Kai Uchacz (19) and Connor Bedard (98) battle at the Centrium on Oct. 1, 2022. (Red Deer Rebels/Rob Wallator)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

undefeated

Rebels knock off Bedard-led Pats 4-2

Oct 1, 2022 | 9:40 PM

Much was made of CHL phenom Connor Bedard’s latest trip to Red Deer to face the Rebels, but the 17-year-old couldn’t quite steer his team to victory Saturday night.

Red Deer and Regina played to a 4-2 Rebels win at the Centrium.

Coming in, Bedard had five goals and two assists in the Pats’ first three games, in which they’d gone 2-1-0-0.

Red Deer was led by Jhett Larson and Hunter Mayo who had three goals apiece in two games (2-0-0-0) coming into this one.

Scoring got started at 15:16 of the first, with Red Deer taking the lead off a goal from Kai Uchacz (2nd). Kalan Lind and Tanner Brown earned assists on the power play marker.

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In the second, Easton Armstrong (2nd) equalized on the power play for Regina at 9:34. Bedard got one of the helpers for his eighth point in four games.

The deadlock would end at 9:04 of the third when Uchacz (3rd) scored his second of the night, newcomer Mats Lindgren getting the assist, his first point in his first game as a Rebel since being acquired from Kamloops.

Unfortunately for the home crowd, the lead was short-lived as Regina’s Borya Valis (3rd) would tie with 5:19 left to play.

The Pats’ elation was equally as short-lived as they would squander the tie just 25 seconds later, and with 4:54 left in regulation.

Carter Anderson (3rd) chipped in the go-ahead goal, Christoffer Sedoff and Lindgren assisting.

With the Bedard line pressing late, and the goalie pulled, it was Red Deer’s Jace Isley who was able to ice it into the empty net with 15 seconds to go. Jayden Grubbe and Craig Armstrong earned the assists.

The game ended 4-2 with Red Deer on top.

“Junior hockey is entertaining sometimes. It was fast-paced and both teams battled. They’ve got skill there that you’ve got to be aware of, but our guys stuck with it,” Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk said post-game. “We got blocked shots when we needed them. We had a little bit of o-zone time in the first, but we weren’t shooting, and in the third we got our bounces because we got shot volume. [Kyle] Kelsey played a strong game, and it should build confidence in his game. It was a real good team effort.”

In the end, Red Deer was outshot by Regina 35-23 in front of a crowd of about 4,800 fans. Each team went 1/6 with the man advantage.

Kyle Kelsey (2-0-0-0) earned the win, stopping 33 of 35 shots, while Matthew Kieper (0-1-0-0) faced 22 and stopped 19 in the loss.

The three stars were Kai Uchacz (1st), Kyle Kelsey (2nd) and Mats Lindgren (3rd).

Next up for Red Deer is the third of a four-game homestand, Fri., Oct. 7 against Lethbridge. They close it out the next night against Calgary.

Puck drop both nights is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio at 6:30.