The Red Deer's Rebels' Ben King and Saskatoon Blades' Josh Paulhus play at the Peavey Mat Centrium Tuesday evening. (Red Deer Rebels/Rob Wallator)

By Alessia Proietti

Three-Game Winning Streak

No power play, no problem for the Rebels in 5-2 win over the Blades

Mar 15, 2022 | 11:11 PM

Despite having no power play opportunities in Tuesday night’s game at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the Red Deer Rebels still managed to win convincingly over the visiting Saskatoon Blades.

In addition, the Rebels’ Ben King was awarded WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Mar. 13, and earned himself a first star selection in Tuesday’s game as well. At 19-years-old, he is in second place in the WHL with 87 points, just one point behind dynamic duo partner, Arshdeep Bains. King added another goal Tuesday to his 45 this season, 21 on the power play and 14 game-winning goals.

The Rebels broke a scoreless tie late in the first period when Arshdeep Bains scored his 32^nd goal of the season at 18:50 on Saskatoon goaltender Nolan Maier. Assisted by Ben King and Kalan Lind, the home team put themselves in a 1-0 lead.

It was the Blades, however, that outshot Red Deer 8-7 after 20 minutes.

In the second period, Red Deer didn’t waste any time getting back on the scoreboard when Ben King scored his whopping 46^th goal of the WHL season just 35 seconds in. Arshdeep Bains claimed the assist, pushing Red Deer’s lead to 2-0.

EBENEZER CLINIC

New family physician working in Red Deer

1h ago

April 2024 Incident

Pair sentenced in Red Deer RCMP police vehicle ramming incident

1h ago

INCLUDES CONDITIONS

Red Deer awarded $12 million grant through Housing Accelerator Fund

1h ago

The roles then reversed in a back to back goal for the Rebels shortly afterwards when Arshdeep Bains scored at 4:25, his 33^rd goal this season and second of the game. Now, 3-0, Ben King claimed his second assist of the evening on what eventually proved to be the game winning goal.

But Saskatoon hit the scoreboard at 15:16, with a goal by Egor Sidorov on Rebels netminder Chase Coward. Brandon Lisowsky and Aidan De La Gorgendiere made the assists on Sidorov’s 17th goal of the season to make it 3-1 Rebels.

The teams were once again neck and neck for shots on goal in the second period, with the Rebels outshooting the Blades 6-5 for a two period total of 13-13.

The final period gave the Rebels a bit of a scare when the Blades scored at the 3:12 mark. With Red Deer’s Jace Isley in the box for cross checking, Saskatoon’s Jayden Wiens scored on the power play. It was his 19^th goal of the season and assisted by Kyle Crnkovic and Aidan De La Gorgendiere to make the score 3-2 Red Deer.

But the Rebels solidified their win at 9:57 with Talon Brigley’s sixth goal of the season, assisted by Hunter Mayor and Kai Uchacz, making the score 4-2 in favour of the Rebels.

Saskatoon then took goaltender Nolan Maier out of the net with just under five minutes left to play. It was to their demise, however, as Red Deer’s Kalan Lind scored on the empty net at 16:53, assisted by Ben King once again and Jackson van de Leest, to end the game in a 5-2 final and put the Rebels on a three-game winning streak.

It was a tight game for shots on goal, as the Rebels outshot the Blades 11-10 in the third period and 24-23 overall.

The power play was the real surprise this game though, as the Blades went 1/3 while the Rebels never saw an opportunity with the man advantage.

Already holding a spot in the WHL playoffs, the Rebels’ record now sits at 39-16-2-1 with 81 points in the league’s Central Division. The Blades, meanwhile, are in fifth place in the East Division, holding a record of 32-20-3-1 with 68 points.

All three stars went to the Rebels this evening. Kalan Lind received the third star for scoring the final goal of the game and for his one assist. Arshdeep Bains received the second star for his two goals and one assist. And star player this week, Ben King, received the first star for his goal and three assists.

Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk was not only satisfied with the win but commended the partnership of Arshdeep Bains and Ben King, teaming up for three out of five goals this evening. Bains also signed a contract with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks just last week.

“They do have chemistry. They’re inseparable on the ice and off the ice. They’re good buddies and I think that shows,” he said.

The Rebels are back at it this Friday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Faceoff is at 7 p.m. at the Enmax Centre with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND radio.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.