Rebels dominate Cougars 8-5 in first match this season

Shortly after, Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz stole the puck from the Cougars in the offensive zone to score his 35^th goal of the season. The unassisted goal at 17:31 brought the team to a 2-0 lead.

Then with the Cougars’ Chase Wheatcroft sent to the box for charging, Red Deer’s Mats Lindgren took advantage of the power play, scoring his fifth goal of the season in the slot. With less than 50 seconds left on the clock, the goal was assisted by Kai Uchacz and Christoffer Sedoff, pushing the team’s lead to 3-0.

After 20 minutes of play, the Rebels outshot the Cougars 18-6.

In the middle frame, it was Prince George who dominated the period with Villam Kmec scoring his fourth goal this season in just 24 seconds on Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey. The unassisted goal put the visiting team on the board, trailing the Rebels 3-1.

At 8:57, Prince George’s Ondrej Becher scored his sixth goal this season. With the help of Zac Funk and Jaxsen Wiebe, the Cougars cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Cougars’ Jaxsen Wiebe then brought the team to a 3-3 tie when he scored his eighth goal this WHL season at 11:14, assisted by Carlin Dezainde and Villam Kmec.

With Red Deer’s Kalan Lind given a high sticking penalty, the Cougars capitalized on their power play opportunity to take their first lead of the game, 4-3. Prince George’s Koehn Ziemmer scored his 23^rd goal of the season, assisted by Chase Wheatcroft and Ethan Samson at 14:06.

However, the Rebels tied it back up 4-4 at the 18:38 mark when the Cougars’ Hudson Thornton was sent to the box for tripping less than a minute earlier. Red Deer’s Christoffer Sedoff scored his fourth goal of the season with a one-timer from the point. The power play goal was assisted by Kai Uchacz and Jayden Grubbe.

In the second period, it was the Cougars who outshot the Rebels 11-6.

The Rebels then proclaimed their dominance once again in the third period when Prince George’s Hudson Thornton was given a hooking penalty, the Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz put the team back in the lead, 5-4, with his 36^th goal of the season with a one-timer from the left face-off dot. At 5:50, the power play goal was assisted by Christoffer Sedoff and Jayden Grubbe.

Then with the Cougars’ Blake Eastman in the box for roughing, Red Deer ‘s Mats Lindgren scored his sixth goal of the season and second power play goal of the night at 9:21. Picking up the loose puck deflected from one of the Cougars’ skates, the goal was assisted by Kalan Lind and Jayden Grubbe, pushing the team’s lead to 6-4.

On another power play opportunity, the Cougars’ Zac Funk and Jaxsen Wiebe were sent to the box for slashing and 10-minute misconduct, respectfully. The Rebels’ Ben King scored his sixth goal in his sixth game of the season at 13:49. Assisted by Jace Isley and Jace Weir, the Rebels now led the game 7-4.

The Cougars fought back at 15:12 though with a goal by Koehn Ziemmer. His 24^th goal this season was assisted by Ondrej Becher and Chase Wheatcroft, cutting Red Deer’s lead to 7-5.

Even so, the Rebels Jayden Grubbe scored his 11^th goal of the season at 16:16, first rebounding off the post, then off the goaltender. The goal was assisted by Mats Lindgren and Hunter Mayo who first fanned on the pass, but the game ended with a final score of 8-5 for the Rebels.

Although the Cougars pulled out goaltender Ty Young with just over two and a half minutes left to the game, it was to no avail.

The Rebels outshot the Cougars in the third period 18-10 and 42-27 overall.

The Rebels were strong on the power play, going 5/7 while the Cougars went 1/5.

Rebels Coach Steve Konowalchuk said it was those penalties that brought the team back following a difficult second period.

“We did a good job in controlling our emotions. It was a very emotional game and with both teams power play scoring, you got to stay out of the box and I think that’s a big part of the third period,” he said.

With Ben King’s first game back following a high ankle sprain injury, Konowalchuk says anyone could tell he’s a “dangerous shooter”.

“For the amount of time he missed, he played a good game for us. It’s a long time. I thought his game got stronger as the game went on. He’s a real good hockey player. That’s a lot of time he missed. You could tell he put the work in,” he said.

King says he “couldn’t be happier” to be back on the ice, taking an extra week off to ensure his ankle was feeling back to “100 per cent”.

“It was my longest injury I’ve had in my career and obviously no one wants that. It was a long time watching and definitely hard mentally to stay in it when you want to get out there. It was a long time but kind of well worth it,” he said.

The third star of the game went to the Cougars’ Koehn Ziemmer for his two goals this evening. The second star was awarded to the Rebels’ Mats Lindgren for his two goals and one assist. The first star was given to Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz for his two goals and three assists this game.

The win keeps the Rebels in first place in the Central Division with a record of 30-8-1-3 and 64 points, while the loss keeps the Cougars in second place in the B.C. Division at 18-20-4-0 and 40 points.

The Rebels play the Brandon Wheat Kings Saturday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium. Face-off is 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.

by Alessia Proietti

Rebels dominate Cougars 8-5 in first match this season

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