Rebels playoff journey ends against Oil Kings

In the second, Edmonton’s Dylan Guenther scored an unassisted goal right out the gate at the eight second mark. It was his eighth goal of the playoffs and put the Oil Kings up 2-0.

Then just 31 seconds later, Edmonton’s Carter Souch scored his fifth goal of the playoffs with Dylan Guenther and Justin Sourdif assisting to make it 3-0 for the visitors. It would later prove to be the game winner.

However, the Rebels fought back when Jhett Larson scored on a breakaway, unassisted at 8:20, beating Oil Kings netminder Sebastian Cossa. It was Larson’s third goal of the playoffs and made the score 3-1.

Later, with tempers heated, Edmonton’s Jake Neighbours and Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz were both sent to the box for roughing, along with the Rebels’ Kalan Lind who was called for tripping. The man advantage situation resulted in Dylan Guenther scoring his second of the game and ninth of the playoffs, with Kaiden Guhle and Carter Souch assisting on the power play goal to bring the score to 4-1 before the close of the second period.

Edmonton also dominated on the shot clock once again, outshooting the Rebels 19-4 in the second period for a two-period total of 42-10 after 40 minutes.

In the final period, the Rebels left it all on the ice with Jayden Grubbe being sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct at 12:52. However, at the 13:47 mark, Blake Gustafson scored his second goal of the playoffs. It was a short-handed effort that saw Jackson van de Leest and Liam Keeler claim the assists, closing the gap to 4-2 Edmonton.

Then at 18:20, the Rebels Connor Ungar was pulled from his net, but to no avail. The Oil Kings hung on to win 4-2.

Shots on goal were tight in the third period, with Edmonton outshooting Red Deer 9-6, for a three-period total of 51-16.

Elsewhere, the Rebels went 0/3 on the power play, while the Oil Kings went 1/6 with the man advantage.

The three stars for the evening went to the home team. Jackson van de Leest received the third star, recording one assist on the night. Liam Keeler received the second star with his one assist. Arshdeep Bains received the game’s first star.

Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk admits both he and the team were naturally disappointed with their playoff journey coming to an end. He says their main weakness Wednesday evening was a lack of skating in the first period from fear of making a mistake and not trusting internal instincts.

“Definitely in the first period we played not to lose and that was not our intention. We wanted to go out and play on our toes,” he said. “The first half of the game, we were thinking way too much. You got to skate while you think and we didn’t.”

Although Konowalchuk says the loss hurts, he is proud of his team for the strong game they played throughout the season and the learning experience they earned from it.

The 2021-2022 WHL season was undoubtedly an intense one for the Rebels. Ending their 68-game regular season with a record of 45-19-2-2 with 94 points, the team finished second in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, Red Deer conquered the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round 4-2, before losing to Edmonton in four games.

“For me, it was a very fun team to coach,” shared Konowalchuk. “I didn’t have to come to the rink too much and push guys. We got a good group in there that wanted to get better, wanted to work at it. That’s all you can ask for.”

by Alessia Proietti

Rebels playoff journey ends against Oil Kings

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