(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

up next: regular season

Rebels wrap up pre-season on high note

Sep 26, 2021 | 7:58 AM

The Red Deer Rebels had a 6-0 shutout with four minutes to go in the final game of their 2021/22 WHL pre-season.

Red Deer (3-2) was hosting Lethbridge (2-2) in the back half of a home and home at the Peavey Mart Centrium. The final buzzer means both teams can now look forward to the regular season, which starts Oct. 1, but business still had to be taken care of.

Neither team got on the board in the first, though the period did see each team pick up two minor penalties.

In the second, Kai Uchacz opened the scoring with his 4th of exhibition play at 9:46.

Arshdeep Bains (3rd) tallied at 12:15, Christoffer Sedoff (1st) at 13:05 on the powerplay, and then Blake Stevenson (1st) at 15:08, also with the man advantage.

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Up 4-0 to start the third period, Jhett Larson (1st) scored 57 seconds in, Talon Brigley (1st) got one at 7:12, and it was 6-0 Red Deer.

Unfortunately for Chase Coward, who started in consecutive nights, and stopped 27 of 28 Saturday, a shutout was not meant to be.

Lethbridge’s Noah Boyko (2nd) finally got a puck by him at 16:07 of the frame, that one with a Rebel in the penalty box.

On the pre-season, the 18-year-old Coward finishes 2-1 with a 1.69 GAA and .940 SV%, stopping 79 of 84 shots with one shutout.

On the night, the Rebels outshot Lethbridge 44-28. Red Deer went 2/10 on the powerplay, while the Canes were 1/5.

The Rebels leading point-getters in the pre-season were:

Kai Uchacz: 4 goals, 4 assists
Jace Weir: 7 assists
Arshdeep Bains: 3 goals, 2 assists
Jace Isley: 2 goals, 3 assists

Meantime, goaltenders Justen Maric (2004) and Connor Ungar (2002) got the rest of the time between the pipes. Maric went 1-0 with 22 saves on 23 shots, while Ungar went 0-1 with 31 saves on 59 shots, each playing one whole game.

The WHL Regular Season gets going Oct. 1 and 2 with a home and home series between Red Deer and the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Watch for our regular season preview coming this week at rdnewsNOW.com.