(Red Deer Rebels/Rob Wallator)

By Troy Gillard

Finally!

Rebels beat Edmonton 4-2 to snap 13-game losing skid

May 1, 2021 | 10:14 PM

The Red Deer Rebels finally put one in the win column.

The Rebels ended their 13-game losing skid Saturday night with a 4-2 win over the first-place Edmonton Oil Kings at the Westerner Park Centrium.

Red Deer also brought an end to Edmonton’s 17-game winning streak versus the Rebels that dated back to December, 2018.

“I felt so good for the guys,” Rebels Assistant Coach Ryan Colville said. “There’s been plenty of games this year where we didn’t deserve to win and we didn’t play well. There’s also been plenty of games where we haven’t had the bounces or the calls.”

Ben King had his seven-game point streak come to an end Thursday night versus Calgary, but he made up for it in the first period Saturday. King put his own rebound past Edmonton goalie Sebastian Cossa to open the scoring just 40 seconds into the game.

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King struck again with a powerplay goal at the 4:07 mark, his tenth goal of the year, to give Red Deer an early 2-0 lead.

Edmonton got on the board at 15:52 when Logan Dowhaniuk netted his third goal of the year on Chase Coward, who was making his second start of the season for the Rebels.

With his team shorthanded, Chris Douglas restored Red Deer’s two-goal lead 7:56 into period two when he blasted a shot past Cossa and in off the post for his seventh goal of the year.

But Dowhaniuk would reply again for Edmonton, this time with a powerplay goal from the point at the 15:57 mark to make it a 3-2 game through 40 minutes.

It was a scary start to the third period for the Rebels as they faced three straight Oil Kings powerplays, but found a way to kill off all three and maintain their one-goal lead.

The Oil Kings kept the pressure on, though, forcing Coward to make a handful of big saves to keep Red Deer ahead, which he did on his way to earning his first ever win in the Western Hockey League.

Jubilation broke out on the Rebels bench when Ethan Rowland tapped home an empty net goal, his sixth goal of the year, with three seconds left to play.

“It feels great to finally get a win under our belt after however many losses it was. The boys were happy, the staff was happy, hopefully now we can keep it going and get some more,” King said post-game.

““Just keep playing our way, blocking shots. We ran into some penalty trouble which was kind of nerve-wracking. We killed it. A lot of big blocks at the end. “(Blake) Gustafson probably had 10, 20 blocks. He was first star in my mind. Guys are just putting their body on the line and that’s what it takes to win.”

Edmonton outshot Red Deer 26-25 and was 1-for-6 on the powerplay while the Rebels were 1-for-4.

Red Deer improved to 2-15-3-0 on the season whereas Edmonton, who has clinched their third consecutive WHL Central Division title, fell to 18-2-0-1.

The Rebels are back in action Sunday when they visit the Calgary Hitmen. Game time from the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex at the Tsuu’tina Nation is 4 p.m. 106.7 REWIND Radio has the live broadcast starting at 3:50 p.m.