his efforts.

“Nate was fantastic. He really was as much as he could be, a veteran influence,” Coombs said. “He logged some big minutes, took care of the puck and made some good decisions.”

Now the Rebels will look to regroup and head east for a three-game series with the Generals starting Friday in Attleboro.

“They’ve won a couple of games,” Coombs said. “They’re a typical Boston team. They are skilled up front and they like to run and gun.”

Northeast is 2-4-0 on the young season, splitting a pair of games at home with the Maine Nordiques before a 1-3-0-0 showing at the showcase in Blaine.

“I want to win in the worst say,” Coombs said. “This summer was a lot of work. … It was disappointing to come out of Blaine without a win, but in seven years we’ve come out 4-0, 1-3 and 2-2. We’ve come away in every scenario … but at the end of the day, we want to be the best team when it matters most at the end of the year.”