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Five game winning streak

Rebels maul Tigers 11-1 in Medicine Hat

Mar 1, 2022 | 11:07 PM

It seemed like all members of the Red Deer Rebels had their share of the spotlight Tuesday night during an extraordinary 11-1 victory over the Tigers at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

The Tigers have faced the Rebels four times this season and won three games, their last match ending in a 3-2 victory on Jan. 30. However, in the last 10 games, Medicine Hat has not won a single game. Red Deer, on the other hand, is now on a five-game winning streak.

The first period saw the Rebels set the tone early when Arshdeep Bains scored just 24 seconds into the game on goaltender Garin Bjorklund. His 27th goal of the season was assisted by Jhett Larson and Ben King.

Shortly after at 6:04, Red Deer’s Jace Isley earned his 12th goal this season. The eventual game-winner was assisted by Jace Weir and Jayden Grubbe, with the Rebels lead now 2-0.

Ten with the Rebels’ Dallon Melin on a tripping penalty, the Tigers seized the opportunity of having the man advantage as Andrew Basha scored his second goal of the season on netminder Connor Ungar. Oasiz Wiesblatt and Reid Andresen assisted on the power play goal at 11:31 and cut the Rebels lead to 2-1.

And just before the period came to a close, Red Deer’s Liam Keeler scored his 23rd goal of the season on what would turn out to be an insurance goal for the Rebels at 18:57. Ben King once again and Hunter Mayo took the assists, closing the first 20 minutes of play with a 3-1 lead.

Red Deer outshot Medicine Hat 11-7 in the first period.

The second period saw the Tigers’ Pavel Bocharov sent to the box early for interference, resulting in Red Deer’s Frantisek Formanek potting his second goal of the season at 7:12. The power play goal was assisted by Dallon Melin and Kyle Masters, making the game 4-1 Red Deer.

Soon afterwards, Kalan Lind gave the Rebels a 5-1 lead when he scored his 11th goal of the season. At 8:53, with Jackson van de Leest and Liam Keeler claiming the assists.

At this point, Medicine Hat removed goalie Garin Bjoklund and replaced him with Zach Zahara.

Still on a roll, however, Red Deer’s Arshdeep Bains scored his second of the game and 28th of the season with his dynamic duo partner Ben King getting the assist at 10:08, giving the Rebels a 6-1 lead.

Then to make matters worse for the Tigers, with the Rebels’ Jace Isley in the box for tripping, it wasn’t the Tigers who seized the man advantage. Rather, Red Deer’s Talon Brigley scored an unassisted short-handed goal at 12:38. It was his third goal of the season and gave the Rebels a whopping 7-1 lead.

Nearing the end of the period, Medicine Hat’s Logan Barlage was called for hooking, resulting in Red Deer’s Dallon Melin scoring his seventh goal this season. Jace Weir and Frantisek Formanek assisted on the power play goal at 15:45.

The period ended with an 8-1 lead for the Rebels and 16-8 for shots on goal in favour of Red Deer.

In the third, the Rebels Jace Isley scored his second of the game and 13th of the season at 5:01, assisted by Dallon Melin and Jayden Grubbe, making the score 9-1.

Then Red Deer’s Frantisek Formanek scored his second of the game and third goal of the season at 11:14, with Jayden Grubbe and Dallon Melin claiming the assists, making the score 10-1.

The last goal of the game was Hunter Mayo’s third of the season for the Rebels. Blake Gustafson and Jayden Grubbe assisted on the goal at 15:51, making it an 11-1 final.

The Rebels outshot the Tigers 16-7 in the final period, and almost double them overall, 43-22.

On the power play, Red Deer went 2/2 while Medicine Hat went 1/3 with the man advantage.

The three stars went to Red Deer’s Arsheep Bains, winning the third star for his two goals on the evening, while the second star went to Dallon Melin for his goal and three assists. The first star was awarded to Frantisek Formanek for his two goals and one assist.

The win puts Red Deer’s record at 34-15-2-1 while the loss has Medicine Hat sitting with a record of 9-37-3-1.

The Rebels continue their four-game road trip this week, with a trip east to Swift Current to face the Broncos Wednesday evening. Puck drop at the Innovation Credit Union I-Plex is 6 p.m. MT with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND radio.