(Photo: Red Deer Rebels/Rob Wallator)

By Troy Gillard

not-so-good friday

Rebels trounced 9-2 by Edmonton

Apr 2, 2021 | 10:22 PM

For the first 19 minutes Friday night the Red Deer Rebels played perhaps their best hockey of the season.

Then things went south, way south, as the Edmonton Oil Kings scored nine unanswered goals for a 9-2 win over the Rebels.

Edmonton is now 4-0 versus the Rebels this season with the two teams right back in action Saturday afternoon.

“I didn’t like the way we played as a forward group. We didn’t support each other and we stopped finishing checks. The last two periods, we just didn’t play very well and when you’re playing a good team like that, they make you pay,” lamented Rebels GM/Head Coach Brent Sutter.

The Rebels had plenty of jump in the first period and got out to a quick 2-0 lead on the Oil Kings.

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Dallon Melin found a loose puck and put it past Edmonton goalie Sebastian Cossa 2:35 into the opening frame for his first goal of the season.

Chris Douglas ripped home a one-timer from the left face-off dot on a Rebels power play for his fourth goal of the season at 9:43.

But before the period would end the vaunted Oil Kings power play would start another big night as Josh Williams tipped a Jake Neighbours pass behind Rebels netminder Byron Fancy for his eighth goal of the year, his fifth against Red Deer, at 19:17. Red Deer led 2-1 after one period.

Edmonton dominated the second period, and it started early as Matthew Robertson beat Fancy for his second goal of the year just 22 seconds in.

Jaylen Luypen blasted a power play one-timer past Fancy for his seventh goal of the year at the 5:55 mark.

Carson Latimer tipped in yet another man advantage goal for Edmonton just under 10 minutes later to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead through 40 minutes. For Latimer it was his third goal of the season.

Any hopes of a Rebels comeback in the third period were dashed with a span of 1:12 when the Oil Kings struck for four quick goals.

Carter Souch started the onslaught when he put home a rebound for his first goal of the season at the 4:07 mark. Ethan Peters scored his first of the year at 4:36. Twelve seconds later, and after Fancy was lifted from the Rebels net in favour of Ethan Anders, Jake Neighbours netted his fifth goal of the year.

Logan Dowhaniuk scored his first two goals of the season at 5:19 and 9:58 to round things out for Edmonton. The Sherwood Park native finished with six points on the night and was the game’s first star.

Robertson had four points on the night and was the second star while Williams had three points to claim third star honours.

Edmonton outshot Red Deer 42-20 on the night after the shots on goal had been 9-9 through 20 minutes. The Oil Kings were 4-for-5 on the power play to improve to 8-for-17 versus Red Deer on the season. The Rebels were 1-for-4.

Already short on defenceman without Kyle Masters and Chase Leslie, the Rebels depth on the blue line suffered another blow when Blake Gustafson went down with an injury Friday night, leaving them with just five d-men for most of the game.

Rookie forward Jhett Larson assisted on Melin’s game opening goal for his first WHL point.

The Rebels and Oil Kings are back in action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. from the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton. The game can be heard live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.