(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

Two wins; 1 loss

Rebels end three game weekend with 4-2 loss to Hitmen

Jan 22, 2023 | 11:40 PM

After a successful start to a three game weekend, the Red Deer Rebels lost 4-2 against the Calgary Hitmen at the Scotiabank Saddledome Sunday afternoon. It also ended a five-game winning streak for the club.

In the first period, the Rebel’s Jace Isley scored his 22^nd goal of the season on Hitmen goaltender Brayden Peters, immediately after Red Deer’s Jayden Grubbe won the faceoff and, therefore, claimed the assist at 7:35 to put the Rebels up 1-0.

However, when Red Deer’s Jace Weir was later sent to the box for slashing as the period was winding down, the Hitmen seized the power play opportunity. With just four seconds left, Calgary’s Grayden Siepmann scored his eighth goal of the season on Rebels netminder Rhett Stoesser. Assisted by Oliver Tulk and Carter Yakemchuk, the score was now tied 1-1.

After 20 minutes of play, the Rebels outshot the Hitmen 14-8.

In the middle frame, the Hitmen’s London Hoilett was called for holding at 1:26. Soon after, the Rebels’ Jayden Grubbe scored his 13^th goal of the season on a power play. So quickly, in fact, the red light didn’t even go off. Although Grubbe called the goal, the referees had to take another look before confirming the puck hit the bottom post of the net. With the assist made by Kalan Lind and Ben King, the goal put the Rebels back on top 2-1.

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At 16:30, the Hitmen’s Matteo Danis scored his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Sean Tschigerl and Carson Wetsch. The game was once again tied 2-2.

Calgary then capitalized on another power play opportunity at 18:11 after Red Deer’s Matteo Fabrizi was sent to the box for interference. The Hitmen’s Sean Tschigerl scored his 13^th goal this season with the help of Carter Yakemchuk and Riley Fiddler-Schultz. The home team now led 3-2.

In the second period, it was the Hitmen who outshot the Rebels 13-6.

In the final period, the Hitmen doubled their lead when London Hoilett scored his ninth goal of the season at 5:42. Assisted by Tomis Marinkovic and Maxim Muranov, the score read 4-2 for Calgary, which turned out to be the final score.

The Rebels pulled out goaltender Rhett Stoesser at 17:30 in an attempt to catch up to the Hitmen but put him back in net 18 seconds later. The team pulled him out again shortly after at 18:28, but to no avail when he returned at 19:13.

The Rebels outshot the Hitmen in the third period 14-3 as well as overall 34-24.

On the power play, Red Deer went 1/7 while Calgary went 2/6.

The Hitmen’s goaltender Brayden Peters earned the third star of the game for saving 32 of 34 shots. The Rebels’ Jayden Grubbe received the second star for his goal and assist. The first star went to Calgary’s Sean Tschigerl for his goal and assist this game.

The Rebels still hold first place in the Central Division with a record of 31-9-1-3 while the win brings the Hitmen to third place at 23-16-3-1.

The Rebels will have a break this week, playing against the Saskatoon Blades on Friday at the Peavey Mart Centrium. Puck-drop is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.